Terrarium vs. windowsill

[Amateur_Expert]

Having a little dispute on windowsill vs terrariums. What do you guys think? Terrariums allow you to re-create exact habitat conditions for your plants. Of course, they will do better with the same climate as the one that they have thrived in for generation after generation. The person i was arguing with said that they do worse in their wild habitat because he has seen plants in the wild and they only have one active pitcher at a time. I followed that up by saying that in the wild there are other things that come into play besides climate like competition among other things, if there is no competition in your terrarium and the conditions are exactly as they are in their habitat, logically they will do better. He said "no thats not true". What do you guys think? (tony that means you!)

BTW: I'm talking about plants in general but i posted it in the nep forum because i think nepenthes are the most climate strict CP there are.

 

[Starman]

Well, here is my opinion:

If a plant has been growing and has acclimitized to a window, it will look just as good as one in a terrarium. However, there are exeptions to this(e.g N.villosa, heliamphora) And Im not not talking about Neps in particular here.
Im talking about CPs in general. Particualy about ones that dont need a terrarium to grow well.

Dino

 

[Amateur_Expert]

Maybe you have the conditions that the plant favors or can get acclimated to. Logically: give the plant the conditions its had for generations (we are talking about climate) and they will do best in those conditions.

 

[Phyrex]

A terrarium is better because you can regulate the humidity a lot easier and maintain a fixed percentage. (There are some Neps that really dislike humidity differences)

However without the right lighting setup this advantage can quickly become negligible because sun rays can do a lot good things also.

Bottom line is that a terrarium will be better IF you have the right setup. But you have to make it perfect. Including things like a small fan to simulate some wind which the plant would have in it’s habitat also no doubt. (Makes leaves stronger, and reduce chance of fungus...)

For me it’s not really a problem. I have a reasonable sized windowsill and a 100 gallon terrarium so I put my difficult plants in the terrarium and the easier ones (N. Miranda for example) on the window sill.

 

[Starman]

Quote[/b] (Phyrex @ Nov. 13 2004,12:43)]A terrarium is better because you can regulate the humidity a lot easier and maintain a fixed percentage. (There are some Neps that really dislike humidity differences)

However without the right lighting setup this advantage can quickly become negligible because sun rays can do a lot good things also.

Bottom line is that a terrarium will be better IF you have the right setup. But you have to make it perfect. Including things like a small fan to simulate some wind which the plant would have in it’s habitat also no doubt. (Makes leaves stronger, and reduce chance of fungus...)

For me it’s not really a problem. I have a reasonable sized windowsill and a 100 gallon terrarium so I put my difficult plants in the terrarium and the easier ones (N. Miranda for example) on the window sill.

But I find all of my plants look jsut as good as those ina terrarium.

 

[Phyrex]

Then either your terrarium isn't optimal or your windowsill spot is awesome.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Seems to be several issues here. Your talking windowsill vs terrarium then also bringing up wild vs cultivated.

My personal thoughts are that it is possible to improve on nature because in cultivation you can regulate many more environmental conditions. Nature is a harsh place even for locations that have a fairly steady environment.

As for windowsill vs terrarium there are just way too many factors to know which is better. I think for every grower out there it will be a different answer. With terrariums it would be easier to recreate a type of environment from one grower to the next. For example if I made a grow chamber exactly like Swords with the exact same lights, setup, equipment then I would have a good handle on which plants would do well and how well they would grow. But even then a slight change in watering or potting mix composition or even size of the pot used or placement of the plants in the chamber might make subtle differences. Windowsills are more like natural environments.. they change from season to season and even from day to day. Hence the plants are going to have a harder time. Even if they look great, who's to say they may not have looked even better in a more controlled environment?

Tony

 

[Capslock]

Here's another issue: in my windowsill, my nepenthes do great - all summer, but they don't grow much at all over winter. There just isn't nearly as much sunlight in the shorter days as there is in the long days of summer. In a terrarium (or artificially lit grow racks as in my case), I can keep a consistent amount of light.

But, I'd have to say the ones in the windowsill over summer grew as well as any of my plants under lights.

Capslock

 

[peter]

Here is my say- I think that what Amateur_Expert is saying is pretty much right. I believe just give the plants the optimum conditions that doensn't have to match their wild growing conditions, but what They want for optinum growth. What did the other guy say gives plants the best growth?
I believe that for Nepenthes Windsill growing will be Ok for a small fraction of plants, but they will grow much better in a terrainium. Even if you can't see the results they will lack something, even if its very little.
But, Saying that Wild plants aren't healthy is wrong too. Maybe they don't look as healthy on the outside, they are probably alot healthier then any cultivated plant. Maybe the Guy only saw a unhealthy plant that was outside the growing range, thus not having optinum conditions.

 

[IceDragon]

Well, if you grow them on the windowsill just think how much lower the electric bill will be.

 

[Phyrex]

Quote[/b] (IceDragon @ Nov. 13 2004,3:46)]Well, if you grow them on the windowsill just think how much lower the electric bill will be.

One of the main reasons I wanted a terrarium was so I can have the plants in my own room where there isn’t enough light.

Of course I was going to fill my windowsill spot up anyway even if the conditions aren't perfect...

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Terrarium vs. windowsill--There are still too many environmental variables to conclusively state that one method is better than another. I do think that cultivated plants can (not necessarily do) grow better than wild plants. Mainly because competion from other plants is removed. But as for windowsil vs. terrarium, that depends on where you live and what you have to do to get your home environment to match their typical environement from the wild.

Phyrex, a terrarium isn't necessary to have lights. A support system for the lights can be built from pvc or other material to support the light fixtures.

 

[jimscott]

Until recently (colder conditions) most of my Neps have been outside. They are all indoors, now. I have no terrarium set up at all. Everybody is is clamoring around counter space and window sunlight. It may not be the best set up, but new leaves are being produced and no one is dying. I also have easier plants - ventricosa, ventrata, gracilis...

 

[Starman]

Quote[/b] (peter @ Nov. 13 2004,3:20)]Here is my say- I think that what Amateur_Expert is  saying is pretty much right.  I believe just give the plants the optimum conditions that doensn't have to match their wild growing conditions, but what They want for optinum growth.  What did the other guy say gives plants the best growth?  
I believe that for Nepenthes Windsill growing will be Ok for a small fraction of plants, but they will grow much better in a terrainium.  Even if you can't see the results they will lack something, even if its very little.
But, Saying that Wild plants aren't healthy is wrong too.  Maybe they don't look as healthy on the outside, they are probably alot healthier then any cultivated plant.  Maybe the Guy only saw a unhealthy plant that was outside the growing range, thus not having optinum conditions.

No, the Nepenthes were N.rajah, and it was on Mt.Kinabalu.A group of expert growers went to hunt for them to see them in the wild.
They saw well over 10 rajahs, EVERY one had just 1 pitcher working.

Well terrarium conditions are no natural conditions at all.
Who says nature isnt harsh?

 

[Starman]

BTW, this is NOT a disscussion about Nepenthes alone, it is concerning ALL Carnivorous plants in general.

 

[Amateur_Expert]

I don't think Dino understands. In nature, plants are subject to other things that affect its healt, not only climate. Plants naturally will do better in their native climates. We are focusing on climate. There is no competition in a terrarium like their is in the environment, so if you give the plants the climate they have lived in for generations and exclude the other factors that would dimish its health, the plant does much better. A terrarium is the best place to do that.

Quote[/b] ]I believe that for Nepenthes Windsill growing will be Ok for a small fraction of plants, but they will grow much better in a terrainium. Even if you can't see the results they will lack something, even if its very little.

Funny, thats the same thing i said..

 

[Starman]

Quote[/b] (Amateur_Expert @ Nov. 14 2004,1:59)]I don't think Dino understands. In nature, plants are subject to other things that affect its healt, not only climate. Plants naturally will do better in their native climates. We are focusing on climate. There is no competition in a terrarium like their is in the environment, so if you give the plants the climate they have lived in for generations and exclude the other factors that would dimish its health, the plant does much better. A terrarium is the best place to do that.

Quote[/b] ]I believe that for Nepenthes Windsill growing will be Ok for a small fraction of plants, but they will grow much better in a terrainium.  Even if you can't see the results they will lack something, even if its very little.

Funny, thats the same thing i said..

yeah, in climates there are storms, flooding, draught and fires.
None of that is in a terrarium.

Actually, they will kind of do best in a terrarium.
Sure, the plants will look brillaint, but change the terrarium climate and they will sulk and start to wither.
Windowsill plants are a lot tougher,a nd will take season changing with a grain of salt.

 

[peter]

I never corrected you or agreed with you Amateur_Expert, I just stated what I thought...
Starman- How was I supposed to know the inside details of the argument, I was just making an assumption based on what I knew about the Cp species as a whole...

 

[Phyrex]

Quote[/b] (Starman @ Nov. 14 2004,2:04)]Sure, the plants will look brillaint, but change the terrarium climate and they will sulk and start to wither.
Windowsill plants are a lot tougher,a nd will take season changing with a grain of salt.

Yes they will be tougher but will only survive on the windowsill if they are easy plants in the first place.

You can’t place a villosa on a windowsill and expect it to do well over time.
The plants have had millions of years of evolution to get accustomed with the climate they have evolved in. This won’t change in a few months on a windowsill of course.

 

[Amateur_Expert]

Exacly my point.
Peter - i meant nothing by that, i said the exact same thing you said to the person i was arguing with which makes me feel even more confident that i'm right.