What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

South window terrarium build, help me design it!

Hello everyone
Way back in college I was into CPs and had a very nice terrarium with some florescent bulbs

A decade later and I am thinking about getting back into the hobby a bit. I now live in Zone 7.

I have a 10g fish tank that I was thinking about putting on a south facing window (that is flanked by a SSE and a SSW window) in order to trap some humidity from misting.

Is a terrarium on a windowsill that is not under grow lights still called a terrarium or is it called something else? I kind of always thought of a terrarium as something that was under grow lights. I ask for the purpose of doing research on what plants fit the growing conditions.

My house is ambient temperature low of 65 in the winter and high of 85 in the summer. Humidity will be easy to adjust if they are in a tank that can be misted.

Thanks
Jeff
 
Yes that is still called a "terrarium" but in a south facing window it could be called a "veggie steamer". :p

Before you get any plants get a thermometer and find out how hot it's actually going to get inside the tank in the direct sun especially if you have a lid on it to hold in the humidity. Heat escapes from the open top of a terrarium but so does humidity so if you're set to grow in a terrarium you'll need to see if it's going to be possible to keep temperatures reasonable. 90*F / 30*C or less when the direct sun is shining through at the hottest - any higher and the heat will generally be too stressful.
 
All these years of steaming my veggies in a steam basket on the stove.... all these years wasted! I could have just used my window! Haha

I thought about the increase of temp from the sun. The tank can be adjusted a bit closer to and further from the window to allow for temps to stay max 85. I can even position it so it gets morning sun and a bit of afternoon without veggie cooking midday. However, this does require not having a lid. I understand that my humidity will be lower as a result, but it will be higher than just sitting on the windowsill and only really an issue during the height of winter and summer when the heat/AC is on.

Thanks for the help.

Should I start another thread about what plans will work in this setting or ask it here?
 
There are quite a few plants that can adapt to lower humidity, even down to typical household levels. A terrarium without a lid should definitely be higher than just sitting in the window. I could change the name of the thread if you would like- maybe "South window terrarium build, help me design it" ? Or you could start a new one, up to you really. :p
What kind of plants are you thinking?
 
Changing the title of the post might not be a bad idea. Thanks!

To summarize;
10g fish tank on a table near a south facing window flanked by a SSW and SSE window (so it can be moved back a forth a few inches to adjust the light and temperature). Open top, but occasional misting to keep the humidity up a bit in the summer and winter.

If I use 3 1/2 to 4 inch pots for each plant (with water trays if necessary), I can fit 8 in the tank without overcrowding.

Just looking for some thoughts of what I can put in there.

-Cephalotus?
-What smaller Nepenthes are out there that are not killer rare or killer expensive?
-I think some Pings might work if they are in the back row partially shaded by plants in the front row. Any suggestions?
-Drosera suggestions?

I would like to stay away from anything that requires cold dormancy.

Thanks for the help.
 
I'd say that you could use any drosera that are usually recommended to windowsills. Stuff like capensis, binata, adelae would all work. Beyond that a lot of African species like affinis and madagascariensis grow easily in my experience. Even small nepenthes tend to grow tall quickly so growing them in the terrarium is probably of limited usefulness.
 
Title changed.

^What Grey Moss said
I think it's too warm long term for Helis. Cephs should work. Even though Neps may outgrow it quickly- you may find they'll be fine outside of the tank though. I think pings would be fine, Mexican for sure- I have limited experience with USA pings though.
 
Actually, the thought of having the Nepenthes grow out of the top of the tank a bit might give it a cool look. If it grows wide, I can always have it take up more than one of the 8 "spaces" that I have in the tank

What Nepenthes would you recommend that is A/ small and B/ not stupidly expensive? Also, where do you get it?
 
  • #10
Unfortunately a lot of the miniature species are expensive and harder to keep. There is a maxima form, maxima mini, that stays smaller but would probably still fill most of a terrarium with its leafspan but is not too expensive and is as easy as any other maxima. I know that you can get ventricosa and sanguinea at least from here on flytrapshop.com.

If you're looking for something else this website has a pretty good list of US based nepenthes sellers- http://www.nepenthesaroundthehouse.com/vendors.htm
 
  • #11
Thanks. I'll check it out. Seems to me that a lot of places do not have a lot to offer right now in wintertime. Go figure....

I suppose that a smaller variety of pitcher plant can be occasionally pruned to keep it from getting ton large (and for taking cuttings)?
 
  • #12
I had another thought... I could always start a young Nepenthes in the terrarium. When it gets too big, I can move it to the windowsill or trade it for a new small one to go into the terrarium. Kind of like a slow revolving grow list!
 
  • #13
If you want to go the route of regular pruning you'll want a quick vining species. The bonus is that you'll have a lot of practice with taking and rooting cuttings this way and will have a regular supply of trading material. For pruning nepenthes one thing you'll generally want to make sure before doing any cuts is to make sure there is an alternate growth point already going so you won't lose the main plant if it doesn't activate any nodes in response to you cutting it down.
 
  • #14
So if I am going to pruning route, or the rotational route, am I just asking to kill a N Ampullaria under the growing conditions I have described? I am not worried about Spring-Fall. But in winter, that window gets down into the mid 60s and that sounds a little low
 
Last edited:
  • #15
I have always been a fan of Moss Scape themed terrariums.

I would reccomend against nepenthes, because they require far more care than what
can be adequately given in a small terrarium. Also, In my experience, they never did as well as I would have liked to see.

What i would reccomend - Possibly some jewel orchids,
smaller dew species like pygmies, or better yet, a terrestrial utric like U. Subulata.
they will cover peat moss hills and turn them into a grassy/mossy rolling hills like area
 
  • #16
Thank you for the advice.

I was not going to do a planted terrarium. Instead, I was going to have each plant in an individual pot to make maintenance easier

I hope I am using the right terminology and not throwing everyone off
 
Back
Top