First Vivarium!

I got it at meijer in the little houseplant section. It's grown by Green Expressions and is part of their Tropical Foliage collection but that's about all I can figure out since as far as I can tell, their website doesn't list the names of their plants.

EDIT* After a check on their website their product list is unavailable ATM.
 
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Looking good. I'd be real careful watering that african violet. They prefer to be in really well draining mixes, and hate hate hate wet feet. Also, any water in the crown can quickly lead to rot. Looks like it's gonna be awesome grown in though...

This is just a hunch, but I am willing to bet that your variegated mystery plant will grow from cuttings. Maybe try to root a stem in water once you get a good amount of it going.
 
Thanks!

The only watering this tank gets is through the daily misting so I am hoping that cuts down on the risk of root rot but even so, I can always pull it out if it shows signs of stress and grow it in the sunroom.

As for the mystery plant, I may need to try that sometime soon. It responds very well to pruning. When I got it I had to cut the tops off because of it's height and it looks like it's goning to need it again within a few weeks. I will absolutly put a few stems in water and if they root you can bet that I will have a forest of them! And who knows, maybe Chris could get some?!?!
 
Sorry if you went over this already, but do you mist manually, or is it automated? The reason I ask, is that water on the av's leaves can also lead to rot, as well as burns depending on how strong your lights are. If you're misting manually, I'd suggest turning the nozzle towards squirt, and giving it a few well aimed shots down at the base of the plant, still avoiding the crown. They definitely prefer root watering to top down watering.
 
I mis manually and have read all kinds of stories and theories as to if they can have wet leaves of not. I try to only mist before 5 pm as lights go out at 8 and it gives plenty of time for the leaves to dry.

What I don't understand (and maybe it doesn't matter) is rain. In the wild they would certainly encounter rain, right?

I'll try to lessen the amout of water on the leaves and crown by doing that but it just doesn't make a ton of sense.

But thanks!
 
In the wild, they grow on mountainous slopes, and the water drains very quickly from around their roots. You've gotta figure that in the wild, they will be experiencing much more ebullient air movement than it would be feasible to provide in a tank. If you do notice signs of rot, save some of the good leaves. They can be started in moist sand or perlite, and will sucker a ton of baby plants from the junction of the stem and leaf. Any site that suggests a wet crown is ok for african violets, is NOT to be trusted.
 
I guess that makes sense. Well I certainly hope that it adapts well to my tank enviornment and thrives there.
 
Should be fine. They're very easy going plants if you take care to meet those specific requirements. If you're looking for different leaf types/shapes/patters/growth habits/ or sizes, I have a pretty good collection of av's going, and wouldn't mind sending you a few leaves of different varieties to try out. They come in a myriad of leaf shapes, standard and mini sizes, and also trailing varieties, not to mention variegated types.
 
Thanks I would love some but I don't really have the space ATM. If this one does good I may just have to take you up on that but for now my sunroom is filled to the brim and I don't want to waste them if they aren't going to do well.
 
Alright so a few days ago I took a clipping of the mystery plant and put it in a little plastic cup with uber wet peat and it seems to be doing good but I don't know if it will root or not. If it does, I know exactly where it will go but if not then, so be it.

Yesterday I woke up to a gnat that was flying around my pitcher plant. It landed on the hood of the opened pitcher and slowly but surely found it's way into the pictcher but with it's long legs it could hold on to the outside of the pitcher while feeding (?) off of the nectar. So after a few minutes of watching it lifed one single leg and down it went into the pitcher! That just made my day!
 
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