"I'm a Mac, I'm a PC, I'm a Terrarium!"

The Popularity of Apple's "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC" ad campaign recently reminded me of a web page created by Ania Mitros that I came across when I was researching building a terrarium. I was pretty impressed with her creativity because I was planning on building one in an aquarium and hadn't considered housing one inside of something other than the traditional enclosures like a glass bottle or aquarium.

A few days ago I contacted her and asked if she wouldn't mind answering a couple of questions about her experience building this terrarium for carnivorous plants. She was gracious enough to find some time to respond and below I'll copy/paste our e-mail exchange.

Were you interested in gardening before you started the terrarium?

"Neither before nor after the Mac have I considered myself a gardener. I enjoy having plants around and in fact have a ponytail palm that's been with me since 6th grade, about 19 years. I started the terrarium on a whim, or more precisely, on two whims. I bought the Mac at a garage sale with thoughts of fish tanks. When I thought more deeply about the details of building one, I found myself concerned that if the tank leaked,I'd have myself a little flood. Near where I lived was a quirky little shop that specialized in carnivorous plants,succulents,and bright lamps to cheer up Seattlites during the long winters (although some of my friends commented on how well those lights would work for illicit marijuana plants). I put the two ideas together and built a terrarium. The owner of the Indoor Sun Shoppe sold me special soil and advised me to use distilled water or rain water,since the carnivorous plants prefer acidic soil."

Did any of your plants fail?

"Only now that you asked me did I realize that I did lose one plant! The Drosera capensis is nowhere to be seen! On the other hand, I also have some plants that I didn't when I started. There are a lot of little green grass-like plants and what I think is moss as ground cover. It all appeared on its own."

(MBT Note: It's not uncommon for "new plants" to appear in your terrariums. Sometimes spores or seeds will awaken that have been dormant in your substrate. I've read of mosses and ferns sprouting from the coconut sheets that some people use as backgrounds in aquariums.)

"I had one episode when I dried out the plants. I went away on a three week vacation and figured that if I put the terrarium in a larger tub of water and covered it, the humidity would be enough. It wasn't. The little circular sundew, Drosera spatulata, was particularly unhappy and shrunk a lot. After I returned from my trip and started keeping the terrarium properly moist, it grew back and multiplied. I now have several of those sundews, although none quite as big as the original plant. They grow slowly."

Did you see any one particular plant really thrive?

"I used to have only a single plant bulb (10W, I think). A few months ago, I added a second bulb and saw a big difference. The taller sundew Drosera dichotoma giant, isn't growing as tall anymore, as if it didn't have to try so hard to reach the light. The venus flytrap and pitcher plant have both turned a darker redder color. Usually the flowers grow up up up towards the light and eventually burn themselves to blackness on the bulb, unless I detour them to grow out of the front of the Mac through where the screen used to be."

What kind of reaction did you get from people who saw your terrarium?

"I keep the Mac in my cubicle at work. Most people comment on it when they first walk into my cube. Many ask what's in there. Some are very surprised when I tell them. Most ask how often I feed the plants (never, and they're lucky if they catch one or two flies per year). One man spent 5 minutes telling me about his plants and the local carniverous plant club and when they meet...he was very excited."

(end)

I'd like to thank Ania for taking a few moments out of her schedule to answer these questions about her carnivorous plant terrarium. If you're looking for a project to pass the cold winter days consider doing something like she did. Visit Ania's web page to see more info on the Mac she turned into a terrarium and see photos of the carnivorous plants she chose. If you don't have a lot of space but would like to garden something like this would be a great starter project.

If you're not familiar with the ad campaign from Apple that I mentioned above you can see one of the commercials on YouTube.

Ceropegia Woodii-Air Layering Hack

I guess this method of propagating a Ceropegia Woodii can be described as air layering. Even though you aren't really wounding the plant by making an incision to make it produce roots in a certain spot. Here we're taking advantage of what this plant does naturally if you don't have a lot of confidence in your ability to grow from cuttings.

All I really do is set the tuber that this vine produces in a smaller pot that is filled with soil and I bury it in a little bit. It's important that the tuber you are trying to root isn't move or gets dislocated so anchor it in. Maybe with a piece of twine or a U shaped hook you make out of a paper clip or stakes made from toothpicks. Once I have the pots in a position where I know they won't be disturbed I just start watering the smaller pot as I would the larger plant until I figure that it has started to produce it's own roots in a few weeks or months. You can tug gently on the tuber and if you feel resistance then you know that it has started to produce roots. If it lifts up and you see no roots set it back in the soil and continue to wait a little longer.

Once you have observed the formation of roots in your Ceropegia Wodii you can then snip it off from the parent plant and continue to grow it as an independent plant and transplant to a pot that is one size larger. If you find that your plant looks straggly you can fill it out by wrapping the tendrils along the surface of the pot and allow it to form tubers and root itself. This has to be the easiest way to propagate Ceropegia Woodii because you don't really have to do much once you've gotten to this point other than wait.

If you'd like to read more about this plant based on my experience growing it see this link from my Rate And Review blog.

Citrus Hack: Free Plants From Your Grocer

Another seed starting method that can compliment or be used in place of the Ghetto Greenhouse is the "Baggie Method" if you don't have the space or desire to make seed starters out of plastic soda bottles. This method also saves you money because you don't need soil right away to start and when time comes to transplant your seedlings you can put them in an appropriate size pot. You only need a plastic sandwich bag, some seeds and a paper towel.






The kinds of seeds you can start with this method is really only limited by the variety in your collection or what you can find for sale. In this example I started citrus seeds from a citrus I got from the grocery store.






Once I was done eating this particular citrus I saved the seeds and soaked them for a day or so in a glass of water. When I was ready to sow them using the baggie method I laid them out on a napkin and moistened the napkin with a spray bottle. You want to moisten and not soak your paper napkin to avoid having your seeds get moldy. It's imperative if you're going to start citrus seeds that you sow them immediately because the longer you wait the less your germination ratio will be.







Once I had soaked my citrus seeds overnight and set them on the paper towel which I moistened I folded the napkin in half and set it inside the plastic sandwich bag which I sealed. Then I found a very warm spot for them in my bedroom. Since it's winter I take advantage of the heater we have running and place my seed baggies near a vent. The warmth from the heating vent helps with germination especially in the middle of winter when temps aren't really optimal for seed starting.



After a few days days I checked on my seeds and found that some had started to germinate. Once they get big enough I pot them up into little pots and let them continue to grow until they're big enough to re-pot again. Citrus like a lot of light if they're going to be grown indoors and whenever possible should be allowed to spend Spring and Summer outside.

At this point I should tell you that it will be a number of years before your citrus tree gets big enough for it to flower and fruit. But if you're a patient person or just growing for the fun of it that shouldn't be a problem for you. You can use this method to start a whole collection of citrus trees from seed to grow in your home or yard. Next time you're in the grocery store look for Key Limes, Calamondin Oranges, Kumquats, Mandarins and give them a try. If your store doesn't have a large variety of citrus available check out some of the ethnic grocery stores in your areas and discover a whole new world of fruits and veggies.

If you're not interested in growing citrus from seeds then you can use this method to start any kind of seeds that you are interested in. But I'd suggest sticking with larger seeds because they'll be easier to pick out and transplant into pots when they've sprouted. If you find that your bag retains a lot of moisture while you're waiting for your seeds to sprout open it for a few hours a day and let a little of the excess moisture evaporate.