Plant Processing Procedure & Care
This care sheet is downloadable for easy printing!  Click to download.





In our opinion, processing flora before introducing it to a vivarium is perhaps the #1 most overlooked aspect in vivarium construction today.

What it is, and why we do it:
Plant processing is done for a number of reasons, but the main four reasons for processing are fertilizers, pesticides, pests, and pathogens.  When plants are processed, the goal is to remove all of the potential problems before then can become a nuisance to the vivarium or a danger to it's inhabitants.  While buying from an online terrarium-specific plant supplier helps minimize risk (since most terrarium vendors including us do not use fertilizers or pesticides in-house), the risk is there when you introduce plants from any source.  The issue is, no major online terrarium plant supplier propagates every single plant they sell themselves.  Doing so would require thousands and thousands of feet of greenhouse space, so it's nearly impossible to do properly.  Because of that hard fact, all plants from all sources should always be processed before introducing it to a vivarium to minimize risk and ensure a successful vivarium build.

Introduction & Acclimation:
Getting a plant to acclimate is very important. Once acclimated, it can handle animals disturbing it much better, it looks much nicer, and it'll be generally hardier.  During this period your plant may die back a bit before taking a turn for the better.  This is especially true with moss, selaginella, vines, and climbing plants.  Pay extra attention to watering or misting your plant for the first 2 weeks it's in it’s new environment. We have automated misting and fogging systems in our breeding rooms that never allow moss and other sensitive species to dry out too much. If possible, we suggest using a misting system!  A well taken care of plant should begin to acclimate to it's new environment within 2 weeks.

Humidity:
65-70%+ humidity is what’s best for most of the plants sold for terrarium use, but this can vary. For instance, moss grows much faster in 85-90% humidity - and can survive well in borderline WET conditions. Meanwhile some species of Tillandsias require significantly lower humidity and a significant amount of airflow. It's important to look up individual care info for each species of plant. If in doubt - ask!

Soil:
Straight coconut fiber on the bare floor of a terrarium is not an appropriate growing medium for plants. If you are building a vivarium, a proper drainage layer (hydroton, hydroballs, or false bottom) is necessary. On top of that you'll need a screen separator which would be covered by a vivarium substrate mix. The most common substrate mix is made of coconut fiber, sphagnum moss, orchid bark, treefern fiber, and ground charcoal mixed together. Many vivarium stores (including us) sell premade mixes. That substrate mix should support most types of plants, and is overall safe for most species of animal. If you are housing an insectivore that eats larger terrestrial insects (crickets, dubias, etc) feed insects in a bowl above the substrate to eliminate the risk of impaction.

Lighting:
We use a combination of 6500K and 4700K bulbs per grow table. Automatic 12 hour on, 12 hour off lighting is best. Each plant has a different requirement of brightness, but the color temperature of 6500K is a good "catch all" if you are uncertain. A cheap 6500K light source is a compact fluorescent "day" bulb. These are available on our site and in many home improvement stores, as well. We've found compact fluorescents to give off minimum heat while producing plenty of light for most species of plants. 26W (100W equivalent) has proven to be the industry standard, but if your terrarium is small (10G or less) consider a 75W equivalent to reduce heat & the risk of too much light output burning the plants. Again - if in doubt - feel free to ask us!

Procedure for Non-Sensitive Flora:
If this is the first time you've heard of "bleach treating" vivarium plants, don't be nervous about it! It's a very common, very safe procedure that nearly every responsible vivarium builder uses. This is especially important when buying from “lawn & garden” stores and other non-terrarium plant specific places that could be using pesticides and other harmful chemicals.

Procedure:
1) Bare root the plant (see below)
 2) Soak the plant in straight water (dechlorinated if possible) for an hour or so it absorbs as much as it can.
3) Then submerge the plant in a 5% bleach solution for 3-5 minutes.
(5% bleach solution = 1 1/4 cups bleach per gallon of water)
4) Remove the plant and give it a thorough rinse under a faucet and allow it to dry (leave it out for a few hours at least)
5) Place your freshly processed plant into your vivarium, worry free!

Processing more sensitive flora can be tricky, but for most non-sensitive plants the above solution is fine.  If you are unsure how your plant will react to a bleach solution, test a clipping of it first or ask someone with experience.

Procedure for Non-Sensitive Flora:

Some species of plants are too sensitive to bleach treat.  For most species of Bromeliads (Neoregelias, Tillandsias, Aechmeas, etc) we suggest a heavy rinse and allowing the plant to soak overnight in purified water.  Doing so minimizes the risk of contaminating a vivarium with unwanted microfauna.  Other sensitive species should be carefully bare rooted and closely inspected before adding the plant to a vivarium.

Bare Rooting a Plant:
Don't be nervous about being a bit rough with the plant's roots.  If this is your first time processing plants, they are actually much more resilient to us fussing with roots than you'd think!  Just try to avoid folding and breaking the roots.  The simplest way to bare root a plant is to gently shake the dirt off by hand, then whatever is left can be rinsed off with a quick spray of water under the sink.  If your sink has a nifty spray setting, use it!  You will not cause any lasting damage to your plant by bare rooting it carefully.



If you have any questions at all we're always happy to help!  Email us at meikmail@gmail.com



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