Garter terrarium

[RAD House]

Originally Posted by TRD

Looking good. Happy snakes

I like live plants in terra. I have only arid/desert species so getting plants to thrive and tolerate a snake using it as it's basking spot can be challenging. Though I had a lot of success with Elephant Bush (Portulacaria afra) lately... it's actually growing very nicely under warm and dry conditions. Prior to it I tried Crassula Ovata, but it just couldn't manage the light and temperatures unfortunately and started to drop leaves. Most other Succulents seem to not like the conditions in 1 way or another either, mostly related to the inhabitants and/or they stay low and add little to the terra as such...

I am actual having issues getting a elephant plant to grow in my office right now. I seem to have no luck with succulents. I also was looking to set up a desert bioactive enclosure for my milk/king mix, but have given up on that for now.

[TRD]

Originally Posted by MesoCorney

I am actual having issues getting a elephant plant to grow in my office right now. I seem to have no luck with succulents. I also was looking to set up a desert bioactive enclosure for my milk/king mix, but have given up on that for now.

The elephant bush actually does like water, I water mine every 4 days (and spray it slightly every 2 days) and good temperatures (~27 C-ish). At that temp my RH is around 30% and after watering hits about 40-45%. Mine is under full, fake, sunshine (full spectrum LED, which is actually quite powerful) and it grows like crazy. The soil has to drain fast, mines 30-40% sand mix with some cactus potting soil without fertilizer. If the soil retains too much water, you kill the roots with giving it water because they rot away. If it's too cold, the plant shouldn't get any water. You can see on the leaves - if they wrinkle a little you need to increase the frequency of watering (f.e. if giving every 7 days, increase to 6). Do not soak the plant, just increase frequency.

Most people state not to water the plant and let it dry out between watering, keep out of direct light, and so on. This never worked well for me. It comes from Africa, it should be hot and sunny.

I have 2 of them in my MBK terra.