Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted this question on Frognet about a week ago and did not get any bites. Would anyone here like to chime in?

Hello,

For those of you who have planted into your foam backgrounds, what have you done to allow for drainage and/or root expansion? I am at odds over whether or not to plant into the background or simply mount onto it and the wood. Ideally, I would like a combination of both. Granted, some terrestrial plants would do fine without drainage, but I have seen quite a few bromeliads and epiphytic orchids planted into the background. My idea was to puncture the foam several times with a small nail at the bottom of the planting area to allow for drainage, but I am still concerned over the root expansion. Any ideas/suggestions? As always, my thanks in advance.
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David Knight
Tempe, AZ

D. imitator
D. leucomelas
P. terribilis
D. azureus
D. tinctorius (Alanis)

Don't worry about planting it into the foam. When planting bromeliads I usually take a piece of green wire and wrap the roots of a bromeliad in the middle of the wire. Make about two or three wraps. Leave about 3-4 inches of wire on both ends and bend the wire up and then the last inch down. It will take you a bit of practice, but it works great. Then just put the two sharp ends of the wire into the foam and if you did it right the brom. should hang nicely with roots hanging down. This way you don't need to cut into the foam or make soil containers. Take some climbing plants like ficus pumilia and plant it at the bottom of the tank where you actually have soil and it time it will grow up filling your tank.

You're right, broms. and orchids are ephiphitic so their roots are mainly used for grabbing onto things. My plants are doing great without even seeing soil. Granted my humidity is high and on occasion a frog will take a dump into the bromeliad water cup

Orchids I usually hang on a piece of bark or tree fern and then hang the whole thing in the tank.

Below is my tank about a year ago... now the whole thing is completely overgrown. You can't see the wires one bit... now I can actually cut the wires out because the plants hang onto the background by themselves.

This is actually what I was leaning towards doing, mounting the epiphytes onto the background like I would with cork, because I honestly think that root expansion will do a number on the foam/concrete adhesive background once they work their way through them. I still am curious what others who have planted into the background have done in regards to the aforementioned matter.
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David Knight
Tempe, AZ

D. imitator
D. leucomelas
P. terribilis
D. azureus
D. tinctorius (Alanis)

If you want to plant non epiphytes or are worried about the root expansion, why don't you place some planting pots along the background and apply the foam around them. You could also cut out holes in the foam and stuff it with long fiber sphagnum moss and plant in this.
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Updated list as of: 9/17/03
2.2.6 D. azureus
1.2.24 D. ventrimaculatus 'yellow' (16 tads in the water)
1.1 D. tinctorius 'cobalt' (one subadult)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius 'patricia'
1.1 D. auratus 'blue'
0.0.5 D. auratus 'green/black'
0.2 P. aurotaenia
0.0.10 D auratus 'green/bronze' (soon)
0.0.2 D. imitator 'Alex Sens line' (soon)
0.0.2 D. reticulatus (soon)