# Living plants



## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

If I was to start selling these would there be a market for them?

Of course I would be growing plants that are safe for animals, things like bromeliads, grasses, ferns and such.

Just wondering if anyone would be interested in such plants?

If so, what size would be most sellable?

Cheers

Jake


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## makeitandskateit (Jun 15, 2008)

I've always struggled in the past to get a plant that would look good in a terrarium without taking it out of the pot, and when I have taken it out of the pot it never takes to the soil well.
Has this affected anyone else or am I just a crap gardener?


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

If they have soil they should be fine whether in or out the pot. What kind of plants are you talking about?


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

OK, I have just have a browse around and come up with a quick list of plants i would be growing. I am trying to go for more unusual plants.

Bromeliads ( different ones cos everyone needs a brom  )
Grasses ( nicely coloured ones such as blues, reds and maybe even black )
Ferns ( a selection for all the tropical, humid lovers  )
a variety or climbers and hanging plants, suitable for several viv set ups.
mosses ( hopefully 5 - 6 different species of moss  )
and a selection of various foliage plants, ones that have stripes, spots, veins, and maybe some that move such as fly traps, prayer plants and sensitive plants.

All plants would be posted bare root ( no soil ) and packaged securely and arrive with care sheets specific to the plants purchased.


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## top chef (May 15, 2009)

i wouldnt know the best plants that can take the heat so wouls be a great help


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

the two major factors as to whether a plant will survive are heat and humidity. 

Cacti love heat but hate humid climates, whereas some other plants love humid wet climates that aren't too hot.

If you would like to PM me with your viv temp and humidity levels I'm sure I can suggest a few plants suitable to your vivarium climate.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Anyone interested in real plants for vivs?


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## keeno (Feb 16, 2009)

YES! definitely! dartfrog.co.uk are really big for this type of thing so if you wanted to you would have to compete with thier prices. also they are bollocks!!! i ordered stuff about a week and a half - 2 weeks ago and they havent sent me my stuff! im livid! but if you wanted to go for it i reckon there is plenty of room in the market. After hours of browsing the net i didnt find anything really other than dartfrog and ebay.


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## bananatim (Apr 16, 2009)

I would be very interested in live plants for my new CWD viv set up keep us updated


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

I did have a look at dartfrog site and must say, they have a nice selection but mine will be cheaper as I will be growing from seed. I would think dartfrog just buy in bulk or straight from supplier as plants and then re-sell.


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## jamesthornton (Nov 24, 2008)

I'm pretty interested. I'm wanting to do a live setup (or atleast live plants and moss) for a crestie viv. 

I think you'd make a lot if you made a guide or gave instructions on how to make it fully live.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

jamesthornton said:


> I'm pretty interested. I'm wanting to do a live setup (or atleast live plants and moss) for a crestie viv.
> 
> I think you'd make a lot if you made a guide or gave instructions on how to make it fully live.


Thanks, I would probably start with 10-20 different plant species and work from there. And like said, a care sheet specific to the plants ordered would be provided along with each order.

I will post some pics of plants I would be hopefully starting with just so everyone can have a look


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## Darbz (Mar 22, 2009)

keeno said:


> YES! definitely! dartfrog.co.uk are really big for this type of thing so if you wanted to you would have to compete with thier prices. also they are bollocks!!! i ordered stuff about a week and a half - 2 weeks ago and they havent sent me my stuff! im livid! but if you wanted to go for it i reckon there is plenty of room in the market. After hours of browsing the net i didnt find anything really other than dartfrog and ebay.


Have you contacted Dartfrog? He is on this site or contactable through his website and is normally very good, and has a very good reputation...he is moving premesis at the moment too so there could be a delay due to that.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Yes I'd definitely be interested!


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

OK, Iv been looking around the net and I now have a rough idea of what plants I will be growing ( hopefully ), they are as follows.

_Ophiopogon Planiscapus Nigrescens_( Black Grass )
_Festuca Blaufuchs _( Blue Grass )
_Ficus decora _( Rubber Tree Plant )
_Mimosa pudica_( Sensitive Plant )
_Dionaea muscipula_ ( Venus Fly Trap )
_Orthophytum Gurkenii_ ( Bromeliad )


That's a few to start with. There will be others when I find some decent ones


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## jamesthornton (Nov 24, 2008)

The 2 Grasses and the Sensitive Plant look gorgeous.

Will you be doing any mosses?


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

If I can get hold of any spores to grow them then yes, aswel as a few nice ferns  

The sensitive plant closes its leaves when touched


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

I think it would be great if you could provide growing advice on the plants aswell and perhaps group them into "easy to grow" "difficult" etc for those of us the suck at growing live plants. Like me.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Hopefully they will be sorted into the types of climate needed, such as desert, rainforest and such then colour marked for easy of growing


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> Hopefully they will be sorted into the types of climate needed, such as desert, rainforest and such then colour marked for easy of growing


Fantastic!


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## Javeo (May 4, 2008)

What would be great is if you could get a collection of plants that stay very small. The problem I have is that most plants available grow very large and need constant pruning. Also some type of carpeting plant would be great.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Javeo said:


> What would be great is if you could get a collection of plants that stay very small. The problem I have is that most plants available grow very large and need constant pruning. Also some type of carpeting plant would be great.


I'll look into "dwarf" and small creeping carpeters then


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## Javeo (May 4, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> I'll look into "dwarf" and small creeping carpeters then


I will love you forever!


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## jamesthornton (Nov 24, 2008)

What you could also do, similar to dartfrog, is make a box up of plants and moss. This could be done as a starter kit, and you could sell them for standard viv sizes.

Also, the customer could supply what animal is being kept, and you could mix up the plants for that certain environment.

I know i'd buy a tropical/rainforest one for my crestie


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## Jim2109 (Mar 30, 2009)

id potentially be interested. some colourful flowering plants would be good, greens are pretty easy to come by, most garden centres sell ficus, dracaenas, bamboo, etc. 

this is one of the best online shops ive come by in terms of the range they offer. never bought anything from them though exotic plants


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

I didn't think they would be this popular  I love the idea about "boxes" for specific environments so I will look into this idea more 

Also, no need to love me forever  just the day is fine 

The flowering plants would need to be looked into more. I have looked at that site before and they seem to be kind of high priced for what you get.


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## bomb (Nov 13, 2007)

I'd be interested, Dartfrog is good but they need competition and I'm sure you'd be a worthy competitor. I quite regularly buy plants for my Green Tree's viv.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

bomb said:


> I'd be interested, Dartfrog is good but they need competition and I'm sure you'd be a worthy competitor. I quite regularly buy plants for my Green Tree's viv.


thanks . my dad has been helping me find the best suppliers and between us we have over 70 years experience in horticulture  I'm sure we can come up with something


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

I'm thinking of about 5-6 plants per "box"

Other ideas welcome  I want to provide the best for you and your pets viv


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## Jim2109 (Mar 30, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> I have looked at that site before and they seem to be kind of high priced for what you get.


yeh, that was my thoughts as well. hoping you can come up with something cheaper :whistling2:


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Should be fairly easy to make my plants cheaper.P&P will be cheaper as they will be posted bare root ( no compost ) so lighter. They wont be huge, but I think something that will fill a 3" pot should be big enough and quite quick . They might be grow to order so they don't get too big and become a waste ( I haven't worked that bit out yet )


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Just having another hunt and have a few more plants to add to the list 

Tradescantia andersonia
Solenostemon ( Coleus ) ( various ones )

I will also be doing a selection of alpine plants such as sedums and semperviviums which are suitable for all those nooks and crannies in fake rock builds


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## Astritos (Feb 7, 2009)

Will you be getting any Chinese Plants that live around ponds?
Thanks

Dan


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Astritos said:


> Will you be getting any Chinese Plants that live around ponds?
> Thanks
> 
> Dan


Sorry, I am not sure what you mean by "Chinese plants". Do you mean plants that come from china?


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## Astritos (Feb 7, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> Sorry, I am not sure what you mean by "Chinese plants". Do you mean plants that come from china?


Yeah,

I'm looking for any small Chinese Plants that live near small ponds or rivers.

Dan


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

and I'm guessing you keep CWD's?

I will have to look into that area a bit more and see. 

I will be posting a full(ish) list of what plants I will be growing tomorrow after so research tonight, but if there's any plants anyone specially wants let me know and I will look into it


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## Astritos (Feb 7, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> and I'm guessing you keep CWD's?
> 
> I will have to look into that area a bit more and see.
> 
> I will be posting a full(ish) list of what plants I will be growing tomorrow after so research tonight, but if there's any plants anyone specially wants let me know and I will look into it


Yes i have CWDs.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Astritos said:


> Yes i have CWDs.


If you could let me know what kind of plants your looking for, climbers, foliage, aquatic etc and I will have a look and see what I can find for your needs.


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## Astritos (Feb 7, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> If you could let me know what kind of plants your looking for, climbers, foliage, aquatic etc and I will have a look and see what I can find for your needs.


I'm looking for just realy small Plants, things that grow near the Waters edge. Thats the only way i can explain sorry. lol
Not sure about climbers unless there small and slow growing.
Thanks

Dan


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Astritos said:


> I'm looking for just realy small Plants, things that grow near the Waters edge. Thats the only way i can explain sorry. lol
> Not sure about climbers unless there small and slow growing.
> Thanks
> 
> Dan


I'll look into some possibles tonight


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## Astritos (Feb 7, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> I'll look into some possibles tonight


Ok great looking forward to what you find.

Dan


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Right, just thought I would update and keep everyone informed.

the only Chinese plant for water that I have found is the Chinese lotus but that requires to be submersed in water and needs full sun. I will look for marginal plants from china later.

On the other plants, still no luck finding moss so I'm still looking. I'm also having a few small problems getting all my seeds from the same supplier but will have a better look later.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

I may just sell different plants as and when I have them. I mean list each for species sale separately instead of having to grow lots at one time. 

I will have to brainstorm this idea more.


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## Jim2109 (Mar 30, 2009)

personally id take requests now from people, start growing lots of those plants (as many as you have the capacity to grow). once they are at a saleable size then list them for sale and inform the people who originally showed interest. lots of people who showed interest will fail to follow through (its always the way), but youll have other people lining up for stuff.

once you sell that stuff and start to grow more just gauge interest again on what people are after. there will always be people that want to buy the common/obvious stuff, and there will always be people that want to buy reptile safe live plants. sources at reasonable prices are few and far between.

i cant see you not selling them, so unless the seeds cost a fortune you might as well just start growing some common stuff straight away (if seeds are super expensive then obviously you might be more hesitant to grow things that may not sell). you cant please everyone all of the time, so i wouldnt worry hugely about doing things specifically to order, it will probably just complicate things.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Jim2109 said:


> personally id take requests now from people, start growing lots of those plants (as many as you have the capacity to grow). once they are at a saleable size then list them for sale and inform the people who originally showed interest. lots of people who showed interest will fail to follow through (its always the way), but youll have other people lining up for stuff.
> 
> once you sell that stuff and start to grow more just gauge interest again on what people are after. there will always be people that want to buy the common/obvious stuff, and there will always be people that want to buy reptile safe live plants. sources at reasonable prices are few and far between.
> 
> i cant see you not selling them, so unless the seeds cost a fortune you might as well just start growing some common stuff straight away (if seeds are super expensive then obviously you might be more hesitant to grow things that may not sell). you cant please everyone all of the time, so i wouldnt worry hugely about doing things specifically to order, it will probably just complicate things.


Thanks for that Jim.

I now have a list of 26 or so different plants which I will be growing at some point of another providing I can get the seeds for them. So it will be only about one or two plants off the list at any one time.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Now that I have the list of plants I'm hopefully going to be doing I thought I'd post them up and see if people had any preferences so I know which order to grow them in. :2thumb:
_
Ophiopogon Planiscapus Nigrescens
Festuca Blaufuchs
Ficus decora
Ficus pumila
Codiaeum variegatum
Maranta
Senecio mikanioides
Tradescantia zebrina
Tradescantia pallida 
Asplenium nidus
Asplenium ceterach
Sansevieria trifasciata
Sempervivum tectorum
Sempervivum arachnoideum
Sedum rubrotinctum
Sedum cauticola
Mimosa pudica
Drosera Capensis
Adiantum Venustum
Pilea cadierei
Fittonia albivenis
Schefflera elegantissima
Dionaea muscipula_

Please use google if you wish to know what each looks like.

There will be others at a later date including bromeliads which are not on this list.


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## Jim2109 (Mar 30, 2009)

had a search for pictures, so thought i may as well share them directly to save everyone else searching too...

Ophiopogon Planiscapus Nigrescens	









Festuca Blaufuchs	









Ficus decora	









Ficus pumila	









Codiaeum variegatum	









Maranta	









Senecio mikanioides	









Tradescantia zebrina	









Tradescantia pallida	









Asplenium nidus	









Asplenium ceterach	









Sansevieria trifasciata	









Sempervivum tectorum	









Sempervivum arachnoideum


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## Jim2109 (Mar 30, 2009)

Sedum rubrotinctum 









Sedum cauticola 









Mimosa pudica 









Drosera Capensis 









Adiantum Venustum 









Pilea cadierei 









Fittonia albivenis 









Schefflera elegantissima 









Dionaea muscipula


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Wow, lol Thanks Jim


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## arthur cooke (Jan 22, 2008)

Hi, good luck to your venture.

It's as well to remember that variegated plants need much more light than all green ones.

Grasses will generally need more light,full sun, because most grasses grow in the open.

Mimosa, is a difficult plant, you wouldn't be able to send it bare root, especially when It's young as it hates root disturbance. It's another that needs quite bright light.

I don't know if anyone has ever had a beam of sunlight shine into their viv but the difference between that and the average viv light, It's quite dramatic.
To even approach full sunlight would require using an HID bulb and they get really hot and aren't really possible in an average size viv, just to give an example, my 8ft x 8ft x 3ft, required one 400w HPS and two 150w mercury vapour and I had mainly shade loving plants in there. 

Growlights are fine for seedling and shade lovers and if it were me I'd stick to shade loving plants.

Also I'd be a bit careful with ferns, many grow in deep shade but deep shade is a great deal cooler and your average tropical viv would be too hot.

Have you considered cost, because most would need to grow at tropical temps and humidity all year round, very big heating bill.

Broms, difficult to grow from seed, best grown as pups, when broms flower, that's it, they die,before they do they grow little broms from the side. If conditions are right. Watering the pups is difficult because you mustn't get water in their centres, this stops the flower shoot and they grow, whats called blind.

Talking of flowers, I'd look for plants that flower on day length or night length as it's easy to adjust the lights but avoid plants that use red and far red to flower.

Hope that's been a bit helpful.
cheers arthur.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

About the brom watering, it really depends what type brom it is.

I haven't classified them yet, but once done I will be grouping them in terms of needs.

Costs are not a problem as I will only be growing a few at any one time and will all be started in my propagator.

Thanks for your post though.


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## Javeo (May 4, 2008)

What about helaxine as a carpeting plant? Or any other such tropical?


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## arthur cooke (Jan 22, 2008)

That's the babies tears mentioned earlier.
cheers arthur.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Javeo said:


> What about helaxine as a carpeting plant? Or any other such tropical?


If I can get hold of some seeds then yes otherwise I will find something similar for you


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## Javeo (May 4, 2008)

I actually have alot growing in my garden, and somein my leucomelas viv but I cant get it to stay compact, hence looking for something else to try


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Your best bet would just be alot of pruning  Unless you find a specially bred compact variety


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## Javeo (May 4, 2008)

Its compact in the garden, like a mat! I think it needs more light then I have,perhaps a new set upis in order to test this...


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

probably more the heat than the lighting. Is it growing the same as outside only bigger or is it kind of "leggy" trying to reach the light?


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## Javeo (May 4, 2008)

Yea its very leggy in the viv. Strange as I can get sphagnum moss to grow well and lower down in the same viv!


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Javeo said:


> Yea its very leggy in the viv. Strange as I can get sphagnum moss to grow well and lower down in the same viv!


yeah, it will be due to the lighting in the viv , or lack of it  

Moss is different and doesn't require as much light so will be fine in vivs.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

OK, Slight edit. Still not sure yet but will probably more likely be doing the plants that can be found on the following link as well as some of the ones on here. Please let me know which ones you would like so I can get a rough idea for seed orders and such.

Plants will be sent bare root to minimise P&P 

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/spiders-inverts/164875-planted-terraria-vivaria.html


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## geo123 (Feb 19, 2007)

hello am looking for plants that would work in a hot humid mesh viv it will be 24x24x48 so would like a few quite big 1s and nice colours is posssible could u pm me with a list that would be right for me and with prices thanks.


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## lizardkid (Dec 30, 2008)

Snowgoose, not sure if you have one already (I didnt read all of the thread) but you may want to set up a website. Try using webs.com, its free, and you can add a shop to the site. Anyway, I love the idea, as people have been saying dartfrog seems like the only online shop selling a good selection of live plants.

Someone mentioned an idea of boxes for certain habitats. You could also do boxes for certain places (eg Africa, China, etc) or certain species of reptile (eg leopard gecko, water dragon, etc)


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

No website yet, as this is still only on the "drawing board" just to see how much interest there would be. I will have a website once I have sorted everything out.


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## Josh-sama (Sep 26, 2008)

A great business idea. Go for it!
If you need a cheap website built. Hit me up 


If you could send the plants with an option of potted/not. Would begood for variety. Also possibly sell bags of non-toxin soil to fit the plant, so the customer can fit the viv up with the substrate which will help the plant thrive.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Thanks for the website offer but I am able to do that myself 

Also the problem with offering potted or not and also soils is that the P&P would be considerably more due to the weight. That's why I will be doing bare root only if I can or smaller sized plants with pots


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## Josh-sama (Sep 26, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> Thanks for the website offer but I am able to do that myself
> 
> Also the problem with offering potted or not and also soils is that the P&P would be considerably more due to the weight. That's why I will be doing bare root only if I can or smaller sized plants with pots


Oh ahah, nice. Will be having high expectations for you site haha!
And yeah, you'd want to charge different rates anyway. 

Very much good luck with this!


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Hopefully I will only be changing one flat rate per order.

The website wont be anything great but if I can I'm going to go for a nice flash based site  Along with the plants are going to be my green food mats, my selection of ornamental grasses and the inverts im working on


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## MARK.D (Oct 18, 2008)

Heres a couple of sites that supply plants for dart frog set ups. 
E.N.T. Terrarientechnik - Terrarienpflanzen

Ben's Jungle Online-Shop


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## paulab (Mar 26, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> Thanks for the website offer but I am able to do that myself
> 
> Also the problem with offering potted or not and also soils is that the P&P would be considerably more due to the weight. That's why I will be doing bare root only if I can or smaller sized plants with pots


If some plants need soil, could you not just put some in a plastic bag with a band round, it wouldn't be as heavy as a pot.So cheaper p&p?
Sounds like a great idea, how are you getting on with it ?


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

paulab said:


> If some plants need soil, could you not just put some in a plastic bag with a band round, it wouldn't be as heavy as a pot.So cheaper p&p?
> Sounds like a great idea, how are you getting on with it ?


 Slow very slow. Waiting for some cash first


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## paulab (Mar 26, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> Slow very slow. Waiting for some cash first


Start small, buy one pk of seeds grow sell on, buy more with your profit and build yourself up. Rome wasn't built in a day:lol2:


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

paulab said:


> Start small, buy one pk of seeds grow sell on, buy more with your profit and build yourself up. Rome wasn't built in a day:lol2:


Thats the plan, but my green food mats are coming first then the profit from them will be funding these plants


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