Favorite indoor plant for chameleons
- Thread starter Brad
- Start date
Marc10edora
Avid Member
I really wanted to vote for the hibiscus because there is so many benifits that you get from it, if you own a veiled. But it is really hard to maintain it where I live and it will probably die when winter arrives. So I voted for the ficus because it is low maintanance and is very hardy all year round.
FaunaBgirl
New Member
Fractal had pothos first. He started to eat it.and it wasn't "bushy" enough after a while. We changed to the scheflera. He was not happy with that. He got a huge bushy ficas and he LOVES it! The ficus is growing more too.
I would use pothos for babies if I had them. Then graduate them just like I did Fractal. But what I really want now is hibiscus! I'll bet Fractal does too!
I would use pothos for babies if I had them. Then graduate them just like I did Fractal. But what I really want now is hibiscus! I'll bet Fractal does too!
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
I wish you all could come to my plant sale tomorrow!
I have about 25 3 to 4 foot hibiscus that I'm selling for $15 ea, along
with a ton of other great stuff.
Yes, yet another business of mine.
This time of year I am very busy planting for people (why you haven't
seen me around much lately).
I have accounts with all the wholesalers here and am able to get some really great plants!
By the way, my favorite for the cham enclosure is scheffelara (sp? errr!)
I have trouble keeping hibiscus in there (the lights all wrong.....they are full sun plants).
I'll post pics of my outside gardens soon. I do my best to create tropical
environments in Colorado and it works for about 1/2 the year.
Anyone have rose bushes in their enclosure?
Also a problem where lighting is concerned but if you get that right it is a safe and very sturdy option.
-Brad
I have about 25 3 to 4 foot hibiscus that I'm selling for $15 ea, along
with a ton of other great stuff.
Yes, yet another business of mine.
This time of year I am very busy planting for people (why you haven't
seen me around much lately).
I have accounts with all the wholesalers here and am able to get some really great plants!
By the way, my favorite for the cham enclosure is scheffelara (sp? errr!)
I have trouble keeping hibiscus in there (the lights all wrong.....they are full sun plants).
I'll post pics of my outside gardens soon. I do my best to create tropical
environments in Colorado and it works for about 1/2 the year.
Anyone have rose bushes in their enclosure?
Also a problem where lighting is concerned but if you get that right it is a safe and very sturdy option.
-Brad
Marc10edora
Avid Member
Brad,
If I were to get the basking light shining down right on my hibiscus plant, would it do better in the cage? I really want to try and keep it semi-alive during the winter. I wish I could make it to the sale. So far I haven't been able to find any hibiscus trees. Just plants. One plant I bought at a nursery cost me $15!!
If I were to get the basking light shining down right on my hibiscus plant, would it do better in the cage? I really want to try and keep it semi-alive during the winter. I wish I could make it to the sale. So far I haven't been able to find any hibiscus trees. Just plants. One plant I bought at a nursery cost me $15!!
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
For Hibiscus...the more light the better!
-Brad
-Brad
FaunaBgirl
New Member
I've tried pothos and the umbrella plant. He likes the big ficus and we are both happy now. We would like to try hibiscus... but this vote goes for FICUS, so far.
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
I think Hibiscus work best if you have more than one plant and can trade them out every couple of weeks or so.
They need to go outside or into a really sunny spot in the house if they are going to thrive.
This is a plant that I recommend for clients who have really hot full sun spots where everything else burns up.
Hibiscus like it hot and very sunny....so they can only take being in a cham enclosure in the house for a short period.
Same with rose bushes and bouganvilla.
-Brad
They need to go outside or into a really sunny spot in the house if they are going to thrive.
This is a plant that I recommend for clients who have really hot full sun spots where everything else burns up.
Hibiscus like it hot and very sunny....so they can only take being in a cham enclosure in the house for a short period.
Same with rose bushes and bouganvilla.
-Brad
Kind of situation-specific.
My indoor panther cages are stuffed with both hanging pothos and schefflera plants, but for all the reasons mentioned (holding water, sturdy branches) the schefflera is by fare the important. It is, alas, also much loved by scale and thus the source of endless battles with ants, per the other thread on ants.
The outdoor enclosure has a smaller scheflerra and a big ficus that splays across the top, providing good dappled canopy for 3/4 of the cage and nice "drippage" over one end of the highest perch. My Jacksons also much preferred the ficus, which makes sense given his natural home, and my baby cham appreciates those fine branches to grip. The variegated ones are very pretty, too.
If I had to pick one, its the schefflera I wouldn't be without.
Brad...I'm also a huge rose addict (about 140 +/- modern and antique shrubs blooming their heads off in my yard right now), but I'd never thought to include one in my cham cage. You'd be thinking about organically grown thornless plants, I assume? Hard to do here....
My indoor panther cages are stuffed with both hanging pothos and schefflera plants, but for all the reasons mentioned (holding water, sturdy branches) the schefflera is by fare the important. It is, alas, also much loved by scale and thus the source of endless battles with ants, per the other thread on ants.
The outdoor enclosure has a smaller scheflerra and a big ficus that splays across the top, providing good dappled canopy for 3/4 of the cage and nice "drippage" over one end of the highest perch. My Jacksons also much preferred the ficus, which makes sense given his natural home, and my baby cham appreciates those fine branches to grip. The variegated ones are very pretty, too.
If I had to pick one, its the schefflera I wouldn't be without.
Brad...I'm also a huge rose addict (about 140 +/- modern and antique shrubs blooming their heads off in my yard right now), but I'd never thought to include one in my cham cage. You'd be thinking about organically grown thornless plants, I assume? Hard to do here....
Kent67
Retired Moderator
I voted schefflera because they and pothos are the only plants i can keep alive indoors. I've been told the reason ficus drop their leaves and die indoors is because I (we) water them too much. The same amount of water, or more, outside and they do fine though. Go figure. Schefflera is strong and has good stems for perching. Outside, I would still go for ficus as my favorite though.
FaunaBgirl
New Member
Home depot has some good prices on some nice bushy schefflera. 12-13 dollars. Buy one and trade it for the one you want. That's what I'm going to do at my neighborhood PG&E office.
PukaKeha
New Member
alan23
New Member
use guys r lucky to get so cheap plants.is so exspensive over here i paid 15 pound for my pothos and 11 for my ficus they both good i think bt as i aint got my cham yet i cnt really vote as the lights aint on em bt if had to i think the pothos at mo love the big leafs and looks good fun for the cham to climb round all day.am thinking of getting a 3 to 4 foot umbrealla for my room to put him on when cleaning his cage shud b cool
Leothelion07
New Member
Plants
I voted for the potho because that's all I have in there at the moment.. I've been searching around for a large pot to plant the potho along with another plant.. I glad to see all the responses.. It looks like the ficus is the plant of choice... but what about bamboo plant??
So then the enclosure would have a potho, possible ficus, and a bamboo plant.. I think it would look really cool... but I'm not sure on the affects of the 3 plants combined into 1 pot... What are your thoughts??
I'm new to this forum, I've had my New Panther "Leo" for not even a month now... I'm still very excited to have him.. I call him my new dog from Madagascar!!
thanks for the responses,
Beau
I voted for the potho because that's all I have in there at the moment.. I've been searching around for a large pot to plant the potho along with another plant.. I glad to see all the responses.. It looks like the ficus is the plant of choice... but what about bamboo plant??
So then the enclosure would have a potho, possible ficus, and a bamboo plant.. I think it would look really cool... but I'm not sure on the affects of the 3 plants combined into 1 pot... What are your thoughts??
I'm new to this forum, I've had my New Panther "Leo" for not even a month now... I'm still very excited to have him.. I call him my new dog from Madagascar!!
thanks for the responses,
Beau
Will Hayward
New Member
Bamboo in other pots is fine, however unless in a significantly large pot, or away from the roots of another, I'd not suggest planting pothos. It thrives with moisture and could absorbe too much needed for the second plant.
chameleon76
New Member
Yesterday I bought a varigated shuffelera at loews for 9.99 and its about 2.5ft tall they also had larger ones for same price.Besides pothos I buy most of my larger indoor plants/trees at end of season they are cheeper and need a little work but some good deals that time of year.I dont currently use them but have in the past. Hybiscus would be my favorite, alot of benifits to using them.They need bright hot conditions.Does anyone know if the relative of the tropical hybiscus, the rose of sharon is just as safe as hybiscus.Anyhow great topic!!!
Kevin
Chameleon76
Kevin
Chameleon76
alchemy
Established Member
I just took out my hisbiscus because the leaves were falling at a fast rate (had it in for about 4 months)....not enough light in the cage, so it'll stay outdoors until the branches are full again. In the meantime, Im using a hanging pothos, and a schefflera...pretty dense in there and I might just leave it like that if all goes well
Jim
Jim
Ren
New Member
I voted pothos, I originally had a ficus in my enclosure which they liked and climbed readily, however when i built new much bigger enclosure they got a new umbrella tree... they love it, and since then i added a golden pothos, which they are able to hide in and cant get along without now... I found a really kewl planter that laid flat against a wall in a half circle so it fit well into the enclosure without hanging from the ceiling on the cage but off the back wall.... they dig it a lot...
