How to plant live plants?

[ldowney]

So do you just leave the live plants in their pots or how do you plant them?

 

[MissSkittles]

I may overdo it. I take my plants outside and take them down to bare root, usually knocking as much soil as I can off and then using the hose for the rest. I gently clean the leaves only with soapy water (I use Dawn dish soap) and then I rinse, rinse again and just for kicks, rinse again. I repot in a fresh pot with organic soil with some pebbles on the bottom and then it’s ready to use. Some choose to cover the soil with river rocks that are too large to be eaten to prevent their chameleon from eating the soil.
The main thing is to remove any potential fertilizers, pesticides, bird poo or other contaminants from the leaves as your chameleon will be drinking from these. This may help. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/

 

[SteveH]

Some of the plants I use are just as I bought them and others I have repotted them. Regardless of how you do it give them a good thorough rinsing in the shower or garden hose and drain well before use.

 

[Tkrd69]

I may overdo it. I take my plants outside and take them down to bare root, usually knocking as much soil as I can off and then using the hose for the rest. I gently clean the leaves only with soapy water (I use Dawn dish soap) and then I rinse, rinse again and just for kicks, rinse again. I repot in a fresh pot with organic soil with some pebbles on the bottom and then it’s ready to use. Some choose to cover the soil with river rocks that are too large to be eaten to prevent their chameleon from eating the soil.
The main thing is to remove any potential fertilizers, pesticides, bird poo or other contaminants from the leaves as your chameleon will be drinking from these. This may help. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/

Ditto I even thoroughly clean the pot

 

[Multivitamins]

Hitch hikers are REAL

 

[MikeyBen]

Great responses. My success with live plants are, if kept in pots, repot the plant in a larger pot so the roots can grow. Rinsing off the foliage will help remove unwanted pests. Repotting or replanting in enclosures with fresh substrate eliminate pests.

 

[dinomom]

So do you just leave the live plants in their pots or how do you plant them?

I find they do much better if you make a very porous soil. They will be getting "watered" every day and it is easy to get root rot. To the organic potting soil (about 50%) I add charcoal, orchid mix, some akadama and even the clay hydroballs and a bit of large grain sand. The goal is for the soil to be able to drain fast, and this also allows more oxygen to get to the roots.