"This is one of the few creative things that turned out even better than I imagined!"

The story....

It began with a call to Black Jungle Terrarium Supply. I had seen their ads in Reptile and Amphibian for as long as I've received it and always wanted to call, but just never got around to it.. I ordered the $9.95 Tillandsia air plants sampler pack and a neoregalia fireball bromeliad. A friend of ours bought us a natural sponge with air plants as a souvenir from Florida. They bloomed and reproduced despite our lack of attention and use of tap water (big no-no!), so I figured these new species would make an interesting addition to our living window sponge.

When the package arrived, it was immediately torn open. I was amazed at the difference in the plants included. Previously, I had assumed that there were only a couple species of air plants and that they were pretty much the same.

WRONG!

The beauty of the plants planted the seed of an idea. The vision of these plants nestled together on a mostly dead tree in the middle of a rainforest came over me, so I left for work early and stopped by a pet shop to look at their driftwood. They had a nice selection, but the sanded driftwood just didn't do it for me.

Then, a piece of wellaby wood called to me from the top shelf. It was absolutely perfect! The exact thing for which I was searching!

It was also $26!

Having never known about wellaby wood before I didn't know that it is an expensive wood to begin with, let alone the high price that it commends by being in a local pet shop. I called Richard at Black Jungle to ask him if they carry it and what his thoughts were. He said the price was a little high, but not too awfully bad and that the wellaby would probably fit my master design better. Wellaby is hard to come by, the supply isn't reliable and it tends to dry up. He gave me a few tips on mounting the plants and suggested that I ask them if the price was right when I went back the next day.

That morning I received my long awaited $15 rebate check from Maxell, so I figured it must be a sign. When I asked them about the price, it was indeed mismarked and should read $21.95. Well, that cinched it. The wood and I drove off into the noon sun to start our life together.

My wife and I stared at the wood and the bowl full of plants. Ten minutes later the plan was in place and I went to borrow a friend's Dremel tool. Wellaby is an extremely hard wood and it took close to twenty minute to drill and route the three holes that were needed. The sawdust is incredibly fine and powder like. I dumped it all in the same pile for use later. A little dab of hot glue cooled for ten seconds, then the plant was affixed. This was followed by silicone to permenantly mount the plants. Any silicone that oozed into sight was covered with the previously saved sawdust to camoflage the unnatrual appearance. After about 40 minutes worth of work, it was finished. We were both very pleased with the result.

I've attempted to identify the plants. Those of which I'm not certain are denoted with a question mark. The other two, I'm only moderately sure of. :-) If you think the pics should link to larger versions, let me know. It can be done, but no sense doing it if no one's interested.

This type of piece is suitable for any terrarium or vivarium that does not contain plant eating lizards. It's also probably not suitable for snakes, since their climbing would dislodge or damage the plants.

Plant care

Tillandsias get all of their nutrients and moisture from the air. They have special grey colored cells called trichromes that trap bits of dust for minerals and droplets of water for moisture and hold it close to the surface of the plant for absorption. They require misting once a week with distilled water. The chemicals and minerals in tap water can clog the surface of the plant and turn it a chalky color. Be sure your plants dry out completely between mistings. For more information, see Black Jungle's webpage.

Materials List

  1. Five Tillandsia plants:
    • t. aeranthos
    • t.albertiana
    • t.tenuifolia
    • t.ionantha
    • t.bergeri
  2. One large piece of wellaby wood
  3. Dow Corning Aquarium Sealant
  4. Hot glue gun
  5. Dremel Tool

Final Here's the final result! Pretty nice, eh? (The picture isn't that great.)

Ionantha Ionantha

Aeranthos Aeranthos

Albertiana Albertiana

Bergeri Bergeri

/ Tenuifolia Tenuifolia

If you're interested, you can visit the vendors of this project at Black Jungle Terrarium Supply and Dremel Moto Tool.

For more information, check out the Bromeliad Society International's webpage.

If you have any questions, send mail

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