Last year, I discovered Crematogaster scutellaris ants on the cork I purchased for my new Tall Orchidarium. Crematogaster scutellaris ants are known as acrobat ants, but these ants are found in many different countries, so they’re bound to have many other common names, too. With their distinctive amber coloured heads and pointed abdomens, these ants are easy to identify.
I’m currently in the process of setting up a new terrarium, which is very exciting! Don’t worry, I’ll take you on a tour of my new Tall Orchidarium in due course. However, today I wanted to tell you about something unexpected that happened to me, while I was gathering together the materials for this new enclosure.
If you’re setting up a terrarium, vivarium, or bottle garden, and you’re looking for miniature orchids to add to your indoor garden, you may find that it is not always easy to tell which orchids are truly miniature and which aren’t.
Many orchids that are sold as miniatures are miniature sized when they are young, but as they grow and develop, many of these plants will soon outgrow a traditionally sized terrarium or bottle garden.
I so enjoy growing miniature, epiphytic orchids. When I am mounting epiphytic orchids, usually I use cork bark as a mount, although sometimes I will use other woods to mount my orchids, it all depends on which orchid I am growing, and what materials I have.
I hope this information will help you, if you’re mounting epiphytic orchids onto cork bark or other wood, or if you’d just like to learn more about these diverse and interesting plants.
A terrarium or bottle garden can be a beautiful feature in your home. Terrariums can look spectacular when planted with your favourite plants that are suited to growing in a humid environment, and often need no adornment, but you may wish to enhance your planting using a piece of wood or bark, some decorative stones or crystals, or even a specially chosen ornament.
