while not technically bonsai I figure it's close enough

[mr_gourami]

I have a 45 gal tank. 36" long, 24" deep and 12" tall. I thought it could make a cool little landscape bonsai type thing. However I can't find ANYTHING online. The closest thing I have found is two or three places that will sell books on what they call miniature gardening. However I have found no other online guides, wikis, articles, advice on planting a mini garden or mini landscape.

I have seen pictures on google but not any real information. Nothing useful. I wanted to know if anyone knows, has seen, any idea on where to find more information on miniature gardens. How-to's , guides, articles etc??

[bonsaiboy]

There was a book I checked out at my local library called "Miniatures". It talked about naturally occurring dwarf plants, bonsais, and miniature landscaping.

[froggy]

Ages ago I read up on bottle gardens - which is planting inside a (big) bottle without cutting it open of course... now that is miniature gardening

as for your needs, I'd look at bonsai cultivation, since you probably don't want your plants to grow their roots into an entangled mass...
You could just keep the containers inside a bed of gravel or something...
But 12" is really not all that high.

if you search this forum on fish tank and bonsai (or similar terms), you'll find other people have had similar ideas...

The main thing you need to look at is what species to use - If you go with anything but tropicals, you'll need to lug the whole setup outside to provide dormancy.

So I'd go with either tropicals, or cacti - they would actually present less of a hassle root wise, you could just plant them into the medium.

Check out lighting, and you should be fairly set.

Ah, I see why you are having problems with google - change fish tank to terrarium, and there are lots of how to's

https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=terrarium+landscape&aq=f&aqi=g1g-v1&aql=&oq=

[bonsaiboy]

Shoot, I didn't see that you were using a tank! I thought you were talking about a pot (my brain must have stopped).

The first thing you will want for this tank is some form of supplemental lighting. If it is not near a window, the plants will not get enough light, and if it is near a window, they will grow sideways. This lighting can be provided by an aquarium hood with a grow light.

Second is soil. You could probably get away with any kind of soil, but it my vivarium (another name for it) I use coconut soil mixed with sand. I only do this because I have two Coenobita clypeatus crabs in the tank as well.

And as for plants, I've found that bromeliads, mosses, small ferns, tropical butterworts (carnivorous plants), small philodendrons, and orchids do well in these situations, and a nice centerpiece might include a schefflera bonsai planted in/on a rock.

Here is my terrarium garden.

[url=https://img262.imageshack.us/I/terbc.jpg/][img]https://img262.imageshack.us/img262/6676/terbc.th.jpg[/img][/url]

[JTred]

I want one!!!

https://elitechoice.org/2008/01/29/elite-miniature-garden-paula-hayes-reinvents-terrariums/

[img]https://www.unplggd.com/uimages/unplggd/terrarium-bulb-sz-120109.jpg[/img]

[img]https://elitechoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/aquarium.jpg[/img]

[img]https://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.91817338.jpg[/img]

[img]https://www.genomicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/terrarium.jpg[/img]

Any ideas on how to get moss spores in the dead of winter?

[manofthetrees]

my father does this he uses orchids ,ferns,carnivorus plants,rainforest stuff . one thing I know is if you have an inclosed system you need to put a layer of charcoal (fish filter stuff) as a base this provides carbon dioxide into the little atmosphere.

[rainyday]

Do you know what kind of orchid your father used for the enclosed container? I have a Wardian case that I would like to grow an orchid in, but was told the roots would rot due to the high humidity. (I was going to leave it in a gro-pot, tho.) Hope you have some info....