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My first wabi kusa w/ step by step pics!

14K views 46 replies 15 participants last post by  rocksmom 
#1 · (Edited)
Earlier this week I won an extremely generous RAOK from pweifan which included everything needed to make a wabi kusa. Here you can see all the supplies he sent. My only contributions were a few stems, thread, and some black flourite I had leftover.



Then I just followed his steps he posted in his wabi kusa journal. First was forming the ball and covering it in sphagnum moss. I only used about 2/3 of the clay because I was afraid it wouldn't fit in the bowl. I think it turned out to be a nice size:



Next was the moss, tied with cotton thread:



All planted:



In it's home, misted, and watered:



Sorry for the glare. I'll have to put something dark under it the next time I get a picture. Right now I have it sitting next to my 12 long with my reading lamp above it (13w cfl):



I'll post pictures in a week or so to show how the plants are doing. For those curious, here's the list:


  • Peacock moss
  • Hydrocotyle sp. Japan
  • Glossostigma elatinoides
  • Ludwigia sp.
  • Bacopa Caroliniana
  • Rotala Mini Butterfly
 
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#35 ·
Awesome awesome awesome!!! :) This is just great. I think that you should add just a splash of red color. Rotala sp 'Colorata' comes to mind, but whatever you can find would work.

To convert plants to emersed growth, I just lower the water level a bit in my tank and float the plants. New growth comes out of the water.

As for my wabis... I'll be posting to my journal soon, but I no longer have them. :( I was going to reduce the number I was keeping, but I realized that I just didn't have the time to maintain them anymore. Now that it's warm, we've got too many outdoor projects going on to keep up.

It helps to see this one doing so well. Thanks :)
 
#37 ·
Thanks Scott!

I have some stems floating in one of my tanks, but the only ones that seem to grow up and out of the water are the ludwigia, which is already in there, and bacopa caroliniana which is boring. Haha! I keep hoping for some rotala mini butterfly to go emersed but no luck. I'll have to watch for the r. colorata. That's one I've actually wanted for awhile but never got.

Sorry you didn't have time to keep up with yours. Don't fret, your wabi kusa passion will live on through me, sensei! Or something cheesy like that. :)
 
#47 ·
Thank you!

Wow, this is incredible, Stacy! I can tell you what I'd do because it's how I ended up with several ;) Of course you should trim this one and start another! It's a great way to try multiple kinds of plants also.
Thanks Scott. Yeah, I definitely need to try some new plants on my next one. I have some s. repens I want to try and I bought some rotala colorata like you recommended too.

I vote trim it sparingly and then move this massive ball to a bigger container to use this one for a new one. Now I'm tempted to start my own. Really nice job! :proud:
I think that's what I'm going to do. I bought a little custom "tank" from our local group that's like 6x6x1.5 that should be perfect for this one.

looks great!!

what are you using for ferts?
Thanks! I haven't used any fertilizers besides the osmocote that was in the clay originally. I tried adding some to my misting bottle, but it burned the leaves so I just use plain water.
 
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