My Collection

[pohchunyee]

I guess I will share my collection of Carnivorous plants as well.

#1 Sundew (not sure of the scientific name)

#2 Venus Fly Trap

#3 Purple Pitcher (Sarracenia purpurea)

#4 Tropical Pitcher (Nepenthes sp.)

#5 Yellow Pitcher (Sarracenia flava)

Group Picture

 

[Katnapper]

Wow... yours look much healthier than mine! I might use that rock in the bottom idea... maybe that will help. Unfortunately, most any house plant I ever (rarely) take home has it's death warranty secured when I take over its care. It's a good thing plants can't feel pain or suffering!!

If plants *could* feel, I'm sure yours are all content and happy! :lol:

 

[ABbuggin]

Nice! Now your making me want to get some! lol

 

[pohchunyee]

Becky: The reason for rocks below to allow me to see how much water should I put in it..... LOL... serve as a gauge for water. Since carnivorous plants can't withstand drought..... this will allow the whole enclosere to be humid yet not waterlogged (contact with the roots) and caused the roots to rot.

ABbuggin: You should, they are hardy, can withstand high light and all you need is make sure it is moist/very moist. You can get some nice ones ar Lowe's for USD $5.99 or slightly larger plants for USD $7.99. For me.. they serve as dead bodies disposal units... if I have dead nymphs etc, I will feed it to these plants (recycle)!!!

 

[Katnapper]

Hmmm... I just thought of something. You have a layer of rocks on the bottom, then a layer of dirt (where the plant's roots are), then some kind of mulch on top? What I'm wondering is... how does the dirt not sink to the bottom and get washed down around and amongst the rocks?

 

[pohchunyee]

The dirt actually stick together ...I never have problem of them draining down amongst the rocks. Also, I do not water them, I spray them therefore water won't wash the dirt layer downwards. if you are scare of the dirt being wash down, you can actually add a layer of sphagnum moss underneath.

 

[Katnapper]

Thanks, pohchunyee!

 

[OGIGA]

Those are great looking!

 

[PhilinYuma]

Wow... yours look much healthier than mine! I might use that rock in the bottom idea... maybe that will help. Unfortunately, most any house plant I ever (rarely) take home has it's death warranty secured when I take over its care. It's a good thing plants can't feel pain or suffering!! If plants *could* feel, I'm sure yours are all content and happy! :lol:

The rock is a good idea, Katt! When your plant finally gives up, you can just take it down to the lake, toss it in, and it will sink like, well, like a rock!

 

[inferno]

what are the 3 layers of medium

 

[Schloaty]

Hi there,

Nice plants! Your sundew is Drosera capensis, the cape sundew, from the cape of South Africa. Very prolific seeder, so watch out when it flowers, or you'll have little baby sundews in all your other pots.

That sarracenia is not Flava. It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but it either rubra or alata (I think alata is more likely).

 

[Schloaty]

I wasn't finished posting, and I hit post. Sheesh.

Anyway, to continue....

The medium ("dirt") most likely is pete moss. If you grow Sarracenia, VFT's and many types of sundews, pete moss is a great base. It's usually best to mix it with perlite or horticultural sand (make sure it's clean).

They also do well in straight long fibered spahgnum moss, which is what that top layer is, LFS also makes a good top dressing.

The rocks on the bottom are for look, not function.

VFT's and Sarracenia do best in FULL sun, though half a day is acceptable. They can be grown under lights, you have to keep your bulbs fresh. The best sign of light-starvation is when they start to grow long and skinny ("etiolated" - hope I spelled that right). So long as you don't get that, then you set up is fine. Full sun just yields better color.

The Cape Sundew can take full sun, however it's best with half a day (morning or evening, but try and diffuse the sun from about 12 to about 3, when it's the strongest). This is a great plant for growing under lights.

The Nepenthes you have there, if you got it at lowes, is one of three - ventricosa (species), x 'Judith Finn' (hybrid) or x 'Ventrata' (hybrid). All three are very forgiving, very rewarding Nepenthes to grow. Yours looks great to me! It's young, and if given the opportunity, will get rather large. Nepenthes are vines, and the only thing holding it back right now is the small pot. I grow my nepenthes mostly in LFS mixed with either orchid mix or sometimes with perlite, depending on what I have on hand. Some people get all fancy and use coir bark, coconut husk, and other rather esoteric things. However, with yours, I bet even a pete moss/perlite mix would be fine.

Good luck!

 

[Katnapper]

Chun Poh, I'm much better at keeping mantids than indoor plants.... I've managed to kill all of mine once again except for the philodendron and lucky bamboo.

Every few years I get a wild hair to try indoor plants again... and I really haven't the foggiest idea why I even bother!!

 

[vera_renczi]

I'm glad I found these! This is great! I've had a venus flytrap for a few years now and it's getting huge!! I think I've re-planted it two or three times. I've never tried the rock setup though it looks really interesting. I use peat moss and layer the sphagnum moss on the top. I just leave it outside on the porch and water it from the bottom with distilled water and it seems to do really well.

I think mine came from Lowes too. My cobra lilly and sundew didn't make it though because I was a dummy and didn't do my homework, watered from the top with nasty tap water and used ceramic pots. noooo good.

I have to agree with ms. katnapper though, inside plants are doomed from the start at my house. if I don't kill them, the cats surely will!!