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Post by Wood~Ant on May 10, 2011 10:06:15 GMT
I decided to post these pics here of my insectivorous plants, as they are great for catching wasps and flies in the home, (at least the ones Jen doesn't catch first for our ants that is)
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Post by kalistes on May 11, 2011 4:36:25 GMT
wow great pictures, and really healthy looking plants (the ones we see at the garden center always look half dead)
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Post by TenebrousNova on May 11, 2011 6:43:56 GMT
I have kept all kinds of carnivorous plants, but have never come across the Cape Sundew. May I ask where you found it? They would be an interesting addition to my collection, and I have never found them in Homebase (Where I got my Venus Flytrap and Pitcher Plant from).
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Post by Wood~Ant on May 11, 2011 7:40:35 GMT
You can sometimes see the Cape Sundew for sale in Garden Centres, but I find these 3 online shops sell really nice healthy insectivorous plants and cover a wide range www.littleshopofhorrors.co.uk/www.triffidnurseries.co.uk/browse_cats.php?pt_id=2www.hantsflytrap.com/I also have some very small seedlings of the all white variety of Drosera capensis, which has white flowers while all the red forms have a magenta purple flower. The flowers of these plants tend to be self fertilizing and produce an abundance of tiny black dust like seeds. These seeds grow rapidly into little plants once they are scattered over wet peat. The problem with DIY stores and Garden Centres is that they don't keep these plants wet enough, as all come from bogs which mean they are sitting in water most of the time. I always sit my plant pots in an inch (2.5cm) of either rain water, or if this isn't available I use cold boiled water or distilled water. NEVER USE FRESH TAP WATER as it contains too many chemicals or is too hard. Always use soft water, and never let them dry out. So if you go away during hot weather, leave your plants in a deep bowl of water or even in your bath to keep them nice and damp/wet
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Post by Wood~Ant on May 11, 2011 8:46:52 GMT
If you've never seen a Venus Fly Trap in flower, this is what the flower stalk looks like
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Post by Black Ant on May 11, 2011 9:54:29 GMT
love the close ups of the sundew as the sticky beads shine in the sun, giving the plant its common name
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jul 8, 2011 8:32:36 GMT
Since posting my previous photos of my carnivorous plants, I have recently added a very lovely one to my collection. The plant below with the white topped trumpet pitchers is called Sarracenia leucophylla (pronounced - sarra scene e ah, lew co filla)
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Post by Zarbi on Jul 8, 2011 9:36:58 GMT
Great photos and nice healthy plants
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Post by Blem12 on Jul 18, 2011 18:25:59 GMT
Great, healthy looking plants Wood! I have several carnivorous plants too which are:
- Dionaea muscipula. - Sarraceia spec. - Drossera capensis. - Nepenthes spec.
I also got them from my local Home base, well two of them from my local B&Q.
I was just wondering, what substrate do you keep your plants in? I keep mine in a sphagnum peat moss+vermiculite substrate.
Thanks,
Blem12.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jul 18, 2011 19:02:11 GMT
Hi Blem, I always use a mix of 75% moss peat and 25% fine silver sand. The sand encourages good root growth and the peat gives them the acid bog conditions they grow in naturally in the wild. I never use perlite or vermiculite and always use either boiled water or rain water, though distilled water is fine as well
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Post by Blem12 on Jul 18, 2011 19:11:06 GMT
Hi Blem, I always use a mix of 75% moss peat and 25% fine silver sand. The sand encourages good root growth and the peat gives them the acid bog conditions they grow in naturally in the wild. I never use perlite or vermiculite and always use either boiled water or rain water, though distilled water is fine as well Yes, I too use Distilled/RO water but I am curious as to why you do not use perlite or vermiculite?
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jul 18, 2011 19:24:26 GMT
That's an easy one to answer. Perlite is made from volcanic rocks designed to help soil drain better and keep it open, and insectivorous plants don't grow on volcano; and Vermiculite is a man made substance designed to help soil retain moisture and nutrients. As these plants grow in sphagnum moss swamps or peaty bogs, I like to keep the strata as natural as possible and not add anything other than what the plants are found growing in naturally en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perliteen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculite
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Post by Blem12 on Jul 18, 2011 19:36:49 GMT
Ahh I see. Thank you very much for answering that. I will be proababbly changing the vermiculite for the fine silver sand in the near future.
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Post by James O'Neill on Aug 12, 2011 11:20:33 GMT
Hi Mate, Nice plants. You seem to be doing well with them. I grow Sarracenia, Drosophyllum, Darlingtonia, Dionaea and temperate Drosera and Pings in a 14 x 9 ft unheated greenhouse. On the windowsills I grow Many Nepenthes, Heliamphora, Utricularia, Genlisea, tropical Drosera, and Cephalotus. My full list can be seen here: www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=36014I would suggest to not ever use vermiculite as it goes alkaline after a time. Perlite is probably your best bet, although VFTs like sandy media. And always use rainwater or RO water.
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Post by Wood~Ant on Aug 12, 2011 16:51:46 GMT
That's a pretty impressive collection by anyone's standards James. I have kept Cephalotus, Darlingtonia, various Sarracenia and many sundews, plus of course the good old Venus Fly Trap; but now my window sill space is limited, as my insect eating plants have to live as neighbours with my cacti collection as well.
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