Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts

[schmiggle]

Hey all, I have a quick question. I want to set up a new CP terrarium to keep as many genera and species as possible, exempting Sarracenia, Dionaea, and others that require a drastic winter dormancy (and get tall like Sarracenia; I'm somewhat limited on space), but I'm unsure which way I should go; highland-ultra highland? Or more intermediate-lowland? I am leaning more towards intermediate as I want to be able to keep as many species as possible.
I really like N. bicalcarata and N. truncata, but at the same time I'd really like some N. hamata or N. lowii; I would also like to keep a variety of Drosera and Pings (Pings don't require such a drastic dormancy for the most part I believe).

I would appreciate any suggestions/ideas y'all might have for me!

Thanks,

Arthroverts

Don't keep pings in the same terrarium as highland Neps, IMO. They could do well with intermediates or lowlands, where you would leave them inside the terrarium for their summer period and outside in bright sunlight for the winter (don't keep them together year round because highland neps will want to be too wet in the ping rest period).

If you're space limited, don't go for lowii or bicalcarata; they get gigantic. If you want as wide a taxonomic range as possible, consider highland with a couple neps, some winter growing sundews, cephalotus, a couple of the easier terrestrial utriculari, and maybe Sarracenia psittacina (probly doesn't need a winter dormancy). Don't go for ultra-highland unless you're fairly experienced, but if you do, I'd throw together some Brazilian highland drosera, maybe, along with heliamphora, orchidioides utricularia, and some neps.

 

[Arthroverts]

Thanks @schmiggle, that is super helpful. I was just tossing Ultra Highland out there; considering my limited experience (not to mention space for a freezer) and difficulty in keeping them cool during the summer (as I live in the desert; very hot in the summer), I think I will save that for another time.

Hmm. Y'know, maybe I'll shoot for intermediate, and then when I'm ready I can tweak the system and change it over to highland, as I don't feel fully ready for creating something to keep the temperatures down enough. Although by that time I hope to have a greenhouse, ha ha.
I may have some more questions for y'all here in a little bit .

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Arthroverts]

Quick question regarding lighting; I would like to go the LED route, but I am having trouble finding a good, long-lasting light. There are three options that I have found insofar.

1. I have heard mixed information about YesCom's 225 White LED Grow Light (https://amzn.to/2kjTusc); it is by far the cheapest option and grows CPs (specifically Nepenthes sp.) really well, but apparently they are prone to burning out after about 3 months or so. They also need to be mounted about 3 feet above the plants; I could make that work in a grow tent I forgot I had, but it is a stretch.

2. The Finnex Planted 24/7+ SE (https://amzn.to/2lTz1dY) sounds good, but it is also much more expensive. I have only heard of one person's experience with these for CPs (it was positive).

3. And continuing with the theme of adapting aquarium lights for CP purposes, the Fluval AquaSky (https://amzn.to/2kjFcrB) seems like it could be a perfect middle ground.

Does anybody have experience with any of these lights? Or have any suggestions for other lights?

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[schmiggle]

@Arthroverts My suggestions depend on your setup. Is this a terrarium? If so, what kind and what dimensions?

 

[Arthroverts]

@schmiggle, it will either be a repurposed standard 20 gallon high (about 24" by 12" by 18" I think) until I can get a 40 gallon breeder, or a grow tent about 5 feet high. I can get exact measurements for the grow tent if needed.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[moricollins]

I've jumped aboard the carnivorous plant train with some Drosera capensis coming on Thursday.

Question: soil? I've read they don't like regular type soil they or needs to essentially have no nutrients in the soil, is this correct? What do people usually use for soil? I have tons of Sphagnum moss, will that work?

@schmiggle @Arthroverts

 

[Arthroverts]

@moricollins, awesome! Just know that one probably won't be enough after a little while, ha ha.

Yes, nutrients in the soil will kill them. I personally use straight sphagnum moss because it's easy, but you can also do a mix of ingredients to find what works for you. In some of the links I posted above there is information on soil mixtures.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[schmiggle]

I've read they don't like regular type soil they or needs to essentially have no nutrients in the soil, is this correct?

Yes. You can fertilize, and most serious growers do, but to an extent you're playing with fire

What do people usually use for soil?

Depends on the plant. For anything from a bog, 1:1 peat:silica sand is common. Live sphagnum will work for almost anything, and dry long fibre sphagnum is good for a lot as well.

 

[moricollins]

They have arrived!

 

[Arthroverts]

Yay! Good luck with them! My only suggestion is make sure they don't go without light for a 1-2+ weeks, unlike Nepenthes and some Sarracenia (from my limited experience). I say this because I had a terrarium crash a few months back and my CPs were without strong lighting for a little while, and I lost both of my Drosera while the pitcher plants survived without skipping a beat.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[moricollins]

Yay! Good luck with them! My only suggestion is make sure they don't go without light for a 1-2+ weeks, unlike Nepenthes and some Sarracenia (from my limited experience). I say this because I had a terrarium crash a few months back and my CPs were without strong lighting for a little while, and I lost both of my Drosera while the pitcher plants survived without skipping a beat.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

Thanks @Arthroverts I have them (two separate plants) in two windowsills where it tends to be quite sunny, so I'm hopeful that is sufficient

 

[l4nsky]

Little late to this party, but I love Nepenthes. I was looking to seriously dive into them with one of the variety packs from Predatory Plants this past summer, but life got in the way. Honestly, I would love to have 8 - 10 large lowland species and hybrids hanging in my living room with my palms for more of that tropical ambience and have a modified deep freeze for some of the less hardier species that have my interest. For now, it's just a single Nepenthes 'Miranda' on a bookshelf enjoying a south facing window for the winter. @schmiggle, what's up with the terrarium? Ever figure out how to best integrate the fridge components?

 

[Arthroverts]

@l4nsky, your not late; if anything your right on time .
How is the N. sp. 'Miranda' doing? Last I saw it was pretty big; is it vining yet?

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[l4nsky]

Not yet, still short and dense. Little irritated with myself because I lost a few pitchers due to damage from a fall. The majority of the plant hangs off one side of the pot and the substrate dried just enough so that the weight of the pot couldn't counter balance it and it took a tumble. Glad I only lost a few pitchers and didnt snap the stem, still though... Lesson learned, the pot now has a piece of shale on the lighter side as a counter weight.

 

[Arthroverts]

"crrrck whheee...M..cweerack..ay...wwhir..Ma...day..whizz..kweak..Mayday, mayday, this is ship ay-oh-one, taking heavy fire. Self-Control Engine 1 is in flames...wheezack...Wallet Tank is running low...kixcwhirrz...we've got Black Friday Sale fighters all around us, Heliamphora ships incoming...klirr...please send help, not sure how long we can stand against the Drosera fighter-bom...!"

Transmissions from 2nd CP Force Pilot Arthroverts, caught over the Utric Sea by war-pings from the dreaded Sale of Black Friday. Last heard trying to recover Nepenthes, Cephalotus, and Drosera from CP factories in the Pitcherland...

 

[Abdulkarim Elnaas]

Honestly not sure if they were local or not, he may have transplanted them from somewhere further south and they just happened to do really well where he was at. He was selling them at Scott Smith's All Animal Expo (love and greatly miss that show). I used to be surprised by how far north they were growing, but after seeing sundews in coastal Maine a week ago I'm no longer surprised at how far north CPs can go.

Some places in Newfoundland (like Fogo island) it is hard to walk without stepping on a pitcher plant or a sundew, and I mean that literally. I probably stomped on quite a few tbh. Here are some S. purpurea that were growing near a pond close to my house.

 

[Arthroverts]

@Abdulkarim Elnaas, I did not know that Sarracenia (or Drosera for that matter) ranged that far north! Wow. Do you have any pictures of the Drosera you found?

Thanks for sharing,

Arthroverts

 

[Abdulkarim Elnaas]

@Abdulkarim Elnaas, I did not know that Sarracenia (or Drosera for that matter) ranged that far north! Wow. Do you have any pictures of the Drosera you found?

Thanks for sharing,

Arthroverts

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the sundews. There are two species here I think, but I don't know what they are called and I honestly couldn't tell them apart. S. purpurea is Newfoundland's provincial flower. The Atlantic puffin is also our provincial bird. I need to go out to one of the puffin spots to see them at some point.

EDIT: I should also add that I wasn't able to find any sundews near my house. They seem to be more picky than the pitcher plants. They were plentiful in Fogo.

 

[Ellenantula]

It was this plant forum that originally inspired me to get my cape sundew and my venus flytrap. As I said in another thread, a pitcher plant is next on my list. But so amazing to see them in the wild! Thanks for sharing these great pix!

 

[Arthroverts]

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the sundews. There are two species here I think, but I don't know what they are called and I honestly couldn't tell them apart. S. purpurea is Newfoundland's provincial flower. The Atlantic puffin is also our provincial bird. I need to go out to one of the puffin spots to see them at some point.

EDIT: I should also add that I wasn't able to find any sundews near my house. They seem to be more picky than the pitcher plants. They were plentiful in Fogo.

From a quick look around on the web, it would appear that D. linearis and D. filiformis are the only two species found in Canada. Fascinating...

It was this plant forum that originally inspired me to get my cape sundew and my venus flytrap.

Awesome! Welcome to another addiction, ha ha. A lot of carnivorous plant vendors are having their Cyber Monday sales right now, so it would be as good a time as any to score some nice Sarracenia or Nepenthes.

Thanks,

Arthroverts