dotdman's CP photo thread

dotdman

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 18, 2004
Messages
323
So this is my first post here in a loooong time, though I do wander back on every so often. I don't keep much in the way of arachnids these days (a pair of G. rosea, with some Linothele sp. on the way), but my long-time fascination with carnivorous plants has grown into a proper addiction. My wife doesn't mind this one nearly as much.

For anyone curious the camera is just a Sony Cybershot DSC-HX200V, which has pretty decent macro capabilities for what it is. Anyway, a few pics to start things off. More to follow later.

"Bohemian Garnet" Flytrap cultivar


Drosera scorpioides


Drosera spatulata "Kanto Form"


and Drosera capensis, "red"


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Kevin P.
 

Avery

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
116
Excellent photos and plants. I am also a collector of CP's, primarily Nepenthes, but I have a pretty diverse collection. Linothele are great. Very interesting spiders.
 

dotdman

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 18, 2004
Messages
323
Thanks for the kind words! Oh, I wish I could keep neps, but I just don't have the room for them at the moment (city living and all, a whole 720 sq ft to my name). I keep a few VFT's and pitcher plants, but mostly focus on sundews. I love 'em, and they have the benefit of being pretty modestly sized for the most part.

I'm really looking forward to the Linothele - from what I've seen on the web, they're gorgeous. In the vids I've seen they remind me a bit of the bigger funnel weaving grass spiders we had back in NC... I wouldn't mind keeping a few of those as well, but I'm a long way from NC at this point.

A few more pics -

Drosera burmannii


Drosera spatulata "Kanto Form"


Drosera nidiformis


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Kevin P.
 

Avery

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
116
That Drosera spatulata is very nice. How do you get them to produce dew like that with such nice colour? I have Drosera tokaiensis and D. oblanceolata but I'm not getting the same results.
 

dotdman

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 18, 2004
Messages
323
The "Kanto Form" variety of spatulata has a lovely habit of going red. Mostly it's the lighting I think. I grow mine indoors under T8 lamp fixtures with 6500k bulbs. Give them a 14 or 15 hour light cycle under those conditions and the colors really start to pop. In the case of the nidiformis I have to admit that it was just hungry! At the time I took the photo It had just grown too tall for the springtails to chance onto it, and I'd not yet started feeding it.

I should also note that I don't get that degree of color from everything, and even plants of the same species can vary. I'm not entirely sure of all the variables at work there, but I know lighting and food are the two big ones. My sessilifolia are a good example of how much impact feeding can have on color - when well fed they're all green, but when hungry they blaze.

Fed:


Please sir, I want some more:
 

BobGrill

Arachnoprince
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Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
1,669
My D. binata is dormant right now, so naturally it looks like crap at the moment. Do you have any advice on getting sundews acclimated to more intense sun? I know you have to do so in order to prevent the leaves from getting burned, but this seems to happen no matter what when I put them out in the sun.
 

dotdman

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 18, 2004
Messages
323
My D. binata is dormant right now, so naturally it looks like crap at the moment. Do you have any advice on getting sundews acclimated to more intense sun? I know you have to do so in order to prevent the leaves from getting burned, but this seems to happen no matter what when I put them out in the sun.
I really have no idea - I live 5 floors up and have literally no outdoor growing experience when it comes to carnivorous plants. Filtering the light somehow might help if you can do it, but I really don't know. You might ask around the nepenthes growers, and see how they acclimate their plants. I know neps can have a tendency to roast in full sun as well.
 
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