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Hey,
im going to start a windowsill collection and i need some advice and suggestions. Any suggestions on what plants are good for windowsills will be joyfully excepted

i have a sunny window sill which gets
- 3-10 hours of intense light (seasonal changes)
- 60-80 % humidity
-and 55-80 night temperatures
-60-90 day temperatures

Im thinking of having:
_______________
Byblis: already have the following seeds
gigantae
liniflora
filifolia
_______________
ceph
* im a bit unsure of this, im afraid this plant is far too dificult
_______________
drosera
*multifida 'extrema'
capensis
*regia 'big and easy'

* are these difficult plants?
any other suggestions?
_______________
drosophyllum
is this plant suitable for windowsill cultivation?
_______________
nepenthes
I want two hanging pots, im looking for two compact growth(non vining) colorful, large nepenthes plants. Im thinking maybe maxima.
any other suggestions?
_______________
pinguicula
Are mexican pings good for my windowsill?
im thinking of only growing really noteable pings, like laueana and aphodite, will these two enjoy my settings?
_______________
utriculatia
livida
sandersonii

any suggestions on epi-utrics?

Im abit currious about roridula, can roridula be grown on a windowsill?

I want to add blooms to my grow space. Can anyone suggest any combination of orchids that will provide flowers year round?


thanks
 
lots of questions...........i cant answer them all but ill hit a few..........

Utrics..........most should do fine. terrestreals arent really all that picky, just remember to divide them every 6-8 months or they will crash most of the time....as far as "Epi" utrics(not a real group by the way) U. alpina will prolly grow fine. as would most of the others....for the most part though this group can be touchy so dont sink alot of money into them.....try the easy to find ones such as alpina, nephrophylla, reniformis ect first before diving into the more difficult ones....the one that does the absolute best for me is alpina x endresii but i dont think ive ever seen it for sale.

ive never been able to grow D regia....any clone...its one of those that does well for some and not others. if you want to try it, go ahead maybe it will love you.

D. multifida is easy.

mexi pings are easy, especially hybrids....go for it

Cephs....once again a plant that likes some ppl and not others....read all you can on them and if yah want one go ahead....im on my 3rd and looks like ill need another one(a buddy of mine took 12 tries to get it right, others only took one).....for most they take some experimenting and some get everything right the first time.....if you REALLY want it go for it though i understand the price is high on them right now.


as for orchids.........Oncidium hybrids have always been the easiest for me. mine bloomed ever few months. Phals are good too. most of the Mexi ping hybrids bloom more or less constantly though so keep that in mind aswell..........
 
Most butterworts, sundews, and bladderworts do well enough at window sills. Asian pitcher plants are better off under artificial lighting that you can keep on for 12 hours per day, all year long. VFT's and American pitcher plants should be outside and depending upon where you live, either stay out there for the winter or brought inside. Here's a visual response:

IMG_0104-1.jpg


This one is just plain weird:

Dscn0148.jpg


AF001101.jpg
 
Thats exactly the collection im looking for. What are your conditions jim?

Also, the byblis, are those from the seeds 7santiago sent you? He left me some too.
 
your going to try and copy Jim? alright.....but setting your sights a lil low though.....took him YEAAAAARS to flower Utricularia sandersonii "Blue" :grin:
 
Thanks, Sheridan! Anyhoo, the last two pictures were from 2005 and the last was from a few months ago. And pay no attention to the VFT's on the sill! They belong outside. There was nothing special about their conditions. They just had SW exposure. Some plants remain green. Mexican butterworts have a light maroon tinge. A lot of sundews turned red. Most sundews and some butterworts & bladderworts flowered. Sand & peat, with LFS on top. Watered mostly from around the pots and usually when the trays were almost dry.

U, sandersonii blue flowered when under an artificial light, ~15 hours per day and kept waterlogged.

This was one of the two storage containers of planst that were under the light:

IMG_0194.jpg


More plants flowered under these conditions.

IMG_0229.jpg


IMG_0255.jpg


IMG_0237.jpg


IMG_0125.jpg
blue

IMG_0003.jpg


IMG_0061.jpg
 
ceph
* im a bit unsure of this, im afraid this plant is far too dificult
If you can locate one that's not outrageously priced then go for it. I suspect many people like to keep their plants sitting in water - which can cause all sorts of problems.

Cephs are slow-growing, undemanding little plants - great for a windowsill. Water when it starts to get dry. If you're in the mood, drop an ant in a pitcher once a month and watch it grow. I find them much less picky than D. regia....
 
This isn't the best illustration, but Cephs do pretty well in a pot that sits in only a little bit of water, with soil that is mounded up and top watered every few days. If you have an unheated area, with decent lighting, it will experience the seasons it requires.

IMG_0156.jpg
 
  • #10
My greatest successes have come from my window sill.

To give you a taste:
N. hamata
H. 'Tequila'
C. follicularis
U. reniformis

There's a number of other things growing on my windowsill, but those are some of the examples that a windowsill can provide for a great variety of plants.

Jim, those are great shots/examples!

Vote Windowsill '08!
 
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