Well, I ordered a bunch of CPs from petflytrap a month ago. Due to the move, I still haven't got my plants.
So, I've been monitoring every Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and random nurseries. FInally, today, the lady at Lowes tells me she just got in 4 pitcher plants. I go and check them out, and they are in good condition. Potted in 5in pots and fairly large. I remove the insert inside the pots and see the roots are just beginning to grow. Nothing near root lock, but enough to warrant a replanting. So, I also pick up some rocks, new pots, sand, moss, etc.
The entire time, the lady is telling me all about these CPs. She's a freakin expert. And all her info meshed with the info on here. She told me her favorite was her Cobra Lily bog. She then told me to come back in a week and she'd give me this huge watering container when they were finished with it. She said it would make a perfect terrarium.
So, I make a new friend and come home with my bounty. 3 pitcher plants @ $8 each. I immediately repotted them in 6in pots. They were in 100% potting soil, so I replanted them with 1 part moss, 1 part sand, and 1 part miracle grow soil. I also lined the bottom of the pots with rocks and placed rocks in the pot trays to keep the soil out of standing water. They're outside on my porch now fully watered and I put a layer of wet moss on top of the soil. The Lowes lady told me it wasn't a good idea because "most moss has insect eggs in it, including white flies."
Falling back on my old cigar tricks, I told her I'd microwave the moss for 30 seconds to kill any eggs. She looked at me like I just had a $1 million idea. Cigars often carry tobacco beetle eggs. If you're not careful, the eggs will hatch and these beetles will devour your hobby and investment. A trick of the trade we've developed is to either freeze(not a good idea for moss) or microwave the cigars to kill any eggs or larva. I tossed my moss into a large bowl and into the microwave for 30 seconds. Came out nice and toasty, should be enough to nuke any buggers.
Here's the pics of my 3 newest plants. $8 each seemed like a bargain. Please excuse my crappy dig-cam. Now, time to wait for my petflytrap order to ship...
So, I've been monitoring every Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, and random nurseries. FInally, today, the lady at Lowes tells me she just got in 4 pitcher plants. I go and check them out, and they are in good condition. Potted in 5in pots and fairly large. I remove the insert inside the pots and see the roots are just beginning to grow. Nothing near root lock, but enough to warrant a replanting. So, I also pick up some rocks, new pots, sand, moss, etc.
The entire time, the lady is telling me all about these CPs. She's a freakin expert. And all her info meshed with the info on here. She told me her favorite was her Cobra Lily bog. She then told me to come back in a week and she'd give me this huge watering container when they were finished with it. She said it would make a perfect terrarium.
So, I make a new friend and come home with my bounty. 3 pitcher plants @ $8 each. I immediately repotted them in 6in pots. They were in 100% potting soil, so I replanted them with 1 part moss, 1 part sand, and 1 part miracle grow soil. I also lined the bottom of the pots with rocks and placed rocks in the pot trays to keep the soil out of standing water. They're outside on my porch now fully watered and I put a layer of wet moss on top of the soil. The Lowes lady told me it wasn't a good idea because "most moss has insect eggs in it, including white flies."
Falling back on my old cigar tricks, I told her I'd microwave the moss for 30 seconds to kill any eggs. She looked at me like I just had a $1 million idea. Cigars often carry tobacco beetle eggs. If you're not careful, the eggs will hatch and these beetles will devour your hobby and investment. A trick of the trade we've developed is to either freeze(not a good idea for moss) or microwave the cigars to kill any eggs or larva. I tossed my moss into a large bowl and into the microwave for 30 seconds. Came out nice and toasty, should be enough to nuke any buggers.
Here's the pics of my 3 newest plants. $8 each seemed like a bargain. Please excuse my crappy dig-cam. Now, time to wait for my petflytrap order to ship...