What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Saving a Drosera binata

So I received a Drosera binata in the mail with a few other CPs and I was out of town when they got to the PO so they were left in baggies longer than I'm sure they would have liked.
The other plants that came along are doing better and seem to be thriving it's the D. binata that I'm worried about.
Also my local store stopped selling sphagnum peat moss so I'm searching for some but right now they are all sitting in a 10gal aquarium with a pan full of gravel and water and are sitting in small separate containers. I mist their roots daily and have been checking to make sure they are always moist. No one seems up to taking some small insects so I'm refraining from that for now and looking at making some 2liter terrariums.
Bad on top of bad I know. Right now I'm looking for any advice on how to help this little guy (and any advice on how to make the others more comfortable until I get the spag). So please enlighten me!
P.S: These are my first CPs, though I do grow orchids and other Wal-Mart bought plants, so nothing is to trivial or too obvious to tell me!
Thank you very much;
Sarah.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well..keeping the plants humid and keeping the roots wet was probably the best thing you could do for them considering the situation....just make sure they get some decent light and hopefully you can get that peat soon. They should be ok that way for a while, but I'm not sure how long.

Good Luck with them. :)
 
Orchid grower supply stores usually have New Zealand long fiber sphagnum moss. Lowe's and Home Depot usually carry domestic and Chilean long fiber sphagnum moss. The domestic stuff is from Mosser-Lee and the Chilean stuff is sold as "Orchid moss". Lowe's usually sells 2 or 3 cubic foot bales of Canadian Sphagnum peat moss.

Small quantities of peat moss or carnivorous plant mix can be purchased from Andrew's Flytrapshop.com:
http://www.flytrapshop.com/servlet/the-Accessories--fdsh--Soil/Categories

Depending on where you live he can get the order to you 2-4 days usually.

I would gently wrap the roots in a damp paper towel and put the plants in cups with small amount of distilled water for now.
 
Good advice above. If all else fails, I have extra to unload.... I mean... share.

100_9555.jpg
 
Orchid grower supply stores: We have none within close driving distance I think the closest is over an hour away; I usually just order online, w/gas prices it's the cheaper way.
Lowe's and Home Depot: about an hour away; but I taking trip over there next week. Do you think they could last that long?
They are in a west window with a thin, black shawl over it where my mini garden is growing and get lots of indirect sunlight. Also the person I got them from said "in a pinch" they could be planted in a type of sand...I can't remember the name right now. Would I be able to plant them in that until next week and then replant them in the peat, or too much? Really stressful on the plant I know (I'm ready to shoot Wal-Mart the very day I go to get it is the day they run out) but they won't be moved or messed with too much after that until August. I'm usually more prepared but of course the one time...
Thanks for the offer. :) I'm going to try and save this little guy, and he did seem to be a bit perkier today, but I may end up taking you up on that. :p
One more thing (Sorry) When do think it would be safe to offer them some insects? They will probably be only gnats or ants of some sort.
Btw I have:
Dionaea muscipula "1955"
Drosera capensis
Drosera binata
and two Pinguicula 'John Rizzi'
 
You could probably grow all of those in pure silica or quartz sand. You can try the washed "Play Sand" sold in hardware stores (check the label to make sure it is silica). Other possible places would be a pool and spa supply. Nurseries will usually have horticultural sand which is often quartz/silica. If the pH is neutral or slightly acidic in water it is probably ok. The packaging may or may not say if it is neutral.

Sphagnum peat moss without fertilizer in smaller quantities can usually be found under the Schultz, UniGro. Black Gold and Whitney Farms. Quality varies greatly but for a while the Black Gold brand was excellent. Check the label to make sure the word "Sphagnum" is somewhere (sometimes in small print) and there are no additives (i.e. fertilizer). Lowe's usually has the 2-3 cubic foot bales of Premier brand Sphagnum peat moss (green and white packaging).

Call around to your local nurseries and see if they carry any of these brands or check online to see if any local retailers are listed or even a regional distributor.

The Pinguicula you want to keep on the drier side. Maybe in container on a damp paper towel. Very light misting now and then and enough water to keep the towel slightly damp.

The flytraps and the Drosera can tolerate sitting in pure water for days on end. It's questionable about the D. binata. It may depend on where the plants were originally from and if it was dormant and how long ago it came out of dormancy but this species can be found growing on seeps so they may have a good tolerance for the roots being inundated in water. The main thing is to never let the roots dry out.

I would not bother with feeding them since humidity might be high and air flow limited - good conditions for fungus and mold. Insect remains make good media for mold and fungus.
 
If your plants have a sticky surface, then they can take on food.
 
Alright, well I took a look a few minutes ago and everyone seems to be doing better even the Drosera binata. :D I'll look into those brands and I should be able to get to a Lows either this Sunday or within the next few following days. They are all wrapped in a damp paper towel but I will keep the two Pinguicula from being soaked and back off from misting; also I'll put the traps and Drosera in some shallow water in a few minutes. As for the Drosera binata it's starting to stretch out and seems to be doing better so I'm going to leave it be for now. Thanks for all the advice. :)
 
Fyi: I got everyone potted in some sphagnum peat moss yesterday and they all seem to be doing much better.
 
Back
Top