Rainwater, I live next to the sea so there's no air pollution that could contaminate it...
yeah, I agree with Mickey..strong chance that the sea could be contaminating your rain water! adding salt to it..
you need to check it..
But THEN, mi sister's dog discovered that EATING CP's and chewing pots was fun... I returned one day to discover nothing of my beautiful Cephallotus... And I mean nothing... It was eaten along with the soil... That one was the more painful, but I also lost that day 2 Sarracenias and 1 Nepenthes...
So... That's why I can't give them the light they deserve...
well..in order to sucessfully grow them, they need to be outside..
we all have wildlife issues!
I have birds and squirrels..I have to rig ugly chicken wire covers over my plants..
you have a dog problem..you need to make something to dog-proof your pots..
that would be MUCH better than keeping them indoors..how about just a simple wire cage?
Step 1) Place the plan in a cardboard box with holes in it, with a piece of ice melting inside to lower the temperature in order to give the impression that there is less light and it's cold.
Step 2) Plastic baggie and into the fridge after a bit of fungicide.
Do this in the week around Halloween and keep it there until the birthday of Benito Juarez (March 21st)
hmm..I wouldnt bother with the ice cube..unless you feel like adding an ice cube several times a day for about 60 days in a row..
(all of September and October)..otherwise, its not really going to do anything..
and being in the box would also be bad, because you be cutting down the light levels way too much..
I understand you have a challenging climate..but IMO you have two options:
1. If the temps and photoperiod naturally drops somewhat in Aug-Sept-Oct-Nov, the plant might go "semi dormant"
on its own..in which case you can just leave the plants outside 24/7/365 and see how they do..
2. If the temps and photoperiod naturally drops somewhat in Aug-Sept-Oct-Nov, the plant might go "semi dormant"
on its own..in which case it might be "dormant enough" to go in the fridge by December, and keep it in there Dec-Jan-Feb..bring it back out in March..
Depending on the difference between your summers and your winters, one or the other might be good..
if the difference between summer and winter is virtually no difference, they probably cant go in the fridge, because they wont really be dormant.
if the difference is just different enough, then you might have some luck..
What is your latitude? how much does the photoperiod vary throughout the year?
and what is your average winter temp vs. summer?
Is this plant indoors or outdoors? [/B]
Indoors mostly... When I started, I had all my plants in my window... But then along came Spring, the Earth shifted and sunlight stopped entering my room...
really needs to be outside..VFT's simply die when grown indoors..
outside is *always* better..even in your climate..
Scot