Need some help

[naich]

so i have done a few days of research and have learned alot since my first try with judt vft's a year ago....

i have 2 sundews, 2 pitcher plants, and 2 vft's in the mail currently, and just a have a question or two.
just tell me if you see anything wrong with this setup....

10 gallon aqauarium.
50 percent peat moss/spangum moss and 50 percent perlite
3 26 watt spiral uvb bulbs, have reptiles so there left overs.(12 inces from soil)
and thats about it...so just tell what whats wronge or what to do....do i need more light

 

[Grey Moss]

Are you planning to grow them planted directly in the terrarium? This complicates keeping plants. Pest spread more easily, quarantine is harder to do, and you waste soil. Temperate plants don't generally do well in terrariums. The lights don't sound adequate unless you're going to grow prostrate sarrs. Sorry to sound like a downer but there is a lot wrong with the set up. Why do you want them in a terrarium?

 

[Drew]

pm'd

 

[seedjar]

Reptile bulbs won't cut it so far as light goes, and your terrarium will almost certainly be more trouble than it's worth. To advise you properly, we need to know what species you're growing. There are three major groups of pitcher plants that are totally unrelated, and they differ widely in their cultural preferences. Likewise, there are almost 200 species of sundew and they have widely differing requirements. The one sure thing is that you're probably going to have trouble growing Venus flytraps in that setup.
Planted terrariums really aren't ideal for this kind of thing. They can be made to work, but generally require more effort in the long run. As a beginner, you're likely to lose plants and become frustrated with the complications. Terrariums have little to no drainage unless you plan ahead, which creates a soil fouling hazard.
Growing your plants individually potted will make it much easier to deal with problems that arise. If you need to repot you don't have to dig out the whole tank. It also helps to prevent weeds from going out of control and smothering your other plants.
Another important detail - where are you? It's helpful to know about the climate you live in, as well as what your household conditions are like (temperature, humidity, air circulation, availability of sunlight.)
Best luck,
~Joe

 

[Wolfn]

Do you know what species of plants you ordered? That would determine if you can grow them in the same soil and environment.

Also, I think it would be better if you kept the plants in individual pots instead of everything planted in soil in the terrarium.

Personally, I think it looks better if grown in individual pots:

 

[blokeman]

As the others mentionned above, it can be done, just not with venus fly trap or sarracenia or any temperate plants for that matter (without complications further down the line, it can and has been done though)

My current planted-style terrarium started exactly where you are now, a couple vft's, a sarr and a drosera capensis. and of the above three mentionned, only one is still in there, the drosera, because it is not a temperate species. Here's a link I made to show how I made my terra, hope it can be useful. http://ocps.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=terrariums&action=display&thread=3099&page=1

And this is where I have to disagree with the others opinions about planted-style terrariums. It's much easier to replicate a 'happy-medium' environment for a wide range of cp's than one would think. It's nicer to look at, and the plants establish themselves to their liking. If they have shallow roots, they stay shallow, if the have deep roots, they can go as deep as you want. I try to quarantine my plants before introducing them into my terrarium, and so far, I have been lucky enough to not have any issues yet.

But for now, I'd go with what the other said and keep it simple, the temperates will need to go outside when the time comes, and as for the others, they can be kept in pots with individual water trays. Good luck and happy holidays

 

[Hermopolis]

i have 2 sundews, 2 pitcher plants, and 2 vft's in the mail currently, and just a have a question or two.
just tell me if you see anything wrong with this setup....

10 gallon aqauarium.
50 percent peat moss/spangum moss and 50 percent perlite
3 26 watt spiral uvb bulbs, have reptiles so there left overs.(12 inces from soil)
and thats about it...so just tell what whats wronge or what to do....do i need more light

Obvious Problems:
1. Reptiles bulbs give insufficient light for VFTs
2. Almost any pitcher plant will outgrow a 10 gallon aquarium

Possible Problems:
1. Sundews may or may not be compatible with the conditions of the other plants.
2. If you are planting all three in the same media, there will be issues since the
plants may have different soil needs.
3. Some of these plants may be dormancy right now, so you may need to respect
that dormancy before planting them into a terrarium. You'll also have to remove
them annually to give them their dormancy rest.

It would be very helpful to know exactly which kinds of pitcher plants and sundews you ordered, so we can give you better advice.

-Hermes.

 

[naich]

thanks everyone and im willing to spend a little dough to keep them going...so let me have all the advise you got.
Venus Flytrap-Crested Petiole-large
Venus Flytrap-Royal Red-large
Sarracenia x Judith Hindle-medium
Sarracenia x Swaniana-medium
Forked Sundew (Drosera dichomata)-Red Form
Cape Sundew (Drosera capensis)-White Form

will do almost anything.

 

[seedjar]

The first four plants should almost certainly be kept outside. The sundews might be easier outside too, depending on how cold your winters are. What kind of climate do you live in?
~Joe

 

[petmantis]

Lucky you! You can keep all of them outside, provided you give them ample amounts of sunlight and keep them in a tray of water (make sure to water with distilled water) during the summer growing season.

Right now the Sarrs and VFTs will be dormant, so keep them someplace cool. You can grow the sundews on a windowsill.

 

[naich]

its winter.......new jersey

snow on the ground....not outside for a while guys....so what to do about the soil....and lights?

im planning on getting a t5 shoplight(two florencent bulbs btween 5000 and 6500 k) sounds alright?



so i should get a larger encloser and have seperate soil conditions in the same encloser...like all peat moss, then perlite and peat mixed then all two mixed with sand for the sundews?

enough light

 

[Not a Number]

Except for the Drosera capensis all of the others should be dormant so light right now isn't that much of an issue.

If you have a windowsill that gets at least 4 hours of direct sunlight a day I would just put them there. Mind you that the plants should probably have night temps in the mid/low fifties.

Don't even bother with an enclosure. Search on "Grow Rack" or "Grow Shelf" for suggested setups. You'll want at least 4 tubes of lights. Individual pots would be best because you can always raise the pot up to get an individual plant closer to the lights.

Due to the size of the Sarracenia when growing the only practical lighting solution for most people is to use sunlight (e.g. the great outdoors).

 

[Hermopolis]

Cape Sundew (Drosera capensis)-White Form

The cape sundew will do fine in the 10 gal.

Sarracenia x Judith Hindle-medium
Sarracenia x Swaniana-medium
Forked Sundew (Drosera dichomata)-Red Form

These ones will outgrow a 10 gal terrarium and require dormancy.

Venus Flytrap-Crested Petiole-large
Venus Flytrap-Royal Red-large

These one require high light and dormancy.

From your plant selection, you may want to consider a mini-bog instead of a terrarium or a growth shelf. An extra-large terrarium could work, but the other options are probably easier.

-Hermes.