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Hi All,

Me again. I had a chuckle from the "you know you're a cp'er when" thread -- of course had to add some . . .

But have some new questions about new plants. I was drawn into Lowe's to see if they carried them. They did. I bought four. They are in 3 inch pots and have a plastic dome over them. I have: a cobra, 2 nepenthes spp. (they have pitchers similar to what's on the back of the new ICPS newsletter); and a drosera. The first three are pretty good sized, about three inches tall.

Now for the questions:

do I take the plastic dome off now?
will they need to be in the mini greenhouse (which is running out of room) or would they be happy on a bright, sunny windowsill? (remember, I'm the one who over-protected my vft to the point that it got root rot or something -- too much humidity and not enough air circ in the greenhouse)
would they do well outside in full sun? I live in So. California and right now we're in "June gloom", i.e., cloudy with drizzles but in a couple of weeks it'll be full, hot sun with temps. between low 80's and 100 +
Any other words of wisdom.

I know I'm asking a lot of questions but I'm still really new at this. Once I get the basics and can keep things alive and well I'll be able to relax -- and maybe not wake up at 2 a.m. and wonder if they're doing ok. Sheesh!

Thanks in advance.

cpwitch
 
Don't hold your breath on not waking up.. I still do that.

okay let me see about your questions.

1) I personally would take the domes off, the only time I have any trouble taking the domes off was with Pings. In the case of Pings I still take the top off over the course of about 3 days.

2) I don't see why they would need to be in the mini greenhouse as long as the humidity in you house is over 40% a few weeks of misting once daily should adjust them to the humidity in your house, in the case of the dews, I would skip the misting and just rely on the tray method to keep the local humidity up around them.

2b) They should be perfectly happy on a bright sunny window sill as long as it's not too hot. Try it.

3) I would hesitate about putting them out in full sun, part sun or morning only sun would be better. The sun in California is very hot, and the lack of humidity may be a problem, though again if you can provide local humidity (tray method) above 40 or 50% you should be fine as long as they are proteced from burnign sun.
 
mae,
I live on the central coast of california, its very humid and the sun is not strong in this pard of the woods
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. My outside plants get full sun sometimes from dawn to dust, they love it
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hmmm, what a difference a few(hundred) miles can make lol! My brother-in-law lives in Riverside and in about a month they are expecting hot (95+) and dry(30% and lower).. go figure.


Well then, to ammend my post... Depending on where you live in So. Cal I would be hesitant.

That better spec? lol
 
Ok Maehem, in what way would you amend your post? Right now its drizzling out so humidity is naturally up, but like I said we will be hitting our summer, which will be hot and dry. I live about 30 miles east of L.A., so I think Riverside actually stays a little hotter than I would, but not by much. I ran out and got a bottle for misting so that when I take the domes off the new plants I can do as you suggest -- given my climate should that be a regular thing for all but the drosera's and butterworts? Or will keeping water in the tray provide all the humidity the plants will need? Also, is air conditioning bad for the plants? If so, I'll just get a little fan for Sophie (my dog) and put up with the heat
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And, while I'm posting, how do you feed your plants that live in the house? Would it be ok to put them outside from time to time (during the mild part of the day) to attract insects on their own?

Thanks again for the information.

cpwitch
 
air conditioning is actually good for cps, as it raises the humidity, and if I remember right dustin has one in his greenhouse
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:D:D
 
I don't know about everyone else, but my AC drops the humidity in my house considerably... below 50%. I keep most of my plants outside but it's usually extremely humid here in the summer. Some are in full sun, some get filtered sun.
 
Generally speaking yes, air conditioning lowers humidity. There are ways around this, but I'm not 100% clear on them. Perhaps someone else can elaborate on this issue. Though personally I have noticed that centeral air is much more drying than a window unit, though both do lower the humidity to some extent.

The amendment was because I wasn't sure where you where in So. Cal. and there are alot of micro-climates. If your expecting hot and dry, then you will proably have to provide extra sources of humidity and perhaps some shading.

Here is a question for you. Would you rather have your plants inside or outside?

There are solutions to all your potential problems with either choice. So its really a matter of where you would prefer to have them.

If you choose outside, then you shouldn't have to worry about feeding them. You might have to worry about tempurature and humidity, and the sun may burn them.

All three issues can be solved to some extent with shading. You may decide that you can use another plant (say a large ficus, this is working well for me, as the sun moves overhead the shade travels) as a shade and in doing so, lower the immediate tempurate a degree or two and the leaves may help to contain a small amount of humidity that would otherwise evaporate or blow away. Shade cloth or screening may also serve the same purposes. Or, there is the possiblity that none of these will be an issue. The sun where you are may already be blocked enough or simply not hot enough to burn the plants, and you may be able to keep your plants humid enough with the tray method and occasional light misting.

If you decide you want to keep the plants inside and you have a bright window then it all depends on your humidty and tempuratures. The tray method will probably be enough. I personally just use misting as a temporary meassure for the first three weeks to help my plants adjust to the new environment.

Really it is all a matter of where you want to put them, and what you can get them to addapt to. Two growers can take clones of the same plant and grow them in exactly the same conditions and one plant will thrive, while the other struggles.

As for feeding, you can catch bugs to feed your plants, or you can get crickets from a pet store. Though I have found that even indoors my plants inevitably catch the stray fly or misquito on their own.

I amstill fairly new at this myself (less than a year) so I am probably wrong on a few things. Fortuantely if I am someone will correct me.

Hope this helps.
 
I would think swamp coolers would raise humidity, while those that use a refrigerant passed through tubes would tend to lower the humidity.
 
  • #10
Thanks for your comments Maehem. I think I'd rather have the plants indoors. In past years I've tried some outside but I think the heat and dryness did them in after awhile. Inside I can control that at least, and during the summer I do have a couple of spots that get good bright light with some full sun, which I can filter if I need to.

I also appreciate the comments about air conditioning. I have central air, but if the tray method and occasional misting will keep the humidity up, my dog won't have to suffer  
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(Now I'm checking the humidity reading for my area whenever I log on  
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I've also re-read the plant care tips offered on pft and they have been very helpful. I just got two Nepenthes and discovered they don't like wet feet so immediately got them out of wet saucers.

If I do things right this time maybe I'll make it to dormancy!

cpwitch
 
  • #11
Nepenthes are tropical, theyc ant have dormancy
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  • #12
Thanks Spectabilis73 -- I just discovered that from reading about dormancy from RamPuppy. I'm glad I don't have to worry about it with the neps -- sounds really scary. But I do have others that I think I'll have to deal with -- Cobras, a sarra, droseras, and a vft (will probably have more by then  
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I guess I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it. Living in So. Cal. I don't think nature will do it for me  
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cpwitch
 
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