[California] Need some help with growing Drosera and VFT outdoor

[upper]

Hey all,

I've planted Drosera and VFT in a drained pot that's 12" wide and about 8" tall outdoor in Northern California[SF Bay] receiving maybe 3/4 day of full sun.
It's 100% LFSM and it seems that every day the LFSM dries up to the point where the top of completely dry.
I have it sitting in about 1" of water but the LFSM doesn't carry enough water all the way to the top or the sun is drying the top faster than it can transfer.

Does anyone have any recommendation? The plant doesn't look too bad right now but the Droseras will only produce dews on some cooler days. Currently it's hitting about upper 80's to high 90s for certain days of the week.


edit: I was initially hoping for the LFSM to come back to life but it's much too hot and bright for that to ever happen. now I'm stuck with burnt sphagnum haha

Thanks!

 

[MasterPropagator]

It might be Just this strong sun we have been having here . i saw a picture of someone hanging some shade cloth over there vft .

 

[fredg]

Why not try raising the water mark?

 

[woodbridge]

I would switch to a mix of Canadian sphagnum peat moss and sand with an inch or two of the LFSM on top. Make sure the plants are rooted in the sand peat mixture. The LFSM will prevent the peat from splashing up on the plants when it rains. If the LFSM is pushed into the sand peat mix is should stay mostly moist. My plants seem to like a mix of about 3 parts sand to 2 parts peat. Raising the water level is good idea , but I wouldn't go above 4" in the 8" pot. You can also mound the dirt a couple inches higher where you have the VFTs and lower where you have the Drosera. The VFTs, and depending of the type of Drosera, will grow roots plenty long to reach the water. A larger pot is always a good idea if you have the room. The big box stores that sell the peat also sell big round black containers about 26 inches across and 7-9" deep that work very well. The hard plastic pools for small kids work very well also. Hope this helps you out.

 

[upper]

I would switch to a mix of Canadian sphagnum peat moss and sand with an inch or two of the LFSM on top. Make sure the plants are rooted in the sand peat mixture. The LFSM will prevent the peat from splashing up on the plants when it rains. If the LFSM is pushed into the sand peat mix is should stay mostly moist. My plants seem to like a mix of about 3 parts sand to 2 parts peat. Raising the water level is good idea , but I wouldn't go above 4" in the 8" pot. You can also mound the dirt a couple inches higher where you have the VFTs and lower where you have the Drosera. The VFTs, and depending of the type of Drosera, will grow roots plenty long to reach the water. A larger pot is always a good idea if you have the room. The big box stores that sell the peat also sell big round black containers about 26 inches across and 7-9" deep that work very well. The hard plastic pools for small kids work very well also. Hope this helps you out.

Going to try this. Thanks!

 

[Not a Number]

By LFSM (Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss) I take it you mean live Sphagnum moss vs the dried unmilled Sphagnum moss bought in bales or bricks. Since you mention it drying out but hoping it will come back this would seem to be the case.

A 12" × 8" container of Sphagnum is a lot of Sphagnum. Considering the Sphagnum not receiving sunlight will die in due time it seems an awful was to fill such a container. I would as suggested before fill the pot with a peat moss and sand mixture and a top layer of live Sphagnum. My preference would be heavier on the sand than peat moss for the VFT.

I'm with Fred on this: Why not use a deeper dish and raise your standing water level? The other thing to do is to top water the live moss as many times a week it takes to keep it moist. That's what I do with my Darlingtonia pots.

 

[hcarlton]

LFSM is generally a reference to dried sphagnum, not live moss. Most LFS will dry out in the upper layer pretty readily, the lower quality brands turning crusty in texture and hard to rehydrate even. A dry surface is not going to be much problem with Dionaea (which hate wet feet more than they do soil that's only damp, so deep pots always recommended), but they generally don't like the dried sphagnum as much as peat and sand/perlite.