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Being sociophobic, I felt that I need to take up a hobby... so, here I am! Please guide me. :)

I'm a super noob at CP plants and just started about 2 months ago because my puppy's crap (literally) keeps bringing all types of flies into my backyard and eventually those flies brought everyone and their moms... then my house turned into a fly farm. Well not really to that extent but... Anyway! I bought my first CP then: a Dente VFT. I was so disappointed with how small it was. I wanted something that would be like the piranha plant in Mario that would ferociously eat those pesky things I can never EVER swap. But either way, I fell in love with the VFT and their cute little "jaws", then got researching and eventually fell in love with the sundews, then the pitcher plants.

I currently bought some seeds to test out my luck and satisfy the inner scientist in me. While I'm waiting on that, I'm attempting to build a small greenhouse in the backyard myself so my puppy wouldn't get into my stuff and poop in my plants.

Currently, I am hoping to grow some types of drosera, nepenthes, and dionaea, and also experiment using gibberellic acid. I would love to get more seeds and plants, but currently, taking up this hobby is burning a hole through my wallet. (Yes, I can hear this in my head: "In due time, my young padawan...")

I hope to be active on the forum and post pictures as they progress. Hopefully I'm doing things right! ...But if not, I would appreciate your advice on doing it the right way with whatever tips and tricks you have... which has worked for you in the past... hopefully.

Well, I'm definitely looking forward to talking to you guys and forcing you to become my friends! Till then. (^.^)v
 
Welcome to TF!
 
Welcome to TF! You'll find this site educational and fun. Scientist?
 
Welcome to the hobby and good luck with all the puppy scat.
 
Welcome to TerraForums :-D Yay, another member from California.
 
California represent! welcome!
 
Hahaha, scientist-wannabe is more like it. :D In the name of science, I must experiment!

@Mato: Yes... the puppy scat... it's lethal. His "scat" pretty much killed all the grass at the corner he always pees at. So I must keep him away from my new babies!

@Iwest: Wow, Burlingame. That's pretty close! I use to live in Daly City, but now moved to Richmond-ish area. (the not-so-ghetto side... I'd like to think..)

@pebes: Another bay area member! :) Ty for the welcome!
 
You should come to the next Bay Area Carnivorous Society meeting in Jan. it's a cool way to meet people who share your hobby and you'll expand your collection at the raffles
www.bacps.org
 
  • #10
Welcome neighbor! :laaa:

Oh my gosh, another one!! :hug:

@pebes: Haha, definitely will check it out! :) Oh man, the last one was on the 20th at UCB Botanical garden?? Rats! Totally missed that one and it was super close too. Thank you for the information!
 
  • #11
It was, and it was awesome! A trip to Mt Roraima.

:hug: back!
 
  • #12
Hahaha, scientist-wannabe is more like it. In the name of science, I must experiment!

I happen to be notorious for many failed experiments on this discussion forum - mostly involving cobra lilys...
 
  • #13
I happen to be notorious for many failed experiments on this discussion forum - mostly involving cobra lilys...

LOL... oh my. What did you experiment them with? xD

Hmm... by the way, from one experimenter to another... would you say it's better to grow neps from seeds using normal flat trays, or using the peat pellet insert trays (without the pellets and my own mix) on top of the flat tray? I actually just got into this so was super clueless and bought the 144 insert trays on eBay which are like, 1" x 1" or something like that each spot... now they're just sitting in my room, collecting dust while I think about if I should use those or not.. I can buy the 72 inserts which would probably give more room, but from what I've read, neps shouldn't grow that fast anyway... so... I don't know. I mean, plus side to the tray insert would be that i can make an automatic watering tray, but then again... :(
 
  • #14
Back in '04, in an attempt to provide running water over the roots, I suspended the plant over a streamlet that ran behind our apartment. Unfortunately, we had a 2" rainstorm and the streamlet turned into a raging river. I carried the plant away and it was never found.

We've since moved and there's a small bog that is near our apartment complex. So I set up a Sterilite container with holes along the perimeter, in the bog. Water is always entering the bog from an outfall. Unfortunately, there are critters that inhabit the bog. I found the plot totally uprooted, outside of the container, in the water.

003-14.jpg


I don't have the greatest luck or skill with a lot of my outdoor experiments!

I'll let Nep experts guide you. I no longer grow them.
 
  • #15
Starting a CP collection with seeds, and especially Nepenthes, is not the general recomended route. They can be tricky for a new grower and many take several years to mature. Better to have experience growing the actual plant before you try seeds. I wish you luck! You'll have the best chance if you really do your research.

Also, just a note: I would be very careful buying seeds on ebay or other unreputable sources. There are poachers who collect wild seed or plants and sell them online, endangering the survival of the plants in the wild. It's better to stick with reputable CP nurseries in the states. Deffinately don't buy Nepenthes seed from sellers in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, indonesia, etc) as they are very likely poached from the wild. This is something new growers are generally unaware of, so just letting you know.

Here are some links on CP seed girmination, etc. It has guides for many different plants:
http://www.carnivorousplants.org/howto/Propagation/SeedGermGuide.php
http://www.carnivorousplants.org/howto/Propagation/SeedsSBS.php
http://www.carnivorousplants.org/howto/GrowingGuides.php

Explore the tabs for more info... Oh, and welcome to TF ;)
 
  • #16
Ohh.. dear... I bet those pesky critters did it. :-D Well, my personal experiments with plants aren't that out there yet, but I hope to follow in your footsteps for the out-of-the-box thinking! (Just not the luck part, hopefully) It would've been awesome otherwise though. I would've loved to put sundew seeds or something and see if they would grow there.

@richjam1986: Yea... I read about that too. About only after you have 2-3 years experience, try growing from seeds. But well, my thought process was that it can't be worse than vanilla planifolia in terms of needs since I'm growing that at the moment along with other normal plants. Thank you for the links and information! :) I think I've read those before, but a refresher since I just got my VTF seeds (US seller) today!

But I guess what I was wondering was, do you think there would be harm in growing the seeds in 1"x1" plug seedling trays? I have the 22"x11" seedling trays that have 144 plugs each, and I'm wondering if these would be okay to grow the little ones in. Or would you say it'd just be better to grow them in a flat tray where there's a lot more room and such? Oh, and I have domes for the trays plus am using heat hats and fluorescent light over these.

Ah, I thought it'd be okay to buy from ebay since the seller had good reviews. Didn't think they might be poached. :( Thanks for the heads up.

Ty for the welcome!
 
  • #17
Wow, that is pretty close! There's so many people from the Bay Area on this forum. BACPS also has a huge sale/ show every June. I know that's a long ways away but definitely something to look forward to. all the vendors from around the area set up tables and there's always a ton of TF members there as well. Also, not sure if you've looked into Sarracenias yet but they do super well in our outdoor conditions here in NorCal... Plus since they grow outside like VFTs and such, you get to see them fill up with their self-caught meals each day.
 
  • #18
Ohh.. dear... I bet those pesky critters did it. Well, my personal experiments with plants aren't that out there yet, but I hope to follow in your footsteps for the out-of-the-box thinking! (Just not the luck part, hopefully) It would've been awesome otherwise though. I would've loved to put sundew seeds or something and see if they would grow there.

We live just outside a quaint small town, in the country, and while very beautiful, with tons of critters, they do take advantage of what apparently has been provided for them. We have a family of bluejays that keep stealing the long fibered sphagnum as well as the caught food from the VFT's, often severing the leaves from the plants.

There were 3 of these guys in the dumpster but by the time I got my camera, this one was the only one left:

IMG_0786.jpg
 
  • #19
@richjam1986: Yea... I read about that too. About only after you have 2-3 years experience, try growing from seeds. But well, my thought process was that it can't be worse than vanilla planifolia in terms of needs since I'm growing that at the moment along with other normal plants. Thank you for the links and information! :) I think I've read those before, but a refresher since I just got my VTF seeds (US seller) today!

But I guess what I was wondering was, do you think there would be harm in growing the seeds in 1"x1" plug seedling trays? I have the 22"x11" seedling trays that have 144 plugs each, and I'm wondering if these would be okay to grow the little ones in. Or would you say it'd just be better to grow them in a flat tray where there's a lot more room and such? Oh, and I have domes for the trays plus am using heat hats and fluorescent light over these.

Ah, I thought it'd be okay to buy from ebay since the seller had good reviews. Didn't think they might be poached. :( Thanks for the heads up.

I actually prefer to use the 1x1 inch seed trays, so I think you're on the right track, though there's certainly more than one way to grow them, of course.
They'll grow great in the 1x1's for quite a while, and when it's time to repot them it's easy to do so. These are the kind I use:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/68248217@N04/6949581548/" title="030 by richjam1986, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/6949581548_9aca870914.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="030"></a>

They come in six 1x1 inch plugs per tray (so, this pic has three trays in the foreground). I like them because you can seperate them and move them around however you want. They are also easier to work with when repotting than larger trays with more plugs. The plug bottoms are also flimsy which helps to loosen the soil and rootball to take the plant out of the plug when repotting. The pic is of Sarracenia seedlings last year.
 
  • #20
Ah, I thought it'd be okay to buy from ebay since the seller had good reviews. Didn't think they might be poached. :( Thanks for the heads up.

I can sense you want to do the right thing :)

My personal standard is that I will never buy Nepenthes seeds (in particular) from any ebay seller in Asia or Southeast Asia, and generaly to be careful about buying from people who live where the plant lives in the wild.

Here's an article with a little more detail on the topic, should you be interested:
http://sarracenia.com/faq/faq1660.html

I know, I'm beating the topic to death :p forgive me.
 
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