TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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seedjar
Let's positive thinking!
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
Yep, droughty is an adjective, it's just no longer in common use. Farmers used it back in the old days, I guess. Part of my mission in life is to revive weird old words and sayings.
I should have said..We've had a dearth of precipitation this Vernal season.
I don't have any ping-a-lings, but I don't mind. I got enough to deal with. CP's have the world's steepest learning curve in the plant world, I think.
I should have said..We've had a dearth of precipitation this Vernal season.
I don't have any ping-a-lings, but I don't mind. I got enough to deal with. CP's have the world's steepest learning curve in the plant world, I think.
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
I may regret this - but, in general, I don't think so. For most of the temperate CPs - good sun, slighly acidic, non-fertile substrate and non-stagnant pure water will let them thrive.[b said:
Sure there are some 'problem children' that require special conditions to thrive (highland cps, some petiolaris, etc) and transitioning them from terrarium conditions to outside requires patience but....
Whenever I have some plants that aren't doing so hot, I try to look at photos of natural habitat and read up on their normal growing conditions - many times we make it much tougher than it needs to be...
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
In all seriousness, Nearly everybody starts out with a VFT and/or some other garden center CP that is in some state of neglect or abuse from lack of light, tap water, dried out, no air circulation. So an interested customer takes one home and puts it in a different environment, thus continuing or causing a shocked situation. If that individual decides to go online in search of information, and happens to stumble upon a discussion forum like this one, that brings anothers set of variables: The CP jargon and acronyms, the confusing and conflicting approaches to water, soil media, location, etc..., and the frivolous General Discussion topics someone keeps initiating. Okay, that last variable was an aside. Then they discover the CP Trading Post and get involved with that. That adds to the learning curve for some, who have very little knowledge, but want to accumulate a lot of plants. So they get a few "gourmet" CP"s that have more considerations than a typical VFT or D. spatulata. After that, the person gets discouraged because they are in over their head and is killing the plants almost as fast as they buy and/or accumulate them. Then they are faced with a choice: Is it worth trying to cultivate these plants or should they just cut their losses and go back to Holland bulbs or orchids or cactus....
It's similar to maintaining an interpersonal relationship with another human being!
It's similar to maintaining an interpersonal relationship with another human being!
Well, unfortunately...excepting the ones I bought at Lowe's (the Judith Hindle is still hangin' in there)...I have been given a bunch more by generous people here! I went from zero to about 20 in 8 weeks time. I'm not complaining at all..it's very, very fun learning about these plants, and caring for them. I'm just scared to death I'll kill them! I've been having good luck with Sarrs, except for sunburning a few, which, I gather, they survive. So far, everything I have is sending up new pitchers, which I'm interpreting as a sign of good health.
Ok...time for a cookout at Laura's. I'll throw a shrimp on the barbie and have a cocktail for y'all!
Ok...time for a cookout at Laura's. I'll throw a shrimp on the barbie and have a cocktail for y'all!
Here in the midwest...we use barbecue sauce..but I'm familiar with dry rubs. I love them any which way. I don't make ribs that often because Dan doesn't care for them...but when we go out for dinner..I get the ribs~ There are SOOO many good places for ribs in Chicago. Harold's Chicken Shack! Smoke Daddy!
I transplanted the floppy pitcher pitcher plant...Hopefully, that will restore them to their proper tumescence! If that won't...the habanero dry rub will!
I transplanted the floppy pitcher pitcher plant...Hopefully, that will restore them to their proper tumescence! If that won't...the habanero dry rub will!
Tumescence!! LMAO! I'm sorry--floppy pitcher is another thread, right? Oh well, filling them with water reminds me of the other thread, and the 'subtle' reference that the kids won't get. I showed it to my just turned 12 yo who apparently 'got it', and pulled up a site with a photo, and a caption reading 'don't mix pill, brand X with beer'
Being new to CPs myself (my oldest I've had for 5 months or so) I sympathize. My partial solution to the learning curve has been to read The Savage Garden over and over and over again.
As for the Sarracenias and water in their pitchers, The Savage Garden says this on page 74:
"Insects that encounter the purple pitcher plant, S. Purpurea, drown in collected rainwater, where they slowly decompose by bacterial action and weak enzymes. All of the other species trap their prey in tubular leaves, near the bottom of which digestive acids and enzymes are produced and secreted more heavily as more insects are caught."
As for the Sarracenias and water in their pitchers, The Savage Garden says this on page 74:
"Insects that encounter the purple pitcher plant, S. Purpurea, drown in collected rainwater, where they slowly decompose by bacterial action and weak enzymes. All of the other species trap their prey in tubular leaves, near the bottom of which digestive acids and enzymes are produced and secreted more heavily as more insects are caught."
JB_OrchidGuy
Cardiac Nurse
Well, I have to put my 2 cents in here. I have to disagree. Granted I have killed some CPs in the past, but personaly I think CPs are much easier to care for than orchids. Now yeah true you can go buy a hybred orchid and basicly ignore it and it will do fine, but when you get into species orchids you can be in for a time getting them to bloom. I guess the major differance is there is basicly a narrow set of general guide lines you can go by and gro CP's. Orchid on the other hand with 25k+ different species, and a bunch of different conditions for each. With CPs I think most people grow them for the pitchers and the looks of the plants. Well, with orchids its easy to get the plant to grow and grow and grow, but if you don't have conditions right the little @%&#er will not bloom. People grow orchids for the flowers not the plant generaly. Now I have only been into CPs again for about a month and so far the ones I have seem to be doing fine. The ones I just recieved seem to be adjusting very well. From my limited knowledge I would say chids are harder to get used to.
Although really if you look at it growing any plants are easy. Its just recreating what they like that may be difficult. People ask me all the time if growing orchids are hard, and I say no they are just different, and once you learn how they are different then its a peice of cake to grow. Flowering is a whole nother story. LOL Have a darn Maxilaria tenufolia that is growing like a weed, but has never blomed for me yet. I'm trying the burn or die method on it at the moment. LOL Was told by someone give it more light more light. Well, the next place to go was full sun. I heard it worked for some folks on the same plant so I'm trying now.
I think the best advice I can give is read all you can and don't be afraid to kill something, because everyone will kill some plants along the way. Even the Pro's have the occasional death in the family.
Ok I'm done rambling.
Although really if you look at it growing any plants are easy. Its just recreating what they like that may be difficult. People ask me all the time if growing orchids are hard, and I say no they are just different, and once you learn how they are different then its a peice of cake to grow. Flowering is a whole nother story. LOL Have a darn Maxilaria tenufolia that is growing like a weed, but has never blomed for me yet. I'm trying the burn or die method on it at the moment. LOL Was told by someone give it more light more light. Well, the next place to go was full sun. I heard it worked for some folks on the same plant so I'm trying now.
I think the best advice I can give is read all you can and don't be afraid to kill something, because everyone will kill some plants along the way. Even the Pro's have the occasional death in the family.
Ok I'm done rambling.
There's like 15+ different genus of CPs with climate requirements ranging from cold-temperate to tropical to mediterranean. And while some genus are monotypic, others have lots of species. There are around 130 species of Drosera, around 70 species of Pinguicula, 214 species of Utricularia, something like 82 species of Nepenthes.
I really don't know how difficult orchids are to cultivate. Certainly they have a reputation for being difficult, as do CPs. But even with so many different species, I would assume they'd have more in common with each other than, say, a tropical bladderwort, a dewy pine, a Sarracenia, and tuberous sundew.
I really don't know how difficult orchids are to cultivate. Certainly they have a reputation for being difficult, as do CPs. But even with so many different species, I would assume they'd have more in common with each other than, say, a tropical bladderwort, a dewy pine, a Sarracenia, and tuberous sundew.
[b said:
I think I speak for everyone here when I say we all started out that way. It's not so much that cps are hard to grow (read: keep alive), rather that one starts to doubt one's self after reading all these forums. Am I doing it right? So and so's plants look SO MUCH BETTER THAN MINE! It just come with experience...and the loss of a few plants. What I've come to realize, though, is that sometimes a lost plant just isn't your fault.
Just keep on truckin'! Eventually people will be coming to YOU for advice on growing. Then you have to worry about killing OTHER peoples' plants as well as your own!
LOL!
For cultivation, I prefer "Insect-Eating Plants & How to Grow Them" by Adrian Slack.
He has several pioneering methods to cultivate some unusual and difficult species.
I have access to a local "orchid pro". He even travels to the jungles and imports them. The secret for getting orchids to bloom is by using smaller pots.
I just dabble in orchids. The flowers only last a short time and then there is just this boring plant to look at.
With CP, there is always something interesting being caught in the pitchers or tentacles. The flowers, for most species, are secondary in interest. The recently acquired - S. wherryi x alata is an exception. The yellow ring of color surrouding the pink is...stunning. Thanks again JBL.
I look forward to seeing my S. burkii flower - maybe next year. Now, if I can get that yellow ring on the S. burkii cross. Better yet, pink surrounded by white with the yellow ring.
For the orchids, try drier conditions and maybe some "bloom buster".
Tweek
He has several pioneering methods to cultivate some unusual and difficult species.
I have access to a local "orchid pro". He even travels to the jungles and imports them. The secret for getting orchids to bloom is by using smaller pots.
I just dabble in orchids. The flowers only last a short time and then there is just this boring plant to look at.
With CP, there is always something interesting being caught in the pitchers or tentacles. The flowers, for most species, are secondary in interest. The recently acquired - S. wherryi x alata is an exception. The yellow ring of color surrouding the pink is...stunning. Thanks again JBL.
I look forward to seeing my S. burkii flower - maybe next year. Now, if I can get that yellow ring on the S. burkii cross. Better yet, pink surrounded by white with the yellow ring.
For the orchids, try drier conditions and maybe some "bloom buster".
Tweek
