My baby has recovered

[Drosera36]

Well, my little N. 'Judith Finn' baby has recovered its ordeal that I'll describe later. Well, here are some pics of its new developing pitchers (which take forever to grow):

This pitcher is the largest, and the first to develop in the new terrarium. It's about one inch in length:

Here's the newest pitcher, which looks a bit more promising than the largest one:

I really think I need to repot this guy into a 4-5 inch pot (It's been in a 3-inch pot for about 2 or so years). Does anyone have any good soil mixes? Right now, mine is in something like peat moss, lava rock, perlite, and some LFS. I got my plant bare-root from petflytrap.

-Ben

 

[glider14]

Quote[/b] ]Here's the newest pitcher, which looks a bit more promising than the largest one:

how can you tell. to me it looks just like a pitcher of a brand spanking new leaf but if you ca tell its going to be good then tell me i need to know your secret

 

[Drosera36]

Well, the thing is that when the largest pitcher was really little and like a tiny fuzz-ball, it was long and white, while this new one is red-ish-green and squat. And that, in my opinion, is a good thing.

-Ben

 

[glider14]

Oh I see

 

[Clint]

i standard mix is 1 part LFS 1 part perlite and 1 part orchid mix (which consists of ceramic clay pieces, fir bark, and charcoal)

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Looking good Ben. You'll have to post another picture once that pitcher fully develops.

 

[Drosera36]

Ok, I now think that this pitcher will open real soon, since when I shine light on the side of the pitcher, I can see the outline of the red peristome, and I'm sure it'll be very pretty. Plus, I can see a bunch of digestive stuff in the pitcher.

Here's a pic:

(Don't worry. I'm not an undercover agent for Sears trying to advertise.

)

-Ben

 

[glider14]

Wait a sec...you never told us the ordeal that it went through!!

 

[Drosera36]

Quote[/b] (glider14 @ Jan. 15 2006,11:35)]Wait a sec...you never told us the ordeal that it went through!!

Oh, yeah. I guess I did forget. Ok, this is what happened to the plant:

About 3 years ago, I think, I ordered a teeny tiny bare-root N. x 'Judith Finn' from PFT. I potted it up into a 3-inch pot with some peat moss, LFS, charcoal, and lava rock. I put it into my completely sealed 10 gallon terrarium with a measley 15 watts of light shining on it (hey, I didn't know any better.) I often didn't water it for a while, since I just kinda was lazy or something. It stayed in there for like 2 years, until I moved here to Rochester, NY. I still had it in the terrarium for a while, but I realized that I stunk at this cp growing stuff, and my plants were dying. So, I gave away 2 of my neps, and sealed the rest of my plants in little plastic baggies 2-3 inches under a 15 watt light. My nep seemed to enjoy it there; it grow larger pitchers, grew fast, and there was a really tiny tint of red in the pitchers. But after a few months of them in the bag, I just got tired of having to turn their lights on and off all the time, and re-inflating the bag when it deflated (which it did several times a day). So, I just turned off the lights, and left them there. They sat there in the dark corner without much light for several months, until in October, I met some people over the internet who were friendly enough to help me with my problems, and answers to them of which I never imangined. Apparently, my plants needed a buch more light, and good circulation. So, I set up a new tank with 82 watts of light, and an good circulation with 50-60% humidity, and now my plant is thriving, a bit mangled and stunted, but thriving. My nep grew a short, thin stem because it was growing towards the light, since it didn't get much light. Its leaves were long, but now they're much shorter, and have a purplish color when they first unfold. And now I top water it 2 times a week.

I seriously think I need to repot this guy after he had been in a 3-inch pot for 3 years. I'm thinking maybe like a 5 inch pot. But the plant seems content right now.

-Ben

 

[Drosera36]

Ok, well, my plant's pitcher has opened up, and has a nice red coloration on the inside of the trap, and hopefully the peristome will color up nicely too. Now the trap is 2.5" tall.

(No, I don't grow it on this windowsill, but maybe when it's older)

New pitcher

-Ben

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Good to see that your plant has come all this way and is now flourishing

 

[Drosera36]

Thanks. It's just that I wonder how long I can keep this thing growing in my terrarium without it taking over.

-Ben

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Nice N. 'Judith Finn' Ben. I've had one for a little over a year now and grow it in my window. Yours may not stay small enough for the terrarium much longer, if mine is an indicator. When I got it, it was about 5"/13cm across. After 14 months it is 13½"/~39cm across. That's not counting tendrils and pitchers. Like you, I prefer to top water, but I don't let water stand in its dish too long.

 

[Drosera36]

Thanks for the compliment. Would my plant be able to grow in a hanging basket in front of an east facing windowsill? Or is that too low light levels? I know that it gets nice, strong morning sun from sunrise at like 7 (in summer) til around 10:00-11:00 (on cloud-less days), and a bit of shaded sun the rest of the day. Or, should I grow it on a west facing windowsill?

-Ben

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

I would try to give it as much light as possible, especially if it is indirect light. I have mine in a south window where it gets lots of bright indirect light most of the day with a bit of direct light that occasionally gets past the other plants in the window.

 

[Drosera36]

Well, here are some pics of the pitcher now (note the red peristome):

-Ben

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Looks great Ben!