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Genlisea

i just got a genlisea, what the care for it, I LOVE IT!!! But... Im new to genlisea so can anybody give me basic care, thank you.
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same as terrestrial Utrics. peat/sand mix, high water table, good light. i have a bunch of violacea growing in an 8 inch wide shallow dish that i allow to almost dry out and than soak them really really well and all in it are doing wonder fully. i also have the same species growing where it it never gets anything close to dry and its doing wonderfully. i do believe if you want to see flowers they need really good light though as i never see flower stalks from shaded rossettes.
 
Mine does far better if I rarely let it dry out much. I go from the plant being 1" under water to where the the soil is still damp visibly wet. It doesn't like to dry at all, the leaves started browning quickly after I let it dry. Mine is G. hispidula, so it could be a difference betwen the 2.. I also grow mine in a deeper pot, its maybe 5" tall.
 
my hispidula never gets dry. but thats mainly cause ive never had it anywhere but in the same tray as my Utrics. i may have given the wrong impresion. the soil in the violacea dish never gets dry, it just gets alot less wet than the genlisea growing in the trays with my Utrics. it gets dry compared to my terrestrial utrics
 
I was given both hispidula & violacea this summer. To my surprise, the violacea sent up a flower stalk and before it never opened up. Furthermore, the plant brwoned and died rather suddenly. Why?
 
Here is some information I put together for genlisea:

Terrarium or windowsill: I would suggest starting to grow them in a terrarium where the growing conditions can be better controlled. I am experimenting with growing them on windowsills and they are not doing as well for me.

Potting Media: I have found that Long-fibered Sphagnum Moss (aka LFS) has given me the best results. I have also tried various combinations of peat and sand, which also work. A top dressing of sand is a nice contrast to make the plants look better, but I have found it harder to maintain. Undrained containers are fine, but I tend to submerge the plant every now and then, which the plant can tolerate. If there is a bottom drain, you can place a pot within a pot and keep the water level high to saturate the traps with water; a similar way that some people grow utricularia. I keep mine waterlogged and I don’t let them completely dry out.

Light: I have tried moderate to fairly bright, but no direct sun. I keep most of mine on a constant 16 hour light cycle to simulate summer all the time. I typically use two 40-watt cool white florescent tubes about a foot away. There are different opinions about how much light they can tolerate. The leaves will grow long and thin if the light is inadequate.

Humidity: I usually keep the humidity from moderate to close to 100% (terrarium is better).

Air circulation: Stale air and using pond water increases the possibility of mold in a terrarium. I think a fan would be helpful or at least keep a gap for airflow into the terrarium.

Temperature: The temperature should remain above 70 ° F; I think I have lost a few to temperature dips to the low 60’s. These are tropical plants (no dormancy required) and I have lost most through experimenting with lower temperatures.

Watering/Feeding: I use pond water to feed/water them. When I don’t use pond water, I use rainwater. I have experimented with using tannin-enriched water from oak leaves falling into my rain collection bucket. I have a theory that it could help prevent mold and it makes the potting media more acidic.

Fertilizer: Some claim that a light foliar fertilizer is beneficial, but the most I have used is watering with water from a pond that is high in nitrogen.

Transplanting: When the media breaks down or the plant outgrows its pot, it should be transplanted. There are no roots to worry about, but there are underground traps that are fragile. I have yet to transplant one with losing some of the traps.

Propagation: They can be propagated by removing a complete leaf, including the white base, and planting it onto wet LFS. I usually cover the white base piece with some LFS. If the leaf disappears, it did not work. Also, I have read that the flower scape can be planted on LFS for new plants.


Pitfalls to avoid:

Creeping Moss: Certain mosses can crowd out genlisea plants. The vast majority of new leaves sprout from the middle of the same rosette, so they do not spread across the surface of a pot like some utricularia can. Occasionally new leaves will sprout from the underground or surface traps. I use a top dressing of LFS to help prevent the spread of the smaller, invasive mosses.

Mold: I think good air circulation and a top dressing of LFS should help keep it at bay.

Slime Mold: They can be affected a slime mold. It is usually black/dark green and can overtake the plant’s leaves. I have taken cotton swabs to clean each leaf and that seemed to do the trick.

Die-back: After the plants blooms, there can be some “die-back” whereby some leaves die and other turn yellow/light brown. They have typically come back without changing any of the growing conditions. I have lost all of the leaves on some plants, and they eventually grew back from the traps.
 
I got two G.violacea from Dave S. a month ago and followed his instructions--they are doing great. I put them into an undrained plastic container, keep them constantly wet (water table at the surface of the pot), use pure LFS as a potting medium, and have them in medium light (just to the side of 80W cool fluorescent lighting).
 
Same source, same conditions, except mine were at a window sill. It was doing great and then died like it was an adelae.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]It was doing great and then died like it was an adelae.

Hahahahaha, I laughed when I read that Jim, just because I've lost so many D. adelae for no apparent reason at all
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  • #10
Glad I can provide some entertainment for ya! Dave, thank you for providing the care sheet.
 
  • #11
I grew all my genlisea side by side in the same media and water tray as my utrics. Media was sand and peat. I would water them to within a 1-2 cm of the surface then water again when the tray was dry. This method worked for the common species, such as violacea and hispidula, as well as aurea, filliformis, pygmaea and others. All grew well and flowered often.

I would, however, not recommend suddenly changing the conditions.
 
  • #12
really, G. filliformis grew great for you in sand and peat?!?! the lil piece you sent me will only actually grow in live LFS for me. it refused to do anything in peat and sand for 6 months. when places in live LFS i doubled its size in about a month. shows that not all conditions work for everyone.
 
  • #13
An update......

The G.violacea I acquired from Dave S. a couple of months ago has produced a flower stalk. Can't wait to see it bloom!
 
  • #14
I found that they took a while to get established in the peat/sand mix, but once they did they were pretty much maintenance free.

I always found that live sphagnum was always on the verge of overgrowing the plant. But it is true that live moss can work wonders on all sorts of stubborn CPs.

Good to here that it is still alive though. Has it flowered? Not a very compelling flower, if I remember correctly.
 
  • #15
no havent gotten it to flower yet.
 
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