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Haa! a nebulizer works!

OK, I have two Sons, one of whom had breathing problems years ago and needed a nebulizer (He's all better now). The nebulizer's been collecting dust on the top shelf of my closet.

Well two weeks ago, I finally broke out my VFTs from their cold area and they sprouted almost immediately; growing -to date- five new traps.

I'm in Colorado and the air's really dry. I've been able to keep the humidity in the terrarium above 50% using a spray bottle. I got a weird idea and rigged the old nebulizer to a timer and some extra support and piping and I'm now able to keep it above 70%. Not much, but it's getting me to wonder if I can grow a high-humidity carnivorous plant like a sundew using this method.

Anyone else try this?
 
That may be TOO much. I'm not sure though, but i do know that if the humidity is too high with VFTs then they can mold and rot and it's not pretty.

Bye
Dave

12:30?! WHAT, am i doing up?
 
Hmmm, Perhaps I'll get another tank and set of lights and try the nebulizer with sundews seperately.

(This CP hobby drives wives insane, ya know)
 
The humidy in my apartment can drop as low as 20-30% in the wintertime (darn heating). I keep my plants in a terrarium (an aquarium) with a glass lid with lights resting on the top. I raise the plants above the bottom of the terrarium using some eggcrate. This way, I can fill the bottom of the aquarium with water to keep the humidity up. I simply adjust the an opening in the glass lid to regulate the humidy level (for example, I crack it open about a half inch to keep the humidity around 50% for my sundews, and leave no opening for my lowland nepenthes tank to keep the humidy around 70-90%). This has worked great for me. Hope I could help.
 
I'm doing what SM is doing, except I also have an aquarium heater running in the water below (have some shrimp living in there actually... it's a multi-function tank). The humidity is always from 85-90%... which is actually almost too much and I'm looking for a good way to lower it. But it's an easy way to get it really steamy in there.

I'd consider a sundew a high-light plant, not a high-humidity plant though.
 
I agree with endparenthesis about the sundews.

I grow many different kinds of CP's as windowsill plants, including sundews. My humidity in winter can drop to 30% durning the day when my furnace is not running. (I have a humidifier on my furnace set to 45%)
All the plants do great. I think humidity is over exaggerated for these plants.
 
My VFTs have done much better after I stopped worrying about humidity. Every time I raised the humidity I killed them.
smile_h_32.gif
 
Yea, a little higher humidity helps with most sundews, but VFT'S don't need near as much as you think. I've had mine grow just fine under 20 percent. The big thing with sundews is not alot of 'moving air'. That seems to dry the dew faster than anything.

But do one or the other, it'll acclimate to it, but you are asking for more problems than it may be worth raising the humidity to that level; better have some fungicide on hand.
 
My sundews and vfts grow just great, and the humidity drops below 20% in my apartment too. It very rarely gets about 50% and everyone seems happy. Light is the most important. When I was starting I focused on humidity too, but learned quickly that it wasn't that important. Happy growing!
 
  • #10
Sorry so long to thank you all for your advice. I was drafted into a promotion at work and have been extremely busy for a while. I'm on vacation and now have the chance.

I even had an opportunity to post pics of my fellers!
http://www.petflytrap.com/cgi-bin....t=17746
 
  • #11
I....think your humidity gauge might not be working right. A tank filled with damp sphagnum with a lid(the lights comprise the lid, right?) should have a higher humidity, shouldn't it?
Anyway, if you changed and put the plants in pots sitting in the tank, you could use the tray method(having them sit in a thin layer of water maybe 1 cm deep) during the growing season and that would suffice.
What do the rest of you think?
Cheers,

Joe
 
  • #12
Oh, it's not completely enclosed. I have an air pump rigged to it for circulation, and the lid leaves three inches open at the top.
 
  • #13
I have never know flytraps to need that much air movement. Has it shown to help?
 
  • #14
Why the pump. The VFTs will have bigger leaves in more humidity (which is not nessicarily good but) they will grow faster then outside. I doubt you need the pump.
 
  • #15
Actually, I don't have the pump going 24-7. It's great for circulation and humidity control.

$20.00 at a fish shop.
 
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