TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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Watering over vacation
- Thread starter CaRnIvORoUs_FrEaK
- Start date
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
If you can't get friends to come over and are unwilling to pay one of those 'pet minder' places to come over - consider asking friends to keep them at their place. A 'pet minder' place might be willing to do this cheaply if they didn't have to come over to your place. Also, if you have any local nurseries that grow any CP, you might try an arrangement with them...
Good luck.
Good luck.
I'd recommend giving the Sarracenia LOTS of water (they don't really mind being flooded as I've seen) and put it in an area where it wont get excessive sun.
As for the Nep: Hahaha! I have one that I NEVER water, it's just in a closed container (used to have pretzels inside; they were yum). I've forgotten about it for many weeks at a time and it's perfectly fine. I'm not saying that yours will be such a smashing success as mine has a very coarse mix (sphagnum moss and orchid bark) so that probably allows the moisture to reach the roots better than in say a largely peat based medium, but I'd give it a shot. I've never had a problem with mold or anything despite the warm, stagnant conditions. So what I'd advise to you is to put your plant's container in to a simple dish that will hold some water (dish size dependant on pot size, of course,) and then put lots of water in the bottom of the container (ie, not in the dish).
As for the Drosera, I know that in propagation and in the wild, they are often submerged, so give it a shot! Probably not enough to keep the plant submerged for all 3 weeks, but enough so that the water table will fall and by the time you get back it wont be bone dry (not that you can really know how much water that should be...) If you're worried about evaporation, put the plant in a container and cover it halfways (that way you still get a little airflow for when the water's receded.
Just what I'd do if I couldn't get someone to look after my plants, you're welcome to try what you think sounds bests. Oh, and if you're really worried about the Nep, you can give it some fungicide. Like everyone said, 3 weeks is a long time and it'd really be best to get someone to water them if you can, but sometimes you just gotta roll with the blows.
As for the Nep: Hahaha! I have one that I NEVER water, it's just in a closed container (used to have pretzels inside; they were yum). I've forgotten about it for many weeks at a time and it's perfectly fine. I'm not saying that yours will be such a smashing success as mine has a very coarse mix (sphagnum moss and orchid bark) so that probably allows the moisture to reach the roots better than in say a largely peat based medium, but I'd give it a shot. I've never had a problem with mold or anything despite the warm, stagnant conditions. So what I'd advise to you is to put your plant's container in to a simple dish that will hold some water (dish size dependant on pot size, of course,) and then put lots of water in the bottom of the container (ie, not in the dish).
As for the Drosera, I know that in propagation and in the wild, they are often submerged, so give it a shot! Probably not enough to keep the plant submerged for all 3 weeks, but enough so that the water table will fall and by the time you get back it wont be bone dry (not that you can really know how much water that should be...) If you're worried about evaporation, put the plant in a container and cover it halfways (that way you still get a little airflow for when the water's receded.
Just what I'd do if I couldn't get someone to look after my plants, you're welcome to try what you think sounds bests. Oh, and if you're really worried about the Nep, you can give it some fungicide. Like everyone said, 3 weeks is a long time and it'd really be best to get someone to water them if you can, but sometimes you just gotta roll with the blows.
put them in a deep tray of water, then seal each plant air-tight in a plastic bag. that way, no water can "leave the system" and they wont dry out.
but! you will need to bring them indoors, or put them in FULL shade outdoors, you cant leave them in bags and in sun because they will seriously overheat.
low-light for 3 weeks isnt ideal, but it wont kill them.
drying out completely WILL kill them, so its better to risk mold and low-light than risk total dehydration.
sit them in a deep water tray, seal tight in a plastic bag, put them in full shade,
or *next* to a window indoors, so they get some light but not direct sun,
and they can get through 3 weeks just fine.
Scot
but! you will need to bring them indoors, or put them in FULL shade outdoors, you cant leave them in bags and in sun because they will seriously overheat.
low-light for 3 weeks isnt ideal, but it wont kill them.
drying out completely WILL kill them, so its better to risk mold and low-light than risk total dehydration.
sit them in a deep water tray, seal tight in a plastic bag, put them in full shade,
or *next* to a window indoors, so they get some light but not direct sun,
and they can get through 3 weeks just fine.
Scot
You could go to the hardware store and purchase a replacement furnace humidifyer float. Mount that to a large container, that is big enough to fit all of the plants that can sit in water. Then conect a hose from the float to a 5 gal. bucket of rain water or larger reservoir. Note: no debrie in water, it may cause the valve to pass causing the plant container to overflow.
I have also herd of a wicking system made out of a piece of new carpet. Sit your nep on the wet carpet, will not get soggey but should stay wet and wick water into the bottom of the pot.
May take a bit of trial and error but should work.
Good luck
Stephen
I have also herd of a wicking system made out of a piece of new carpet. Sit your nep on the wet carpet, will not get soggey but should stay wet and wick water into the bottom of the pot.
May take a bit of trial and error but should work.
Good luck
Stephen
