Anyone know what this carnivore is... I think it may be a Sundew type but not sure

[RosieC]

Thanks again for all the info. This is a new venture for me

I guess they don't curl the leaves more than they have to... why waste energy!

Originally Posted by s.kallima

You can find good info here: The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: African and Madagascan species

Rosie, if you want it to keep doing a good job at catching gnats (and Drosera do very well at that), you need to provide a lot of light to your Drosera.
They will stop producing glue droplets if not enough light, and then won't catch any bug.
I keep mine under fluorescent T5 and they love it !

I don't grow under lights so I'll have to see how it goes on the windowsill. According to the link capensis is ons of the most sturdy and able to cope with a bright windowledge so hopefully it has a chance for me If not then it didn't cost much and it was worth the try!

Originally Posted by stefpix

Make sure you use distilled water and absolutely no fertilizers, esp in the peat.

Thanks Stefano, one of the few bits of info on the lable was saying rainwater and no fertilizer. I have rainwater for my more sensitive orchids so I'm planning to use that.

Originally Posted by stefpix

I find Mexican Pinguiculas are the best CP to control Gnats. have a larger leaf surface and act like sticky traps.

I've looked that up and they had a couple in the shop. I didn't get one as it looked a bit unsightly with the gnats stuck to the leaf, I liked the Drosera though even with the gnats. A shallow reason to choose between them I know, but it was the deciding factor for me.

[stefpix]

Well the Pinguiculas bloom a lot - have nice blooms and hare the hardiest. Also they make many off shots and plantlets I grow some and the gnats are all gone.
Gnats are not early as attracted to Droseras. Although I like the Droseras, if you want to control the Gnats get Pinguiculas

[Tindomul]

What kind of humidity do these need? Like I said before, I keep mine at ambient humidity which can get plenty low and just keep the peat its in very wet. Can I get away with this with Drosera?

[stefpix]

i keep them in a clear plastic shoe box like container. I water the saucer then leave 1 inch of water. I wait a day or 2 or 3 to water after the saucer is dry.

they seem easy. talking Pinguiculas.

My droseras died after I put them outside in the shade in the summer and rain water ended up in the container.

I have many many many doubts about the purity of rain water after noticing this and reading about acid rain and reading about rain fall collecting pollutants and smog.

I buy a gallon of distilled water for a dollar and lasts me a month or so.

[RosieC]

Interesting about the rain water. Well mine is going to get rain water simply because that's what I have.

I don't think it's as easy to get distilled water in this country. My hubby thinks car maintenance stores used to sell it for car bateries, but most of those are sealed these days so we're not sure if you can still get it. We're going to take a look in the local one though.

I've just moved this to a brighter windowledge as I realised the window it was in was getting less light than I realised as the sun is now lower in the sky and blocked by the house oposite in the morning. I was concious of what you said about light and I know we get much brighter afternoon light in the other side of the house.

I'll just have to see how it does

[Tindomul]

You could always (if you get desperate) rig up something to make your own distilled water. All you need is some sort of device to catch the steam from a boiling pot of water.

[stefpix]

Isn't distilled water needed for ironing irons? Here also they sell some purified waters with mineral salts filtered out. Aquafina. They may work as well...

[RosieC]

Yeah, just about remember the theory from chemestry studies at 18. We had the proper equipment then. Bet it's not very efficient with any sort of home setup, but you could do it.

[RosieC]

Originally Posted by stefpix

Isn't distilled water needed for ironing irons? Here also they sell some purified waters with mineral salts filtered out. Aquafina. They may work as well...

You could be right, we have 'ironing water' sold over here but it usually has a fragrance added so I wouldn't want to use it on a plant. I just use tap water in my iron.

[s.kallima]

I would not worry too much about the rain water, unless you leave close to an industrial valley. There are still lots of wild european sundew populations that grow very well just with rain water.
I give mine brita water (but Vancouver tap water is great to begin with, very pure).