Carnivorous Plants

[Subrosa]

Current pics of some of my CPs. #1 Sarracenia rubra #2 Sarracenia pupurata #3 Sarracenia leucophylla #4 Venus Fly trap:

[JungleMel]

Originally Posted by Paul

Ah, but your conditions are far, far different than mine, JungleMe!

My winter RH is 30% if I am lucky ... and that is with a humidifier running 24/7. I doubt yours is ever that low. Furthermore, decent sunlight during the winter months is a very rare thing here. Very different situation than yours.

I've grown these as houseplants in NY, with relatively no RH to speak of (forced air heating up there, very dry.) So I am speaking from experience. Yes, now that I live here in FL, they are grown outside, so I don't grow them in windowsills anymore! However, the point remains that you can. They'd pitcher less in winter, when the sunlight is lower in NY, not because of humidity issues. Sunlight is totally key with a lot of these, not humidity. That being said it also depends on which species or hybrid you want to grow. Some are more tolerant than others, and some like more or less sun than others. I know a few people who are growing Nepenthes hamata in a windowsill in the northern states. Here in FL, I can't grow the one's that need a temperature drop at night. So it's not that you can't grow in a windowsill, you just have to pick out the right one to do it with.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by JungleMel

I've grown these as houseplants in NY, with relatively no RH to speak of (forced air heating up there, very dry.) So I am speaking from experience. ... They'd pitcher less in winter, when the sunlight is lower in NY, not because of humidity issues. Sunlight is totally key with a lot of these, not humidity.

That surprises me, JM. My experience has been otherwise. Had a couple N. ventricosa and a N. Judith Finn once upon a time. They did well as babies in a terr and pitchered well. Once they got too big I had to take them out and did give them a sunny window -- even tried them in a very sunny spot outside for the summers. Never got a pitcher again once they left the humid envir. of the terr though they continued to get bigger and bigger. Finally gave them away.

[JungleMel]

Hmm, tough to tell why you didn't get pitchers without knowing everything about how you were growing them so I can't really say anything about your experience.

Judith Finn however, is one of the pickiest, quickest to sulk Nepenthes ever. A lot of people don't really hold it in high regard because it didn't take on any of the best traits of either parent and has a tendency do be very particular about everything. That one never pitchered as a windowsill plant for me either. Miss Finn (is actually a male, but that's besides the point) needs everything perfect all the time, so no wonder with that one..lol! N. ventricosa on the other hand, people have bloomed it in their kitchens, so again, tough to tell why yours in particular wasn't happy. They do take a looooooong time to adjust to change, how long did you give them in each spot you moved them to, months?

[Andrew]

Just my

I've been growing carnivorous plants for 20 years. Starting out with the obligatory fly trap and hybrid Sarra and still have both. Added bits of various genera and have now toned it back down to VFT's, Sarraceniaceae and a few nice big Drosera and Cephs that I can't bear to part with; I'm sure much to my Nepenthes and rosetted Drosera-obsessed friends' disgust.

I think part of the problem is that most people's introduction to carnivorous plants is a garden centre VFT or Drosera capensis, both of which need better light and better quality water than the average orchid grower with orchid conditions either can or is willing to give them. Water is manageable and many people get by with small collections with distilled water etc although it's hard to have a serious interest in anything other than Neps if you don't have a good supply of low TDS water. Light on the otherhand is not so easy with a lot of CP's especially if you grow your orchids indoors our under a fair amount of shadecloth. It kind of saddens me when I see the "I got my first carnivorous plant" threads on orchid forums with photo of a bright green capensis with no dew that you just know is going to lead to another person thinking CP's are hard to grow. Then again when the shops stick them in a dark corner with the orchids or near the checkout as an impulse buy, how is the customer supposed to know any different?

I agree with Mel that Neps and orchids go well together and there really should be more interest in Neps from orchid growers. They aren't as demanding of good water and probably appreciate some misguided splashing with orchid fertiliser. Still you do need to pick your species/hybrid well. Some tolerate low light and low humidity with OK results (I've never seen a great Nep grown under these conditions, though). Many others become ungrateful, space-hogs in those conditions that, if you're lucky, occasionally give you a tiny pitcher that doesn't match the horse eating monster you see in the Clarke or McPherson books.

FWIW, here's my original VFT, or what's left of it after several divisions. Still a favourite.

[LostInPeru]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and knowledge about these plants. It's been a great insight and I have learnt a lot.

Andrew that looks like a professional photograph. It's beautifully done. You wouldn't happen to be one of the growers whose plants featured in Tony Camilleri's book on Carnivorous Plants by any chance? Definitely the most beautifully photographed and thorough book on the subject I have ever read, a worthwhile read.

I'm still going to "attempt" growing N.lowii Mt Trus Madi lol.

[Laserbeak]

Originally Posted by Ordphien

Hmm.... what's your water quality like? Which ones did you try to grow and what was your lighting like?

You can feed them dried fish food. Lasts forever.

They also don't really need to eat much.
But don't tell my sarracenia. They are gluttons lol.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

OK, you sucked me in! I bought a Venus Fly Trap.

How much fish food and light does it need?

I live in New York City which is supposed to have some of the highest quality water of any city in the world. But I can try to give it rainwater or distilled water. But, actually rainwater in the city may be worse than tap water, which comes down here from upstate, I don't know.

---------- Post added at 07:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:13 AM ----------

Oh I was wondering too, can you feed them raw shrimp? They pretty much are insect-like, which is why I don't eat them myself.

[Subrosa]

VFTs grow best outdoors in full sun , so give it as much light as you can. You could use raw shrimp, but don't put too big of a piece in a trap. If it's too big it will rot before the trap can digest it, which will cause the trap to die. "Quality" is a very broad term when discussing water. The important thing for CPs is low TDS, which from my speaking with fellow aquarists in NYC you have. Rain water is still better, as long as it's collected from a clean surface. My collection set up allows me to bypass the collection container until the rain has had a chance to wash off my roof.

[Laserbeak]

In the summer, I can probably put it on the roof then it will get plenty of sun and rainwater (edit: plus the chance to catch some real flies!). During the winter though it'll have to be under one of LED panels. I have a few bright ones. I have some buckets I can put outside on the roof when it rains or snows to collect water, but sounds like in a pinch I can use NYC water.

[Subrosa]

I can't imagine you'd have much trouble finding snow to melt right now!