Carnivorous plants with orchids
 

Good Evening!
I have a question regarding the use of carnivorous plants in an orchid greenhouse to cut down on the bugs and pests in a less chemical way.
I am in the process of building the greenhouse and have been doing lots of reading etc. about the conditions I will need for the large flowering catts I've chosen to concentrate on growing. Without spending more money on other books for carnivorous plants...hopefully I can get some suggestions about which plants work best with orchids and how to keep them healthy. If I purchased a book, which one should I get?
Thanks!

Pinguiculas [mexican ones]. easy. let them sit in a tray with distilled water only.

Pinguiculas- butterworts, are a big hit on this board, as are Droseras- sundews.
I find that sundews catch more gnats, but CPs aren't going to put as big a dent in larger pest populations as you might think. They get some, sure, but shouldn't be your only line of defense.

Search for carnivorous plants, drosera, pinguicula, etc. on this board and you'll find a lot of informative threads.

Can't say much to books.
This site is AMAZING- an incredible wealth of information, and the author has written some great books as well- http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html

yeah gnats only. but those are by far the most common. would get some ladybugs.

Ladybugs are a good idea; I've got a tiny jumping spider that seems to live permanently on my orchid shelves. He disappears in winter, but pops up again every spring (this is the third year), unless it's one of his descendants. :biggrin: I see him most mornings when I'm watering, usually on a different shelf, hopping from plant to plant on his daily bug patrol. Whenever he shows up, the insect population (including fungus gnats) drops dramatically.

Awesome! As an eye surgeon I find it ironic that one of the favored plants is spelled almost identically to an ocular diagnosis called "pinguecula"; a benign condition of the conjunctiva :shock:
I so much appreciate the information and the excellent link!
And I gotta get me some of those pinguiculas! /wink

I have some plantlets I could trade or send for postage - send me a mail. I have Ping moctezumae, Ping Aphrodite. They multiply quickly if you grow them right. I can send also some leaves. You get new plantlets from a leaf like with Saintpaulias but it is a lot easier.
Just MAKE SURE the peat moss / medium/ perlite you use has no fertilizer at all or you will kill them. also put them in a plastic pot sitting on a saucer with DISTILLED water or you will kill them. NEVER fertilize. no more gnats on my shelves. I put a 25 W CFL above the pings and the gnats commit mass suicide,

I'd be interested in some of the Pinguiculas.

Send me a PM/ email... do you have any backbulb or small division to eventually trade? either way. let me know. I need to go buy some small ziplock bags to send them... or somehow wrapped in sphagnum

Since I started growing a few Sundews and Sarracenias in my greenhouse, I've had zero gnats or whiteflies. Books I recommend are (1st) "The Savage Garden", by Peter D'Amato, and (2nd) "Growing Carnivorous Plants", by Barry Rice.