A New Forum

I'd like to propose the idea of a new forum: Carnivorous Plants.

I think there's enough interest to support this and also the vast array of these kind of plants would provide a lot of discussion.

i concur... i have some sarracenia seeds that have been in my fridge forever because i don't know how to stratify/germinate them. i think this would be a good forum for exotic-inclined gardeners. that's my 2 cents!

I definitely vote for that as well. Have just started "getting into" carniverous plants & find that questions about them really don't fit into any of the forums currently in place.

Some are "houseplants", some aren't. Some are "tropical", some aren't. They're not really "foliage plants" & don't really fit into the all-encompassing "perennial" scheme either. Plus they do have extremely specific needs in order to thrive.

I think a Carniverous Plants forum would be a hit.

Oh... it's not just me!

I'd say we might want to consider suggesting this-
Carnivorous & Insectivorous

There is one other forum I have been anxiously waiting for-
Soggy Gardening (rain gardens, wetlands, marshes, bogs, & fens)
Given the water shortages sweeping across the US, I have noticed an increased interest in rain gardening with many sites popping up on the Internet as interest in this area grows. Basically as pertains to a rain garden, you divert one of your gutters to an area in your yard and allow Ma Nature to take it from there. I have seen some incredibly creative rain gardens and quite beautiful I might add. The species evolved to thrive in those types of environments have a beauty all their own.

Just my thoughts.

Say naien, Sarracenia spp. is indigenous to North America just like the Venus Fly Trap (Dionaea muscipula). They're as American as baseball and apple pie and do not occur naturally on any other continent in the world. Sarracenia are not exotic in the least, they are temperate requiring a dormancy. To grow them as a tropical would be the ultimate death of them as they need to rest or they grow themselves to death for all practical purposes. People who successfully grow Sarracenia in tropical and sub tropical climates have been known to dig up their plants, bag them, and stick them in their refrigerators for 3 months to better insure their survival. They can be a little bit intimidating but only because people aren't all that familiar with them. I can help you with that seed if you want to try to go for it. The viability, if stored properly such as dry and in your frig, should be such that you should realize a germination rate of at least 10% even if they've been stored for 4-5 years. Or... you could wait to see if they are in a position to add a new forum and be the first to ask a question ;)

I support establishment of such a forum. This group of plants are among the most bizarre and interesting on the face of the planet, and some of them, I agree, are so difficult to start from seed...would greatly benefit from others' knowledge on how they accomplish waking the seeds up.

I started a thread in Indigenous Plants forum about CPs, there has been a lot of activity to date.

Joseph

Now we just need the big man's okay.

Well, we might need to give the suggestion some more time and see if there's more interest and support out there.

Speaking for myself, I like to see new forums added when our members suggest them, but it's also important that to have a solid base of interest to increase their chances of longterm success.

Perhaps we should post the idea on some of the threads where carniverous plants have been or would be mentioned, such as perennials, houseplants, etc.? A lot of folks might be interested who perhaps might not visit this particular thread.

I've got a bog full of Carnivorous plants, and everyone thus far is correct there's not good forum currently to discuss these plants. You've got my vote for a new forum dedicated to CPs. Here's a photo of my Carnivores (Sarracenias) when they were in bloom this past May.

bogman, that picture has some very awesome plants! Wow!!

I'd be interested. I rescued a bunch from an area that was going to be covered up with sand to build a shopping center

MzMunchken, those are real beauties! Wow!

Joseph

Id say yes aswell, Im a long term Carnivorous Plant grower(been growing for nearly 2 years) plus, the amount of Carnivorous plant growers is small, if we had a forum for them it would encourage more people to get intrested in them

Ahhh, MzMunchken... the infamous Crestview site! Good for you! You picked up leucos. There weren't too many leucos there compared to other species present.

Okay - I posted "Support For Carniverous Plant Forum" posts on the "Watergarden", "Perennials", Indigenous", & "Houseplants" forums, along with a link to this thread, just in case folks who frequent those forums might be "hidden" CP lovers who might miss this thread.

Oh - add the "Container Gardening" forum to the above list as well. Might as well cover all bases - lol!

I'd think this would be a possibly worthwhile forum. I'm not trying to be indecisive or whatever, I'm just trying to say that I'm not sure if I'm sure or not, but maybe it would be worth the investment of time that it would take an administer sort of person to do the things needed to expand the software, but then again, maybe not.

lol

I support this effort.

Good idea!! We grow saracenias amd sundews. I would love a group to share info.

I'm in full agreement. Here are some of mine growing in the shallow end of the pond. They're in a pot filled with peatmoss, sitting in the water, but not under the water. They seem to be thriving.
I vote for a forum.

I'd be interested. I have been investigating these plants as best I could for an extremely wet area. They are fascinating. They don't really fit well in the other forums.

Thanks Joseph...

Equalibrium... I wished I could have rescued more.. if you look closely in the bucket I also managed to rescue some of the native orchids that were also growing at the site. No construction at the site as yet so I am hoping to go and rescue more since I've made more room in my swamp in full sun.

Hey MzMunchken! You go girl! Rumor has it the excavators are coming soon. I'm not down there or I'd be side by side with you snatching and grabbing as much as my arms could hold of everything that was indigenous to that site. You did a fine job getting what you could!

Pixy ... is that a tomoato plant growing in your POND?!?!?! lol

Harhar har, Bogweed! It's just your basic water celery. Taking over the world by now. But I do have a volunteer tomatoe in the perennial bed. don't know when that happened...

edited due to poor typing skills

This message was edited Aug 25, 2005 6:11 PM

Thanks Breezy for doing the work! I would really like to see this happen.

I need to work on getting my long over due trades finished otherwise I'd have spent more time on rallying support.

Found this in the 'houseplants' forum. I have an interest in these types of plants, too. Tried a 'venus flytrap' once but lost interest in it.
Perhaps, I, should have been more tolerant or patience.

Anyway, my vote is added!

Sounds good to me.I was looking at a venus fly trap yesterday almost bought it but spent to much money there already.lol.Jody

I would like to see a cp forum too. I just started growing neps and butterworts.

I would love to see this forum started!!!

Bogman,

Do you know if the yellow/green pitcher plants in your photo are endangered anywhere? I picked some up on the way home from our round up. When I got home my neighbor went crazy and told me I could go to jail for having them. The were doing good in my veggie filter. I left my pond in her care and when I got back everything was alive and well but my pitcher plants. Do you have any to trade?

Betty

Please count me in too for a cp forum

Eric

The plants in his photo could be S. oreophila given that photo would have been taken sometime in mid spring and oreos are real quick to put up pitchers in spring but I'm thinking that is S. flava that you are looking at and admiring amidst a host of other Sarracenia. I can see blooms to S. purpurea in the photo but not the actual plant and I can see blooms to several other pitcher plants. Bogman would have to tell you which flava it is that is clumping so nicely. S. flava is not an appendix I plant but definitely not good to be field collecting any carnivorous plants unless there is a bulldozer ready to level the site and even then you generally need permits as well as approval from the owner of the land. Most of the native plant communities where these species grow are threatened and protected and if you were in a wetlands... that would probably be a problem. The species your neighbor thought you had would be S. oreophila. That is an appendix I plant but most of those are down to phyllodia now and generally would not be producing pitchers at this time of year wherein which the flava still are. The plants you most probably took were flava. As far as putting them in the veggie filter to your pond, that would be why they are dead but... if you haven't killed at least one cp- you are nothing. At least that's the saying that diehard CPers have. Everybody kills a few here and there because their cultural requirements are so different from that which we have grown accustomed to growing. As far as the veggie filter to the pond, I know that at one time there existed no category here for Carnivorous plants in the Plant Finder so many people put them under the category of ponds and aquatics for a lack of a better place to categorize them. They can't survive grown that way unless they are an aquatic Utric which is an entirely different species of CP. Sarracenia rot out real fast as you learned. That being said, Sarracenia are best divided in spring to better their chances of survival when transplanted. Now wouldn't be the time to transplant a Sarr or you risk losing the parent plant as well as the division.

Note- S. oreophila can not be sold or traded for all practical purposes. It is classifed as an endangered species. Attempting to solicit a trade for one is a major no no. The only way you could acquire an oreo would basically be to receive it as a gift or purchase it from a nursery that has the proper permitting. They are very far and few between but I know of one if you are interested.

This sounds like it would be a very interesting and informative forum, therefore you have my vote.

Judy

Count me in- getting on the Nepenthes train here lately...

Do we have a new forum?

I was thinking the same thing. Wonder how much support we have to muster before the white surrender flag goes up - lol!!!!

I think a forum for cp's would be great! I have such a hard time finding any information on these and it seems people at the nurseries don't really know anything about them either.

Can we get the new forum? I already want to ask about starting pitcher plants from seed. I ordered seed last year, stored it in the fridge for months, then followed directions - straight to 100% failure. I'd like to try again! (always a glutton for punishment...)

I bought some pitcher plants, venus fly trap and a mini acorus grass this past Spring from the Farmer's market.I would love to see this forum. Linda

I'd really like to discuss growing them because they're so widely ranged from tropicals, to hardy ones, to semi-carnivorous, etc.

It would also be pretty awesome to have a desinated place to do carnivorous specific trades too.