I am looking into the carnivorous plants that some of you have. I especially like the sundews and the venus fly traps. Have those of you who have them found they are difficult to grow. I understand they need a 'hibernation' period? Do you leave them under lights like you do the rest of your AV's? What do you feed them if there aren't enough gnats...like that will ever happen - you should see my yellow tags!!
What ever you can share will be helpful to me to make an informed decision on purchasing one or two. Thanks!!
Not really OT -
I tried the sundews but they really require consistently high humidity - like in a greenhouse or a terrarium. I had them semi-enclosed and lost all. The VFTs require a winter dormancy period but not as cold as outside in NY in winter. They can be placed in the fridge (so I hear) if you are so inclined......
So now I stick with the butterworts because they can be grown next to the AVs....
Anita, My Venus Fly Trap made it through the winter.
I had it on the East outside of my house all summer. Before the first frost I brought it inside and set it on my East window sill. Once winter set in I placed it in my basement under lights. It goes dormant so I did not water it too much. My basement remained around 50-55 degrees.
Linda
I have an enclosed grow rack downstairs. The humidity is not measured, but I usually have mild condensation on the sides. It also stays >70° most of the time. It may drop a bit at night when the lights go out.
I only have a few days' experience so far, but... We have a Carnivorous Plants Forum! http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/redmeatoffthebone/
One of my DG friends who is "into" CPs pointed me toward this link, http://www.dangerousplants.com/
He has "growing guides" that are packed with good info! Good prices, too. Check out his "dangerous plants!"
oh my gosh.... I just scrolled down to the bottom of the Venus Fly Trap culture page above (I'd only glanced at it before, but now I have one!), and I made the discovery that they can be (are you sitting down?) propagated BY LEAF!!!
You know I'll have to try that once mine starts growing!
hmmm seems like they are best brought in and out of the house depending on the season. I was hoping that they would stay in the grow racks year round...
My Ping is starting to come out of it's winter state, lots of new growth (covered in fungus gnats! so it's earning it's keep!)
Mine is very easy to grow. Name is Ping 'Pirouette' and is available from California Carnivores.
So far I just leave the pot in a dish of water with a bit of Eleanors and top water a bit too.
It seems pretty happy despite the lower humidity.
Anita, I'm just going to move mine to the basement for their winter dormancy time... They can hang out next to the brug pots... Outside in zone 6 is too cold for most of them, I think.
Thanks for the info!!!
I am really to new to them to be able to say anything for certain on this one :)
So far all of mine seem to be doing fine.