Wacky Weather

We are now in March, and this winter, we've had probably the least amount of snow I've ever known for a winter. How cool is that? Well, not very apparently, as during one or two of the latter days of February, my automatic vents on my greenhouse opened up, due to the greenhouse getting to near 20'c inside! In February!

My Drosera Regia's are also still alive. Not something I was expecting as they come from South Africa. Infact, fingers crossed of course, most of my plant's seem to have made it through the winter, with the exception of one or two sundews.

My website is well under way now. I had considered getting rid of this blog and using the new website's blog to update things, but the truth is, I really like the layout of this current blog, so I will be doing a link to it from my website instead.

This reminds me, soon I have to order some new labels for plants, and of course a table and couple of chairs for when I go to the gala's and car boot sales to sell these plants in person. Roll on May!

Venus Flytrap Care Guide

Venus flytrap Care Guide

Light

If you are keeping your flytrap indoors, its best to keep it in a south facing window to maximize the amount of light it can receive, as these plants love light and it is good for them to get at least 4 hours of sunlight each day. Alternatively, you can place your flytrap outside, but make sure it’s in an area that is open enough to get direct sunlight, but make sure it isn’t in a location where it could get knocked over by gusts of wind. If you keep your plant outside, you should still bring it in during winter as flytraps aren’t keen on frost.

Water

Do NOT use tap water, use Rainwater

Tap water contains chemicals which will harm the plant. You can use distilled water, reverse osmosis water, but the best water to use is rain water. Stand them in 1 - 2 cm of rain water, but during the winter months, its best to just keep them damp (such as using a mist spray) rather than fill the tray up with water.

Feeding

I could say that you don’t need to feed your plant because it can catch insects by itself, especially if it’s outside…..but I know you will anyway, because I still do! Your flytrap will do fine even if it only eats one insect every few weeks (that’s the whole plant, not a single trap). If you’re going to feed it, feed it live insects.

The trigger sensors on the inside of the trap need to sense movement in order for the trap to know it has caught live prey. Each trap can close and open (with an insect inside) roughly 3 – 4 times until the trap dies off. If it falsely closes (for instance, you put your finger in the trap to make it close, which I advise against but I know  you will do it!), it can close and open 5 – 7 times before the trap dies. Each time the plant falsely closes (due to your fingers), the plant’s energy is wasted. This energy could be used by the plant to make even bigger traps!

Don’t feed the plant an insect that is too big. When the plant closes, it makes itself air tight and releases digestive enzymes, but if it isn’t able to close fully, it can become vulnerable to bacteria (the trap, not the plant).

Winter dormancy

Winter dormancy for a flytrap typically takes place from late October to February. During dormancy, the plants leaves will die back and so it is important to prune them. If your flytrap is outside, bring it inside, preferably somewhere where it still gets daylight but feels cooler (such as a conservatory).

Flowering

Usually around June/July time, these plants will start producing stalks for flowers. Typically speaking, it is usually best to cut these stalks when they are less than a few inches long as the flytraps put a lot of effort into making them and can weaken the plant. If you really want to see the flower or are planning on collecting the seeds, by all means, let the flower grow. But if you’re more interested in having a healthier plant that produces good sized traps, its best to prune the stalk.

Repotting

Flytraps don’t grow as fast as other plants and therefore, only need to be repotted every year or two. It’s usually best to buy compost mixes specifically for carnivorous plants from online retailers, but failing that, get ‘nutrient free’ peat from your local garden centre. It is important that the peat be nutrient free, otherwise the plant will likely die.

Growth

One of the misconceptions of Venus flytraps is that the traps that are there when the plant is brought are the only traps it will have and that they will grow and that when a trap goes brown/black, the plant is dying. None of the above is true.

Flytraps are constantly growing new traps that you will see emerge from the centre of the plant. These new traps will replace the old ones and the plant will continue to make these new traps during the entirety of the growing season. Individual traps naturally get brown/black as it is part of their life cycle. When this happens, prune them (only the brown bits).  

 Another thing that some traps do when their trapping days are over is open extremely wide to the point that the trap is no longer cupped. When a trap is like this, it is being used by the plant purely for photosynthesis.

Pitcher Plant Care Guide

Pitcher Plant Care Guide

Light

Pitcher plants enjoy sunlight and if they are being kept indoors, a south facing window is ideal. These plants are typically winter hardy (UK) and can be kept outdoors (though I would recommend bringing them in during the winter). If you keep them outdoors, place them in a position that gets plenty of sunlight but is protected from the wind.

Water

Do NOT use tap water, use rainwater

Tap water contains chemicals which will harm the plant. You can use distilled water, reverse osmosis water, but the best water to use is rain water. Stand them in 1 - 2 cm of rain water but during the winter months, its best to just keep them damp (such as using a mist spray) rather than fill the tray up with water.

Feeding

Insects are attracted to the colour of the plant and the rim of the pitcher which is covered in sweet nectar. While the insects are walking around, the rim, things get slippery. It is also believed that the nectar is poisoned and can make insect’s ‘drunk’. All these things combined and the prey will fall down into the trap. Downward pointing hairs prevent the prey from escaping. 

Pitcher plants only need a person to feed them if they are being kept in a place which doesn’t typically get flies. In which case, feel free to feed it houseflies or hoverflies.

If they are in a greenhouse or outdoors, they will catch plenty of food themselves. Sometimes they catch so much food that they get indigestion, and their traps go brown and can fall over – though this is a good sign.

 

Winter dormancy

Pitcher plants like to be cool in the winter. An unheated greenhouse or conservatory is ideal but they are also ok outside, as long as they are in a fairly sheltered position. Prune the brown traps over winter. Keep damp during the winter.

Repotting

Pitcher plants only need to be repotted every year or two. It’s usually best to buy compost mixes specifically for carnivorous plants from online retailers, but failing that, get ‘nutrient free’ peat from your local garden centre. It is important that the peat be nutrient free, otherwise the plant will likely die. 

Growth

Given ideal conditions and good care, pitcher plants can grow up to be just over 1 metre tall. New traps will be produced from the centre of the plant fairly regularly and after a while, the current traps will start to go brown in parts. Typically, brown markings on the traps are an indicator of indigestion, this is a good sign. After a while, these traps will weaken and eventually flop over. 

Personally, if a trap does this but still has good colour in it, I leave it for a while (figuring it’s probably still digesting its food), but when much of the trap starts turning brown, then it can be pruned.

Sundew Care Guide

Sundew Care Guide

Light

Sundews are the ideal windowsill plant. Putting them in a place that receives a lot of sun is fine, but in the wild, sundews grow among grass and larger plants, so they don’t mind being in the shade for part of the day, as long as they get a couple of hours of sunlight. They can be grown outdoors, provided the climate is warm enough, but it’s usually best to bring them indoors during winter.

Water                            

Do NOT use tap water, use  rainwater

Tap water contains chemicals which will harm the plant. You can use distilled water, reverse osmosis water, but the best water to use is rain water. Stand the pot in 1 - 2 cm of rain water, but during the winter months, its best to just keep them damp (such as using a mist spray) rather than fill the tray up with water.

Feeding

The leaves of a sundew are littered with tentacles which have what looks like a dew type substance on the end of them. Insects are attracted to them by the sweet mucilage and when they land on one of these tentacles, they get stuck! 

The tentacles near to the prey all lean towards the prey to prevent it from escaping and bring it towards the leaf of the plant for it to get digested. In the case of some plants, such as the Drosera Capensis, this can all happen within a few minutes. In the case of a Capensis, the leaf itself will sometimes actually curl over the insect to make sure it’s well and truly trapped.

Sundews most commonly eat small insects such as gnats and small houseflies. If you see a small fly going around the house, when it lands, you can use the sundew to catch it (feeding time!). Just be sure not to overwhelm the leaf with too many insects. Depending on their size, only a few insects are more than enough per leaf. Though like the flytrap, they are good at catching insects on their own.  

Winter dormancy

Winter dormancy for a sundew typically takes place from late October to February. During dormancy, the plants leaves will lose their stickiness and die back and so it is important to prune them. If your sundew is outside, bring it inside, preferably somewhere where it still gets daylight but feels cooler (such as a conservatory).

A truly nasty plant

I often get asked, "can carnivorous plants hurt a person?" The short answer is: no, the long answer is "no they dont".

I recently read a news article about a particular type of plant called a 'Giant Hogweed'. A plant so nasty and invasive that in the UK, it is actually an offensive to plant one in the wild.

"The sap of giant hogweed causes phytophotodermatitis in humans, resulting in blisters, long-lasting scars, and—if it comes in contact with eyes—blindness. These serious reactions are due to the furocoumarin derivatives in the leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds of the plant."

Source: wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heracleum_mantegazzianum

Top tip: Use Sundews to catch flies

It can often be awkward trying to catch flies with your fingers or even trying to zap them with one of those tennis racket shaped zappers, but sundews work a treat.

The great thing about them is, not just that they are sticky so they stop even the largest of flies briefly enough for you to grab hold of them, but also because flies dont seem to be afraid of sundews. Try to catch a fly with your finger and they will usually fly off before you get chance to grab them. But with using a sundew, the flies either dont fly away and get stuck to the plant, or in some cases, they even fly into it.

Live food

So as you may have noticed from my recent youtube video updates, I've been feeding my plants some locusts and mealworms. Two reasons for this, 1. more videos :) and 2. Because, and especially with the mealworms, I want to see if this additional feeding makes some of the traps larger than normal.

Also going to be ordering some more plants soon. Yes, more plants, cause 500 just aint enough when there's room for more ;)

I am also trying to get a few good sundew timelapses because I love how their tentacles wrap around their prey. Trouble is, as great as my recorder (Kodak Playsport Zx5) is, and it really is good when it comes to macro's, it can be hard to see just how in focus certain things are on the LCD preview screen. This has sometimes resulted in 15 minute recordings of the sundews doing their thing, only for me to check the replay and see that the part that looked in focus on the LCD screen wasn't actually in focus.

Meanwhile, here is a nice HDR photo of my greenhouse: