Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 18:55:57 -0500 From: "Strata, Inc." <strata@flash.net> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1386$foo@default> Subject: TO: Kit Halsted
"..... Plants receive indirect light all day, with
at least a couple of hours of direct sun.".
Plants need mostly sunny to full sun, several hours per day. The more sun
the more color in the pitchers.
"Drosera rotundifolia:....Is there a chance that the roots are still alive &
the plant can be
brought back? If so, what should I do?".
The roots are still alive. In permanently wet medium and sunshine, it will
produce new leaves. Pretty hard to kill. Will fill your pot FAST.
"Any idea what I did wrong, aside from not potting it immediately? I
put it in a 6x6" pot in a roughly 75/25 mix of long-fiber sphagnum &
sand with a little bit of dirt* on top, & watered it with a mix of
"spring water" (When did delis stop selling distilled water? Doesn't
anybody iron their clothes any more?) & filtered tap water that sat
out overnight.".
Potting it immediately was fine. The potting medium is ok, although most
Droseras do their best (as most CPs) in a 50/50 mixture of Sphagnum peat
moss and Silica sand. NO DIRT! Water should contain fewer than 100 parts
per million disolved solids. Leaving tap water sit overnight only gets rid
of the chlorine. If you filtered your tap water through an RO (Reverse
Osmosis) filter, you have pure water! If not, it propably contains enough
disolved solids to harm your plants over the long run (don't worry for just
a few times). Ditto for "Spring water"; it propably contains too much salt
(added for flavor). Use distilled water.
"Sarracenea alata:....but the tips (? There's probably a better
term.) of the plant are turning tan & looking a little dried out.
I've just gotten a garden hose today, my plan is to leave it dripping
all the time, thereby wetting the concrete around the plants &
hopefully raising the RH in the immediate area. Sound like a good
plan?"
Don't worry about the pitcher tops turning brown. If they look ugly to you
cut the dry part off. The pitcher is still functional. If you keep the pot
in a tall saucer (from nurseries or hardware stores)
with a couple of inches of distilled water in it all the time, it will do
great! No need for hose.
"S. flava:....Now it seems to have severe indigestion: the side of the
pitcher is turning brown where the first (big) fly is. Is this
normal? Is there anything I can or should do about it?".
The pitcher turning down doesn't have to do anything with the fly it ate.
Again, cut the brown part off if you like. I cut "ugly" and deformed
pitchers completely off; that way the plant puts all the energy into the
next pitchers!
"VFTs:..... They're planted in about 60/40 sand & long-fiber sphagnum, with
a little bit of dirt on
top to help hold them down. They've been sitting i the pot with an
inch of water in the saucer for the last few days, but I'm planning
to let the saucer dry out before I water them again.".
Again, NO dirt! Make sure that the sand is Silica (not just any play-sand).
Silica is slightly acidic and retains water. I keep VFTs slightly drier
than Sarracenias, but keep them in an inch of water during the growing
season (that's now!). During dormancy they need less humidity.
"....The biggest, a typical, has a rhizome about 2-3" long & 4 long
(Spring?) leaves & something small & light green just coming up from the
center....is staking a viable option with these plants? ...I was thinking of
putting some twigs in the soil next to a couple of the VFTs to stabilize
them. (It's a lot windier in the yard than I had realized, I suspect that's
why the big one came out of the ground.)"
If the "something small & light green" has a roung head and is on top of a
stalk, you have a flowering VFT! No staking is necessary. After a while
the traps will turn black and die, while new ones keep coming out. In the
winter, they will ALL turn black and die. Don't freak out; new traps will
come in the spring!
"The very tips of both traps & the new stalk are black. Any tips?".
Check the plant to see if there are Aphids (little green or yellow or brown
bugs) on it. If there are, dilute less than one tsp of Orthene per gallon
of water and spray the plant. Works like a champ!
If there are no bugs, cut off the black traps and wait for the new ones.
"...I figured it might help to feed them (live invertebrates) since they'd
just been transplanted;".
Feed them if you like, but there is no need. They can catch their own food.
They actually don't HAVE to eat insects.
Kit, buy and read "Savage Garden" by Peter D'Amato (ISBN 0-89815-915-6). It
will answer almost all your questions. Great book!
Take care,
Michael Pagoulatos
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