Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2000 14:32:07 -0400 From: Prem Subrahmanyam <prems@noblestar.net> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2043$foo@default> Subject: Some advice...
>Thanks to my own lack of experience and/or knowledge, 1 rotted
>completely away, 2 lost all of their leaves, 1 lost all but 1 sickly
>leaf, & 1 kept growing new leaves with no traps. What was happening
>was the leaves were coming in with black spots on them; the spots
>would spread & eventually engulf the leaves before they could fully
>form.
This seems to me to be a symptom of too little air circulation and
too little light. It's become de rigeur for orchidists to use fans
and blow air all around their plants...in nature, the bogs where
these plants grow are almost always getting a bit of a breeze...stagnant
indoor air is an invitation to fungal and bacterial spores to land on
vegetation and set up shop. Too little light for VFT's can also be
a big problem. Here in north Florida, mine get almost full sunlight
all day long, with intermittent periods of light shade as the shadow
of a branch passes overhead. I tried unsuccessfully to grow VFT's
indoors under less strong light...they responded by dying very quickly.
>
>In answer to one of my earlier questions about Sarracenia, Michael
>Pagoulatos suggested cutting off the deformed pitchers. This is
>something I've been wondering about for a while.
If it's green, it's making food for the plant...it may look unsightly,
but any photosynthetic tissue contributes to the health of the plant.
If you cut them off, you're robbing your plant of its primary source
of food...photosynthesis.
>Should it be done when they turn brown at the top? When they're no
>longer capable of trapping insects?
>
You'd be surprised at how a brown-topped pitcher can still trap
insects. Unless the opening to the pitcher is obstructed, it's
possible for insects to fall into the pool of fluid inside the
pitcher and nourish the plant.
--> Prem
===================================================================
Prem Subrahmanyam <prems@noblestar.net> or <prems@nettally.com>
- Animator, programmer, and orchid and fossil nut extraordinaire...
- DNRC Title: Minister of Lightwave 3d Plugin Design Foolishness
- Home - http://www.PremDesign.com
"We in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
We in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong."
"God's Own Fool" - Michael Card
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