Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 11:52:28 -0500 (EST) From: john green <thegreens13@juno.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3640$foo@default> Subject: RE: Humidity and cps: a beginners question :)
Susan Ziegler [mailto:s-ziegler@gmx.net] wrote:
>Hi.. I have tried cps quite a few times, but have always
>gotten discouraged when they wilted and died. I have
>recently set up a terrarium (old 15 gallon tank that leaks
>anyways) to have humidity. I'm not sure how to measure
>the light, which is two bulbs on top of the tank, resting
>on plexiglas as the lid (to keep it humid.) There are also
>two jars of water in there. I would like to try a cp in
>here, but I am not sure what to get.
You don't say where you live, or specifically what plants you're growing,
but I can relate to your frustration with them dying on you. I grow CPs
(mostly Sarrs, VFTs, and Drosera) in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, which is
pretty dry as far as humidity goes, and they do fairly well for me, so
humidity may not be your problem. When I first started with CPs, I did
everything I could to encourage high humidity, but they still died. Since
you say you're a beginner, I'll throw out some of the basics that were my
initial stumbling blocks. 1st of all, water. Are you using distilled or
rain water, or watering from the tap? Depending on how hard your tap water
is, it may be poisonous to your plants. They also need to be kept wetter
than regular houseplants. 2nd, light. Depending on which plants you're
trying to grow, some need lots and lots of light (Sarracenia and VFTs in
particular). Flourescent lights are okay, but I find there's no better
substitute for sunshine. If you don't have a sunny windowsill or can't grow
them outside, I'd put them as close to the lights as possible. 3rd, what
soil are you growing them in? I find a peat/sand mix to be pretty good for
most of my plants. I've also had good luck with dried long fiber spaghnum,
but I've never been able to get a good supply of live spaghnum. And 4th,
dormancy requirements of the specific plants. If you try to keep a plant
growing when it needs to go dormant, it'll probably die (like mine did!).
In my opinion, after you've made sure those factors are all met (water,
light, and soil), then you can work on raising the humidity, but chances are
good you're okay on that. I grow most all of my plants outside in the
summer (when daytime humidity can drop into the teens) in a bog or in large
pots and I have to do little things to try to improve the local humidity for
them. In the house you can run a humidifier to increase humidity, but you
have to be careful that they still get adequate air circulation, otherwise
fungus can become a problem. Also, it is my impression that most temperate
climate plants do poorly in terrariums, so you may need to evaluate the type
of plants you're growing and their needs. If you're a beginner, I can't
stress enough the value of a good book like "The Savage Garden" by Peter
D'Amato, or "Insect-eating plants and how to grow them" by Adrian Slack
(once I found that book in the local library, my plants started to live
longer than just a few months). And realize, too, that probably everyone on
this listserve killed a bunch of plants when they started out, so don't give
up, just get as much information as you can and keep making corrections.
Anyway, I hope that helps.
John Green
Salt Lake City, Utah
john.green@ascensus.com
http://homestead.juno.com/thegreens13
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