Actually Drosera rotundifolia is listed in a variety
of herbal books as being good for stomach upset, if
I recall correctly. I think the roots were made into
tea, but don't quote me on that.
>>
>>I've been reading conflicting reports on how to raise them. One
>>source says be fussy, another says that's a sure way to kill them.
>>My questions are:
>> 1. Is it OK to keep them outdoors during the Winter?
>> (I live in SF Bay Area; chilly but not frosty)
I grow my flytraps, sarracenias, and N. American sundews
outdoors year round, and have been doing this for a couple
of years, with great success. Just watch out for aphid
infestations in summer, and the local fauna digging up the
plants.
>> 2. How much water is too much?
My 30 qt. bog garden is currently under-water from the rain.
I may loose a couple of plants in there, but they will be
made up for by the seed which will germinate from last
years flowers. I've heard that the North American plants
generate a natural anti-freeze when it starts to get cold.
This seems to deter rot on all but the D. filiformis plants,
which I find VERY difficult to grow.
>> 3. Are there any Nepenthes species that you can raise
>> indoors with a comparative amount of neglect? I keep
>> my indoors temperature anywhere from 62 to 80 (no
>> thermostat on my cheap house's heater).
Sure! N. ventricosa is an easy plant and it looks great.
N. maxima is also cold tolerant. I've grown a couple of
Nepenthes outdoors in teh summer with some success, but
it's too early to say how they'll do long term. If you
have a fishtank indoors with some lights on it you can
grow many many different Nepenthes. Some people are
apparently growing N. alata as a windowsill plant, without
any enclosure to keep up the humidity. The so-called
common Nepenthes are quite tough, and unlike other CP,
Nepenthes are slower to die, giving you more time to
experiment and diagnose problems.
Plants to try under lights at room temp are:
N. ventricosa, N. alata, N. maxima, N. mirabilis,
N. rafflesiana, N gracilis, N. khasiana, and others.
Check the list of CP suppliers in the list server
for mail order sources, or visit California Carnivores
up in Sonoma, about a 2 hour drive from the Bay Area.
Or wait for the next BCPS meeting in a couple of months.
There are typically Nepenthes there for sale at auction,
albeit at inflated prices.
Robert