intro & terrarium
Brian O'Brien (bobrien@hermes.gac.edu)
Thu, 7 Apr 94 19:05:02 CST
I'm not at present a carnivorous plant grower, though I've
long been interested in these plants. This interest grew from a
general interest in plants which I developed while growing up in
North Carolina, coupled with a summer spent at my grandmother's
house near Willacoochee, Georgia. This was a great place to be for
an incipient carnivorophile, since sundews, butterworts, and
pitcher plants grew in profusion in her yard (and in the
mysterious, forbidden-but-visited-anyway wilder area beyond the
fence). I have discovered from perusal of this and other lists
that there is significant overlap among carnivorous plant, cactus
& succulent, and orchid enthusiasts (a most pleasing revelation!),
so for the latter I will state that there was also a colony of
Cleistes divaricata (Rose Pogonia, recognized many years after by
me as such) growing a few hundred yards down the road.
The thread which propelled me into this post is the one dealing
with terrariums. I'm presently interested in the cautious introduction of
some cp's into my terrarium and my more-or-less-Wardian-case (neither of
these is hermetically sealed). The terrarium is roughly 2 feetdeep (top to
bottom) X 1 foot (front to rear) X 2 feet wide (sideto side), alternately
humidified and ventilated with pre-humidified air, and containing
artificial branches for the growth of epiphytes. I think that plants such
as Drosera, Dionaea, and Pinguicula might grow well in the moss of the
epiphyte mount. I will follow this post with a separate one, describing
the terrarium in detail, for those who might be interested. I've just
sent the description, as well as a separate list of current plants, to the
orchid list as well. If anyone on the cp list is interested in the plant
list, let me know.
bobrien@hermes.gac.edu
Brian O'Brien tel. (507)933-7310
Department of Chemistry fax (507)933-7041
Gustavus Adolphus College
800 West College Avenue
Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082
U.S.A.