Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 09:13:32 -0500 From: bausch@chem.vill.edu (Joseph W. Bausch) To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2181$foo@default> Subject: Introduction and questions
Hi, delurking here after reading this group for a few years. My story is
somewhat typical for getting interested in cp. I live near Philadelphia,
PA, and visited Longwood Gardens about 4 years ago. I was amazed by their
collection of cp's. In the gift shop I bought one of their VFT's in the
little red pot and it did well in my apartment for over one year. Little
did I know that it needed repotting (and probably dormancy!) and died I am
guessing because of rot root (roots were coming out the bottom of the pot).
Well, I have also killed a few more VFT, D. adelae, and S. purpurea that I
have gotten from a local store that sells these "little shop of horrors"
plants. Most thrive under my care for awhile, but then succumb to my lack
of care/understanding of the proper conditions.
Well, I have purchased a few books on cp, and, with the help of this
newsgroup my cp's I have now are doing fairly well and I expect to be able
to keep them alive. I now live in an apartment where I have a balcony that
gets direct morning sun until around 1 pm these days. I received about one
month ago the "windowsill collection" of cp's from California Carnivores,
plus a bag of dead sphagnum moss. Gosh, now I know what this dead sphagnum
stuff looks like! I repotted my VFT I have had for about one year in a
bigger pot in a mixture of the sphagnum and sand and it is thriving. I
can't believe how many bugs it catches! Rarely does a new trap develop and
open and stay unoccupied for more than a day. And with all the sun, now I
see just how red and big the traps can get. Sidenote: spiders are smart
little dudes: a couple set up webs every night across the traps!
I have also repotted the S. flava I received from California Carnivores in
about a 1/2 gallon size pot, using a ~70/30 sphagum/sand material. Right
now it has about 3 small pitchers, each about 3 inches high. Can anyone
give me advice as to what else I can do to make this plant thrive? I also
keep it outside on my balcony. I have also repotted the S. purpurea I
received from cc in the same fashion as my S. flava and any advice for
making it thrive would be appreciated.
Perhaps my biggest question concerns two pitcher plants that I bought from
a local Home Depot. They were the little red pot variety, labelled as
"nepenthes madagascar". One of them one has tiny little pitchers, but the
other has some inch large ones. I have read, if what I have is in fact N.
madag., that these are highland variety and may need special conditions.
Right now I have yet to re-pot them and have placed the little red pots in
homemade terraria consisting of a large beaker covered with a watch glass
(yes, I am a chemist!). I don't have the pots sitting directly in the
water in the beaker, as one book suggested to not have to roots sitting in
water. I have this feeling they should both be repotted, but I am
wondering if my 70/30 sphagnum/sand is a good mixture for these. Also, how
big of pot should they be put in? Do these require a terrarium to have the
necessary humidity, or will they do well outside in the relatively hot and
humid conditions of a mid-Atlantic region summer? And, do they prefer sun
or shade conditions?
Well, I've gone on long enough! Perhaps I'll have more to add later.
Cheers,
Joseph W. Bausch
Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA.
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