Last night's gardening session involved potting up my new sundews :). I also took some cuttings from them, they had a lot of damaged leaves, especially the forked sundew. I also took cuttings from the flytrap. The pinches of moss are in there to see if they grow faster in pure water, I need more moss to grow as well. The cape sundew is for cheese making experiments :). The crystals in the moss mark the largest of my baby threadleaf sundews. More info in alt.
My venus fly traps are just surviving 😂
I'm hoping it's just from the cooler winter dormancy (although I didn't put them unto full dormancy, since they're less than a year old).
Do you have any tips that maybe I haven't read or thought of?
@ExecutiveFunction404 I wish. I'm still fidgeting with best practices, but I that little hill she is on is to try to keep her feet get a little more circulation. They live further above the waterline than pots provide. I don't know if it works, I had two hospital stays that killed my plants before I found out. I will tell you Sarracenia plants are hardier, for sure.
Let me know if you have any luck. I've cut two flowers off one plant within the past two months, so I'm wondering if it's about to kick the bucket. I hope not, bc I can see a fresh rhizome baby on the side of that one trying to mature 🤞 waiting for better health to divide & repot.
This time, I tried carnivorous soil, bc I didn't have luck with peat moss last time. The recommendations are usually opposites from each other, so I'm just trying different things each time around 🤷♀️
@ExecutiveFunction404 When you trim those flower scapes, they can root just like a leaf peel. That way you can have more backups. Have you ever flushed the substrate? Like, pour a ton of pure water from the top while it rests in the sink, a little at a time, until you can put it in a dish and pour from the top again, then test the water for minerals. Or just pour a whole gallon if you don't have a mineral tester.
I've killed like 5 attempts to propagate from flower cuttings. I really need to get a warming mat to help with them, bc my heating pad turns off after 2 hours.
I haven't flushed, bc I use the specific sterile, unfertilized soil and distilled water only. Do you think it still requires a flush? I assumed that routine wouldn't allow minerals to build up bc where would they come from? Do you use regular water? I heard it's a death sentence for VFTs.
Thanks so much for the advice! 🩷
@ExecutiveFunction404 There can still be mineral buildup from algae and decaying roots, that's one of the mistakes I made. First time I decided to test a clean water tray, I used a clean tray to catch the water and it was supposedly mineral free substrate & pure water. 225 ppm, that's more than my tapwater.
I once bought a small selection of flytraps, sundews, and pitcher plants and killed them all. Decided I would get more of the others if I kept a flytrap alive for a year. It took 10 years.
@ExecutiveFunction404 I have a tiny one with my Scarlet Belle, both are either dying or dormant. I think there may be some new growth, but I'm not quite sure. I just recently pulled back the curtains so they get sunlight as well as my lights, so whatever is going to happen will happen soon.
You can get a free meter with a Zero filter kit. I have one of those. The most delicate of carnivores can handle up to 50 ppm in the water, and I flush when the substrate tests above 100.
I got into plants after we bought this house, so I didn't care about south facing windows much. The rooms that face south aren't very good rooms in the winter for most plants, so I put the full sun plants under lights further in the house. (yay for grow lights! 😂)
I sincerely appreciate your knowledge on the matter and sharing it with me 🩷
@tippitiwichet
Thanks. You've convinced me to invest in a meter 😂 The reviews for this soil had a few people who had tested it (or maybe it was the article that recommended it? Idr), so I assumed it would be good.
These have thankfully lasted longer than a year 🤞 but they're putting out teeny traps this winter, which is why I'm hoping it's due to a half-assed dormancy. Do you give any of yours the winter off?