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I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.
I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.
I enjoy growing plants that capture their own fertilizer. Their adaptations are incredible to observe and often just as beautiful as any rose.
I hope to increase my knowledge and experience by expanding my collection of plants to those species that I have not grown yet.
Several carnivorous plant types derived similar adaptations, yet are unrelated taxonomically, while some derived as surprisingly different plants in structure, yet are related. For instance, Venus Flytraps are distant relatives of sundews, but Nepenthes and Sarracenias, despite their pitchers, are seemingly unrelated.
Many carnivorous plants are becoming rare, even endangered, in their natural environments. If you find one growing naturally, it is against the law to take an endangered plant, it's leaves, or it's seeds from it's natural environment.
| User | Date | K | C | P | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akira | 05/17/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thank you, I was going to use ..... |
| Jared | 04/22/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| Malcolm | 03/17/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thank you so much for the tips ..... |
| kaitlin | 03/03/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| Devon | 02/11/12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thanks! Exactly what I needed to know ..... |
Hello John, What brand of moss did you use and what kind of water are you using? By now, Sarracenias should come out of dormancy and begin producing leaves. The two knife shaped leaves you saw may
Hello Akira, Dry sphagnum peat moss will keep indefinitely. The moss itself contains some iodine which helps preserve it. This is why many mummified remains are found in peat bogs. Once it is dampened
Hello Jaden, A couple that I know of, N. gracilis, and N. bellii, may be small enough to get into a terrarium. I generally do not grow Nepenthes in a terrarium, so my experience with terrarium suitability
Hello Jared, Yes, the plant definitely needs more light. I had my N. sanguinea in a window that looks similar to yours and it stopped pitchering due to insufficient light for its size. I placed it under
Hello Jared, As they age, Nepenthes need more light. A small Nepenthes can do just fine in a window with morning sunlight, but as it grows larger than a couple of feet in size, it tends to require greater
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