Two pitchers and a sundew AKA more bug eaters

[katsrevenge]

Was hitting up the local thrift store (hey, one can find some really neat stuff there sometimes) and the drive home was by my favorite Lowes. Temptations!

No orchids but these were a dollar each.

As far as the internet can tell me the red pitcher is a Sarracenia purpurea venosa or just a Sarracenia purpurea.. I'm not 100% on which. The green pitcher is a Sarracenia purpurea heterophylla which is a mostly green cultivar and not that common.

The internet tells me I should keep them like a Venus Flytrap, dormancy and all (it being a North American native.) I'm gonna toss them in with the flytrap. It will be a very deadly pot! It also likes to have rainwater dropped in its pitchers. Mine were bone dry inside their pitchers so they have had some yummy dehumidifier water dumped over them.

The sun dew is a Drosera adelae...or so says internet. Tropical, long lived, clumps up in pots and likes humidity. Some internet sources say full sun, others say part sun. Some say terrarium, others say no. All say set it in a tray of water or keep it nice and wet. And, apparently weak orchid food is ok for these guys.

Right now I've got all three setting in a shaded window to get used to the sun. The pitchers are half out of the pots to help 'harden' them off. The sundew just has the top off.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by katsrevenge

The sun dew is a Drosera adelae...or so says internet. Tropical, long lived, clumps up in pots and likes humidity. Some internet sources say full sun, others say part sun. Some say terrarium, others say no. All say set it in a tray of water or keep it nice and wet. And, apparently weak orchid food is ok for these guys.

Drosera adelae can handle pretty strong sun but down side is that the rosettes become very small and, unless the humidity is also high, they always seem to look like they're at death's door. Bright shade seems to produce larger and more attractive plants and humidity doesn't seem to be as critical.

Drosera adelae and the rest of the Prolifera section of Drosera also tend to be quite intolerant of fertilisers. Sarracenia can be fertilised with very weak fertiliser but it's definately not necessary and most people don't fertilise them. If you've got your plants in a greenhouse with maximum light and humidity you might see some benefit in fertilising them. Otherwise, you might not notice any difference in the growth rate whether you fertilise or not.

[exasperatus2002]

For a dollar? I'll have to check my lowes. I have a hard time going there since mine is an orchid slaughter house. But I would like a sundew.

[katsrevenge]

Originally Posted by Andrew

Drosera adelae can handle pretty strong sun but down side is that the rosettes become very small and, unless the humidity is also high, they always seem to look like they're at death's door. Bright shade seems to produce larger and more attractive plants and humidity doesn't seem to be as critical.

Drosera adelae and the rest of the Prolifera section of Drosera also tend to be quite intolerant of fertilisers. Sarracenia can be fertilised with very weak fertiliser but it's definately not necessary and most people don't fertilise them. If you've got your plants in a greenhouse with maximum light and humidity you might see some benefit in fertilising them. Otherwise, you might not notice any difference in the growth rate whether you fertilise or not.

Interesting, I thought it might be one of those things.

The ferts were to be sprayed at a very weak concentration (something like 1/4 teaspoon to a gallon) on the leaves if the plant was unable to catch food for whatever reason. Apparently they are also fed orchid fert as granules, dried milk and chocolate.

I think I'd rather they just ate bugs! It's why I got them, LOL.

The flytrap and pitchers will be outside in full sun. It's enough sun to support spag moss. The sundew will probably go outside in part sun or I'll keep it in the kitchen, SW window, great mid afternoon sun for 4-5 hours but not direct till after 3.

Winter, dormancy in a cold window, and supplemental lighting for the sundew.

Yeah, it is an orchid graveyard most of the time at that store. Generally they mark the plants down before they are unsalable though.

[Andrew]

Just leave them to their own devices and they'll be fine. There is no need to feed or fertilise carnivorous plants. While a low amounts of fertiliser can be beneficial to plants that are growing under optimum conditions or in enclosed areas, such as terrariums, where access to insects is restricted, it's also very easy to burn or kill carnivorous plants with over feeding. I wouldn't put too much faith in people who recommend chocolate, milk powder, cheese, hamburger, etc as appropriate foods. Amongst those growers who are worth listening to, the proportion that do fertilise invariably do so via more conventional means: ie soluble/slow release fertilisers or live/freeze dried insects.

Barry Rice has maintained a Carnivorous Plant FAQ for several years that is worth looking at. If you forgive the somewhat jocose nature of the FAQ, it's a very credible source of information on how to grow these plants.

[katsrevenge]

That's kinda what I figured.

I've already sniggered my way through his FAQs twice. Once when I bought a VFT and again for these new ones.