FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

What a collection you have! Very impressive, continue like that

Thank you both for your support! I know I have at least one Utricularia seedling in my utric tubs... unfortunately the grass-like sprouts that are absolutely abundant in these tubs are also showing up in my D. capensis seed pot, and no utrics were sown in there. The sprouts aren't drosera, that's for sure. I have a feeling I've been growing UtriculGRASSia. That is disappointing, I have no idea whether to keep the shoots and see what happens or tear them all out and risk losing all the plants in case I'm mistaken. I took up one of the largest sprouts to check the roots but it's all too young for an established root system so can't tell if bladders are there.

These shoots are everywhere. I've gotten one or two grass-like sprouts before in this peat (it's dredged, not mined so seeds are commonplace) but nothing like this. Ohhh dear. We'll have to wait and see.

Back to original post...

Another update for you all. It's been another very long week but filled with more growth (spiritual and plant-orientated). We had a glorious day of sunshine on Sunday, I thoroughly enjoyed a slow plod home from church and observed lots of beautiful butterflies (tortoise shells and brimstones); we'd hoped that would be the start of spring, but the last two days have been a bit cloudy and surprisingly cold. The plants don't seem overly "bothered", they are certainly pressing on in their endeavours.

I'll start with the orchids...
Phalaenopsis flower stalk; this plant has light yellow flowers with pink veining...

The white Phalaenonsis flower buds are still fattening, another branch off this stalk is growing now, too...


Onto the Utrics... I think I have a mix of Utrics and grass now, I've noticed some differences in the way these sprouts are growing and the shape of the leaves. That's always exciting.
U. sandersonii in Utric trough...

Sprouts in Utric orchid pot...


Veggies and salad!
Spinach; first sprout spotted 5th March 2014...

Carrots; first sprouts spotted 6th March 2014...


Aaaand the Pings!
Pinguicula lusitanica...


Equipped with a camera, it was inevitable that the cats would end up finding their way back into the topic. It started with a very sleepy Skatty, who had no idea I'd snuck around and let out a surprised "purrrrrrrrUP" when he finally realized.



Of course, Misi was completely unaware and just didn't care.


Skatty has a nemesis, one he is very keen on conquering... regularly, he attends battles at my bedroom door, and I assist in the battle.

He stops... and waits... observing his enemy.

A brief moment of contemplation is required for his next move.


And... finally....

VICTORY!


The door stop has been utterly vanquished... until next time.

Skatty is a keen one, striking a Rodan pose(I hope I'm spelling the name right) one can clearly see the wheels turning!

Back to original post...

Keen is a good word, ironjaws... "derpy" is perhaps a bit appropriate, too.

Right, so, it's been another week and I'm here with some photos. Woo! We've had some beautiful days of sunshine, for which me and the plants are very grateful, and while today has been rather windy, things are still growing fairly well. That being said, I'm going to start with something completely and utterly random... apple crumble.

I'm making two apple crumbles for housegroup tonight; thankfully my mother is on-hand to cut the apples for me and help me lift these dishes in and out of the oven. The reason I've got this photo is because the crumble on the left is dairy free, it's made using a sunflower oil based spread, the one on the right is a dairy margarine using some vegetable oils, but not solely oil based. I had to add more flour to the left mixture to get it to "crumble" rather than become flapjack like (but you seriously cannot make flapjacks using this stuff)... it is very random but there you go. It has a lot more moisture in it, it seems, than standard margarine or butter. So the lesson here is: if you are making anything crumbly or flapjacky... don't use VitaLite.


Onto the plants! Let's start with the veggies/fruit/salad/stuff.
Spinach! I intend to repot these into a trough once they are large enough.

Carrots... again, intend to repot these once big enough. I'm surprised at how quickly they've come along!

And an alpine strawberry sprout! First spotted on 14th March 2014.


Speaking of sprouts, it's become clear that the original sprout I showed you on er, 24th Feb? was indeed grass, but Utric sprouts popped up shortly thereafter. I've been able to identify the grass sprouts and take those out as soon as they appear. What I've been left with is patchy 5 o'clock shadow, Utric edition.


Here's the lovely U. sandersonii flower you can see in the background...


Pinguicula lusitanica; still fighting mould, it's getting easier though now that I can open my big window...


Aaand noowww the orchids...
Here is the flower stalk with buds of my Phal that has white flowers, they're fattening nicely (please excuse scruffy cat blanket!)...

Unknown phal with pink and yellow flowers... roots are doing well; as is its flower spike!


Phalaenopsis kolibri, roots are still growing...


A couple of days ago I spotted the first of what I think is a D. capensis sprout; far too small to take a photo of at this stage - still exciting!

And that is that... until next time. Overall, things are doing well - praise God. It's also worth mentioning that I'm making some changes to my website (Rachel's (not so) Secret Garden); I've popped a slideshow of all the P. lusitanica photos into the warm temperate Pinguicula section. It's nice being able to observe their growth over time like that. Time to go fall asleep now I think.

Back to original post...

I'm sorry this update is a few days late, I've not been overly well and didn't have the oomph to get the photos taken and sorted. Feeling a bit better today by God's grace, hoping that trend continues. We had a mild thunder storm earlier, I was quite surprised as it's fairly chilly out, but it was nice. Haven't heard thunder for a while! Anyway, onto the photos.

Alpine strawberry...


Spinach (with carrot in the background)...


Drosera capensis sprouts encircled (wide leaf and alba mix)...


Drosera dielsiana sprout encircled (first spotted 27th March 2014, likely a day or two old, not sure); these were planted in with some of the Utrics...


Utricularia sandersonii and other sprouts...
This is the same flower that's featured in some other photos; in the last ten days, it's bloomed a second flower on the same stalk with a third bud on the way. There's a second flower stalk popping up next door. I'm really hoping the pot will explode with flowers when the sun comes out.


Pinguicula lusitanica, 44 days old...
I can't believe how quickly time has flown! I'm still battling a bit of fuzz but I'm more confident with letting the sphagnum dry out a bit between waterings now so we're getting there gradually!


Phalaenopsis white flower bud...
This is the largest bud; one of the smallest has actually withered and died, but the rest look really good - not sure what's going on there. Leaves look OK. Will keep an eye on it and keep you updated.


Despite the last week/ten days being a bit hard, the plants are looking good. It's been fun watching them grow so far and such an immense blessing, I really hope they continue to progress well. The utrics are beginning to fill in a bit and different species are becoming noticeable in both the trough and the orchid pot and with drosera sprouts popping up I'm really looking forward to summer... not going to look too far ahead, mind you, one day at a time.

I've been trying to update my website, too. I've been contemplating whether or not to add a utric section as they are such a lovely plant... we'll see.

I'm starting to really like utri... I don't intentionally have any all though I do have some in my pots. Subulata I believe. I've tried a couple species from seeds but didn't have any success with either of them. Sandersonii is one that I'm thinking of buying in the near future. I've found that D. dielsiana grow very quickly. I've planted a lot of them and many of them are at flowering maturity within 6 months. I love how red they get.

Its fun watching the changes in your germinated seeds. Keep up the good growing.

It's safe to say that utrics are up there with pings on my list; I like the thought of my own personal meadow of carnivores. I'd enjoy the opportunity to grow a wider variety, which is why I bought a mixed seed packet (250 seeds each, 500 total). There's also the fun of watching a pot fill in, so I highly recommend them! Sandersonii is such a hardy plant - definitely a great one to start with!

I had some D. dielsiana that I grew from seed from Matt a long time ago, I don't remember what happened to them; I assume they perished somehow, am glad to grow them again as they are a lovely little dew.

Thank you, I'm having fun observing it all too!

Glad you're feeling better ! Before you know it, you're gonna need a plate and some utensils, along with some vinaigrette, for the veggies !

Your pinguicula are growing fast! They are definitely doing great! Hopefully my pings do as well as yours!

Back to original post...

Thank you ironjaws! I'm sure your pings will thrive. I'm struggling to stay coherent at the moment so keeping typing to a minimum. Right, photos! I have more than in this post but am too tired at the moment to process them so uploading the first half.

Spinach, carrot and strawberry...
I'd like to repot these very soon as they're fast outgrowing their pots... need soil, container and energy first.


White phalaenopsis flower stalk; bud is opening... blurry!

Pink and yellow phal stalk... getting bigger...


Utrics in orchid pot...

U. sandersonii (try typing carnivorous plant names with brain fog LOL! Hilarious!) flower stalks...

Baby utrics in trough with sandersonii and lots of moss...


P. lusitanica...


D. capensis...


Whew.

Back to original post...

Second half of the photos here... and a better-rested Grey. Woo!

Orchids!
This one has pink and yellow flowers, similarly to the one in the previous post but minus the flower stalk.

And this one was bought, 30% off, last week. It has lovely purple flowers, though I've cut the stalks off.


Misi... because I can.


RED! Doing pouty lips. As bettas do.

Your phal looks very healthy! Those pings are awesome!

Back to original post...

It's been beeeeeeautiful lately, so grateful for sunshine! Plants are enjoying it too, of course. I set myself the task of repotting the carrots today, which was an interesting experience; where they've been kept against the window, they've grown horizontally rather than vertically... it's like a miniature greenhouse behind that window in the morning.

Success!

Now hoping for vertical growth.

Alpine strawberry...


Spinach (needs repotting)!


The phals are doing well, too; flower buds are swelling on both spikes and one flower is beginning to open! Exciting.
White phal...


Pink and yellow phal stalk...


Misi was not amused that I had the camera out again.
"Sigh. This again?"


Skatty didn't care.
He's been staying out at night lately as otherwise he starts climbing doors in the morning, making quite a noise. He's a sleepy thing during the day now, but he seems to purrfur it that way.


I thought it'd be fun to take a photo of my fig tree (that's what I'm assuming it is, I can't ID it as anything else), Red decided to come over and say hi.

I also feel I should also introduce you to the very little known companion of pouty-fish... she doesn't have a name, but she has a job and she does it very well. She is a Zebra Nerite Snail.

She's adorable. Red doesn't harass her, really, he flares at her sometimes and starts showing off but I've never seen him attack her. You might be wondering how I know it is a she... well, she laid eggs. Lots of them. Everywhere. Even on the back of one of the baby assassin snails that previously lived in the aquarium. The eggs don't hatch, mind you, as they require salt in the water to do so.

Drosera capensis seedlings...


Utrics in the orchid pot...
Got a lovely cream flower pot from a local charity shop for 50p; discovered it fits this clear pot perfectly, so algae won't take over and choke out the roots. I also spotted that a fair bit of grass was growing inside the sides of the container. I'm hoping this pot will reduce that happening in future.


Pinguicula lusitanica, 63 days old...


I believe that's everything. Yup. I do love this time of year.

"Horizontal" carrot growth? I'm sure Bugs Bunny would find that weird. The spinach looks great, in no time you'll be "strong to the finish, cuz you eats your spinach"!

The capensis seedlings as well as the ping seedlings are looking awesome!

Thank you for your encouragement, ironjaws. Unfortunately fungus gnat larvae have utterly decimated the orchid pot full of utric seedlings. I can still see some D. dielsiana seedlings about so that's good... I've also noticed that some of the P. lusitanica seedlings have been dying off. Not sure why, mould issues have passed.

Bit of a mixed bag; not been so well, hence no photos. Sorry about that.