FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey, I just dropped by the NC State Fair 2017 and my pot of B-52's got the blue ribbon!

Thought you all would enjoy some pics from my horrible iPhone 4S camera. Apologies for the quality.
They're potted in peat/perlite with live sphagnum top dressing. It's a battle to keep the sphagnum pushed down so it doesn't shade the traps but the aesthetic is worth it in my book.

thats beautiful, and I completely agree with you, that live dressing plays alot in the aesthetics. How do you keep the moss alive cause im assuming you grow it outdoors. I get scared that in the hot direct sun it would burn or something

congrats!! never been out to the Raleigh state fair before! (we are over in Greensboro)

saltyop wrote:thats beautiful, and I completely agree with you, that live dressing plays alot in the aesthetics. How do you keep the moss alive cause im assuming you grow it outdoors. I get scared that in the hot direct sun it would burn or something

Hey saltyop, I just press some live sphagnum firmly onto the surface of the soil and it grows on its own. I do grow it outside in as much sun as i can provide ... which unfortunately is only around 4-5 hours of direct sun in the morning and early afternoon. Since I live in North Carolina, it's a no-brainer to grow flytraps outside since this is their home. They're almost no-maintenance with just some supplemental watering in the summer.

I use the moss as a water indicator since it turns a lighter shade when it dries out. So whenever that happens, I just drench the pot. Since flytraps like it drier than pitcher plants, it works out well.

The best place for sphagnum as a top dressing is on north american pitchers. I grow mine in a tall pot ~12-14" tall with in extra tall saucer ~6" since those pots never dry out, the moss thrives.

Basically, just keep it moist and in full sun and you can't go wrong.

Hope that helps!

Very beautiful B-52's and congrats on the ribbon! A family member has been trying to talk me into entering my traps into our county fair. I never have seen any cp's there so I'm thinking it would be a cool thing to do. If all goes well with my Wally's next season I think I'll give it a shot.

GreenOhio wrote:Very beautiful B-52's and congrats on the ribbon! A family member has been trying to talk me into entering my traps into our county fair. I never have seen any cp's there so I'm thinking it would be a cool thing to do. If all goes well with my Wally's next season I think I'll give it a shot.

You should! Why limit yourself to the county fair? Go statewide!

The prize money is usually only enough to cover your troubles (1st place in the state fair was $12) but it's a fun experience.

There usually isn't much competition in the NC State Fair but I still like it and it's always fun to see folks reaction to the plants.

Good luck if you do decide to enter!
Davin

riveraXVX wrote:congrats!! never been out to the Raleigh state fair before! (we are over in Greensboro)

Oh, it's a hoot. Where else could you get the Twinx (Twix bar crammed into a Twinkie wrapped in bacon and deep fried ... yum ... ?) ? Or a 10 lb gummy bear?

There usually aren't too many carnivorous plants but it's worth a look just to experience the whole thing.

It can get super crowded on the weekends though so I'd recommend going on a weekday if you can possibly swing it.

If you do decide to go, feel free to check out my entries ... next year I'm going to try and have some King Henry mixed in with B-52's and see how that turns out.

Hope to see you there!
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