FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

This is Chance.

He was all alone in the gardening section of Walmart, being the only plant in such a tiny pot. So I brought him home for $2.00.

He will be like a big brother to the seeds I am eagerly waiting for, watching over the seedlings while I sleep or are otherwise engaged. Speaking of seeds, I am beginning this journey with d. capensis, d. intermedia, and mixed drosera.
So far, I have 30 pots, minus the one Chance is living in and enough trays to hold them all. I have 8 quarts of soil which I am given to understand should fill 8 pots. I will be getting more soil as my budget allows. I also have two gallons of distilled water since the ZeroWater pitcher wasn't in the budget this week. The pots and soil were paid for with an Amazon gift card I got for playing games on my smart phone.

The soil came with some bloodworms which I thought was nice.

My setup is behind a bookshelf. The largest space we have available is in the living room, so we pulled the bookshelf out and setup back there because I didn't want to blind everyone while we're watching TV or whatever. Speaking of which, we are visiting the in-laws tomorrow to get my LED back.
The bottoms of these pots are fantastic. It's almost like a net pot. That will come in handy if I ever decide to convert over to hydro.

So the only thing left on my shopping list is the ZeroWater pitcher which comes with a TDS meter and some more soil. Anything else you can think of I might find handy?

I just realized that package says "mealworms" not "bloodworms." Is there a difference?

Nice little succulent! Did it come with a label? Looks like it could be a Kalanchoe - but I'm rusty with succulent IDs.

The soil you bought is a brand I've used for many years. But lately, some folks on this forum are complaining about it. There's a couple-three threads around here discussing it. Here's one to get you started: http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/post4 ... ml#p434747

At far as seeds, you're not going to need 30 pots for a long time. Without actually seeing them, it's hard to appreciate just how small drosera seeds are. This pic is of D.spatulata seeds and the other species are similar (some actually much smaller).

The label just called it "de mini succulent". No species ID.

I got 30 pots for a couple of reasons, not the least of which being that they came in a pack of 30. Also, I plan on starting as any plants as I can in the beginning. This will serve two purposes.

First, this increases my chances of having sprouts. If 5-10 don't sprout, it's no big deal because that means 24-29 did sprout.

Second, and perhaps more important, once the plants have sprouted and matured a little, I am going to cull all but the strongest, healthiest looking ones. Out of 30 pots, I hope to wind up with 2 or 3 strong mothers for each species.

As far as the soil, in my mind, it was free. I bought it with an Amazon gift card I earned from playing video games. It has sphagnum moss, perlite, and sand. I hope it will be okay to get me started. Unless it starts raining free Amazon gift cards, (it took me over 6 months to earn that one) I will be buying my soil from FlytrapStore in the future.

I guess my plans will be pushed back a little. I will order the ZeroWater pitcher with a free TDS meter in the next two or three or weeks. I will test the soil as described in the post linked above. I will probably get a PH meter as well. I am intimately familiar with the operation and maintenance of a PH pen.

I understand that you are experienced, even if not with drosera. We recently had a conversation with someone else just starting their first 'Dews. I actually managed to find it. I dunno, there may be something there that you can use... post430140.html#p430127

That was helpful. Thank you for that. So my pots are too big for seedlings? I've absorbed a lot of information in the last week or so. I thought I read that 4" pots are the perfect size for carnivorous plants.

"I think what me and evenwind are trying to say is that 1.5"x1.5" is still a lot of acreage for sundew planting."

At least the pots were free. I'm sure I can find another use for them. Is there any harm in growing multiple plants in a single pot? Maybe scatter the seeds over the entire surface of the substrate? Or should I just scrap what I have and start over with smaller pots and different soil?

I start all my seeds (well except the stubborn ones that need water germination) in 2" pots. I have two types - 2x2x2h and 2x2x3h. I don't think the seeds care at all. As it happens, I just added to another thread, showing seedlings growing in a 2x2x2 pot. You can see that there's plenty of room. http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/d-cap ... ml#p434620

On the other hand, the main reason I use 2" pots is space. I've got a lot of them. There's nothing wrong in using larger pots - lot's of the folks here do. My only concern would be maintaining the right level of moisture with all that medium to act as a sponge. Of course, when the plants get big enough, I'll transfer them to square 3" or 4" pots, but that takes a while.

One other thing I keep forgetting to say: When you open the seed packet, do it over a large piece of white paper. You're probably going to drop at least a few of those tiny seeds and the paper will let you see them.

evenwind wrote:One other thing I keep forgetting to say: When you open the seed packet, do it over a large piece of white paper. You're probably going to drop at least a few of those tiny seeds and the paper will let you see them.

There is no probably to it. lol. That is a simple and easy trick. Love it. Thanks for that.

As far as the moisture level, I planned on keeping water in the trays at all times. Is that not a good idea? What is the target moisture level for seedlings? I will start the d. capensis in the substrate immediately after I am able to test the soil with a TDS meter and I'm also getting some pH strips until a pH pen fits in the budget. The intermedia will go into stratification, so I can just focus on the capensis at first. Would keeping water in the tray be too much moisture? Should I spray the tops of the substrate with distilled water?

I keep my pots in water - but I let the trays go dry for a day or two between refills. That gives me, in my conditions, a reasonable facsimile of "damp but not wet". I really don't know how to judge it for larger seedling pots. My adult large pots I treat like the seedling pots. If you spray the surface, the seeds will wind up under a thin layer of dried mud and will be unlikely to give you decent germination percentages - or none at all. I never spray the surface. I will, on occasion, put a clear dome over the pot for a couple of weeks to help cranky seeds to sprout. But I don't leave it there because the extra humidity creates a lot of slimy algae and fuzzy moss.

Definitely hold the envelope over a white piece of paper. I actually make a tray by folding the edges up and taping them.

You do realize that a dozen or more seeds in one of those small pots would not be too many, don't you? If germination is 50-60% the seedlings have plenty of room for a while. This isn't a "one or two per pot" situation.

Also, lots of people will sow part (usually half) of the seeds they receive and store the remaining seeds in the refrigerator as kind of a "backup".

(I'm thinking your question about moisture is in regards to germination.) Keeping water in the tray can work. Some folks do that and don't cover the plants with some type of a humidity dome/cover. Others will cover the plants with a humidity dome but don't keep the pots in a water tray. Some people do a combination of water tray and humidity dome. ...and there's different opinions of which works the best.

Finally got my Diamond Series XML 350 back from the in-laws.



Thank you. I will plant or stratify half of my seeds and store the other half, just in case.

Curious - just how much video gaming does one have to do to earn Amazon gift cards? I am a geezer gamer, but I’ve never played enough (or perhaps the right types of games) to get paid for it

The app I used is called Mistplay. Game development studios pay to have their titles listed with Mistplay. They have several dozen games in their library and you earn points for playing those specific games. It took me around 6 months to earn enough points for a $25.00 Amazon gift card. The thing is, it isn't like I sat around and played games on my phone all day like a second job. They were games I would have played anyway during downtime like waiting in line or whatever. I did get hooked on one or two for several days. Your results will undoubtedly vary.