FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello there,
Two days ago i set up my carnivorous plant terrarium in a fish bowl. I have 1 little cluster of heliamphora minors and 3 venus fly traps (2 x low giants and 1 x pink venus). Theyre all really small at the moment and look pretty healthy. I just wanted to ask for some advice considering this the first time ive ever had CPs and i havnt really cared for plants other than cacti Anyway, ill just tell you about my setup so far. I've got a layer of propagating sand and medium sized rocks for drainage at the base, then a layer of a peat moss and propagating sand mix (about a 5:3 mix), and a little bit of sphagnum scattered on the top which i thought would help keep things humid. Where ive got my heliamphoras planted, ive made it so their roots are covered in sphagnum, so ive kind of embedded them in a little sphagnum bowl amongst the peat. The humidity is being kept pretty high (to the point where it just fogs up) and the soil is pretty damp. I use distilled water and water at night, giving the heliamphoras water from the fridge to simulate a bit of a temprature drop at night. Ive also put a bit of moss in there as well that i stole from outside just to make it look nice As for lighting, i sit them by my window where they catch the morning sun, and then in the afternoon/night, i sit them under an 11W desk light for a fair amount of time.

I just wanted to know if this setup is alright. As i said its only been 2 days and the plants are probably still recovering stress from postage. Just a question with watering and humidity, how wet should the soil be kept and should i leave the lid off the terrarium to allow some water to evaporate (just so its not standing water in there all the time)? Heres some pictures of my terrarium and plants (i bought them from Triffid Parks in Australia if anyones wondering). I really like them, its like a mini alien planet or something Thanks guys

Hello ToadlyCool and welcome to flytrapcare! Awesome plants! I hope to grow a Heliamphora some day.

If you got them from Triffid Park, are you in Australia?

I've never owned a Heliamphora, nor do I know that much about it's care requirements. I know that they like higher humidity and cooler nights and grow well in extremely airy soil mixes, but that's really about all I know. But even those three requirements don't really match with the requirements of Venus fly traps. Venus fly traps don't really need high humidity nor cooler nights and they grow well in a 50:50 mix of peat and perlite or silica sand. What I'm trying to hint at is growing your Heliamphora separate from your flytraps. I think the flytraps will be much healthier that way.

Also, it's about time for the flytraps to go dormant in the northern hemisphere (if you are in Australia, this isn't a concern yet). How are you going to handle dormancy in the terrarium with the Heliamphora? It doesn't need a dormancy, at least not in the sense that flytraps do.

Another concern is with mold and fungus growing in the bowl. Air movement is key to helping prevent mold from growing. Too wet with no air movement will definitely cause mold and fungal growth.

ToadlyCool wrote:As for lighting, i sit them by my window where they catch the morning sun, and then in the afternoon/night, i sit them under an 11W desk light for a fair amount of time.

How many hours of direct sunlight will they get? Flytraps need at least 4 hours of direct sunlight (or 16 hours of strong fluorescent lighting) for optimal health. From a little reading, it sounds like Heliamphoras also require quite a bit of light.

ToadlyCool wrote:then a layer of a peat moss and propagating sand mix

What does the sand look like? If it's not silica sand (white sand), then it could leach minerals into the soil which will burn the roots and make your plants very sick.

My recommendations:
1) Separate the flytraps from the Heliamphora.
2) Pot the flytraps in a different mix that's more suitable for them. 50:50 peat to perlite or 50% peat, 30% silica sand, 20% perlite.
3) Pot the Heliamphora in live sphagnum (if you have some) or a mix of 1 part peat moss, 2 parts perlite, 1 part orchid bark (suggested by cobraplant.com). I guess the long fibered sphagnum that you have could work as well, but I don't know for sure.
4) Move the flytraps outside in the sunniest location you have.
5) Keep the Heliamphora in the terrarium in the windowsill and try to keep it as cool as you can but get it as much light as you can. Daytime temps for it should be between 16°C and 27°C and night time temps should be between 7°C and 16°C.

Hope that helps!

Welcome to flytrapcare!!!

hello and welcome to the flytrapcare family! the heli. is a very difficult plant to grow as Matt said it does not like heat and a VERY slow grower and as it grows slow it dies slow
as with the vft take them out of that bowl they do WAYYYYY better outside and in full sun good luck growing your plants! and hope to see you around!




Omar,

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies
The plants seem to be doing alright even though its only been like 4 days Basically before i got the plants i made sure i learnt about them and their requirements. I also looked on the Triffid Parks website under the 'growing cps' section which has helpful information. I figured that if the plants are grown under the conditions they recommend i should try and replicate that rather than acclimate them to some other unfamiliar condition and risk the chance of killing them. So yeah, ive based most of my setup and soil off that and all the other articles ive read along the way. I always knew it would be tricky putting them together but i wanted to give it a shot anyway. Heres the webpage http://triffidpark.com.au/htm_pages/gro ... plants.htm

To matt, i am an aussie, i live in south-east queensland (orignally from north where it'd probably be better growing conditions), so yeah, the dormancy isn't really a problem at the moment because its spring. The sand i've used is just propogating sand (quartz based/silica) which is free from harmful minerals/salts that could cause harm. But yeah, im not sure how much direct sunlight theyre getting, i don't think its enough though so i might put them outside during the day like you say. I do give them alot of fluro light though. I think the heliamphora need a bit more light than the VFTs

To dionaea muscipula, i really dont want to take them out of a bowl and leave them outside, i want them in my room so i can see them ;_; but yeah, ill try take them for day trips outside. And by 'dies slow' are you just implying its hard to tell if the helis are dying??

Anyway, i think for now ill leave them in the bowl but try to give them more sunlight and watch out for fungi/mould. If i notice any signs of stress ill separate the helis from the VFTs because id rather have them apart than see them die. I was always kind of planning to separate them but decided to put them together in the end. Sorry for the long response ^o^ Thanks guys

ToadlyCool wrote: And by 'dies slow' are you just implying its hard to tell if the helis are dying?

kinda i mean that you can't tell if a heli is dying until its too late

ToadlyCool wrote:The sand i've used is just propogating sand (quartz based/silica) which is free from harmful minerals/salts that could cause harm.

Perfect! Sounds like you did your research. Well done!

ToadlyCool wrote:But yeah, im not sure how much direct sunlight theyre getting, i don't think its enough though so i might put them outside during the day like you say. I do give them alot of fluro light though. I think the heliamphora need a bit more light than the VFTs

It's hard to give the Heliamphora direct sunlight, especially in that terrarium, without it getting too hot. Be careful with direct sunlight. You might just be best growing them under fluorescent lights. But then, your flytraps won't be as healthy as they would be outside. I'm sure they'll do fine though.

Good luck and please let us know how they progress through the growing season.

dionaea muscipula wrote:

ToadlyCool wrote: And by 'dies slow' are you just implying its hard to tell if the helis are dying?

kinda i mean that you can't tell if a heli is dying until its too late

Noooo Are there any common signs to tell when this is happening??

ToadlyCool wrote:

dionaea muscipula wrote:

ToadlyCool wrote: And by 'dies slow' are you just implying its hard to tell if the helis are dying?

kinda i mean that you can't tell if a heli is dying until its too late

Noooo Are there any common signs to tell when this is happening??

from what i have heard, no but dant be alarmed your plants seems OK just keep humidity high and don let it get to hot.

Nice plants. I definatly envy your Heli - they are almost impossible to find in the US for a decent price. I hope to be getting one soon enough though.

From what I have read about Heli's, they need high humidity when they are young (like yours) and they always want lots of light. H. Minor is considered a beginner's plant and is more forgiving with temperatures. Ideally you would cover the top of the terrarium with some plastic wrap to increase humidity, but this might lead to problems with mold/fungus and might make that container an oven.

If its possible, I would setup a similar 'test' container (with media in it), put a thermomerter/hygrometer in it to monitor max temp and humidity and put it in whatever location you want. This way you don't risk your plants and you will know exactly what conditions you are looking at. I don't think the Heli will like anything much more than 32C (90 F)

Welcome to the forum
What's Up Toadly! Great plants! Hope you get them sorted out/situated so they can take off growing.
Good luck!!!

twigs wrote:Nice plants. I definatly envy your Heli - they are almost impossible to find in the US for a decent price. I hope to be getting one soon enough though.

From what I have read about Heli's, they need high humidity when they are young (like yours) and they always want lots of light. H. Minor is considered a beginner's plant and is more forgiving with temperatures. Ideally you would cover the top of the terrarium with some plastic wrap to increase humidity, but this might lead to problems with mold/fungus and might make that container an oven.

If its possible, I would setup a similar 'test' container (with media in it), put a thermomerter/hygrometer in it to monitor max temp and humidity and put it in whatever location you want. This way you don't risk your plants and you will know exactly what conditions you are looking at. I don't think the Heli will like anything much more than 32C (90 F)

Hey twigs, thanks for the advice. I never really planned on buying a heli, i only bought it because i had to make a minimum order of $30, but i definately dont regret it, theyre really cool looking plants. Yesterday i put my terrarium outside where it got the sun from about 8-1ish, and by then it was getting pretty hot, the whole 'oven' effect like you said. I don't think it was too bad but maybe a little too hot for young helis. Anyway today i put it in a much better spot so it would get the sun from about 8 until 11ish, where afterwards it would be covered by shade. I think i might just stick to that kind of routine and rely more on artificial lights because the temperatures are less harsh.

ReefPlant wrote:Welcome to the forum
What's Up Toadly! Great plants! Hope you get them sorted out/situated so they can take off growing.
Good luck!!!

Cheers dude