FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

chompy wrote: As to overwatering, if I'm bottom watering the plant, do I just keep water in the tray at all times or do I let it dry out for a day between? Not sure what the specifics of watering are, the media always looks damp but no standing water anywhere.

You can let the tray dry out completely, but never let the media itself dry completely. As to how often you'll need to re-fill the tray, that depends on your own environment Watch your media for your best indications. If it looks soggy- it's too wet so you may want to let the tray stand dry for a day (or two). If it looks& feels dry- more water needed and you may want to keep water under there all the time.

So I went from nursery to nursery looking for a small glazed (or similar) pot to put my tiny unstable plastic one into. Could not find a four inch suitable pot. I also researched pots for CPs heavily, and couldn't find very good information on the specific harms except that they can trap harmful minerals. However, if you're watering with distilled water and there aren't minerals in the water to trap, is clay still a problem? One site said that unglazed clay actually provides good insulation for the roots and helps humidity problems.

Despite this, most people seem to think clay "can be" harmful, so I'm deciding not to risk it. I figure the benefit of a heavier, more stable and better looking pot isn't worth an unhealthy plant. Instead I bought a new water tray with round raisers that are closer together. I'm out of town, so I don't know how well the plastic pot will fit on them, I'll post when I'm back home.

? - if the plastic pot fits perfectly on the circle raiser, won't the seal they create prevent tray water from getting to the drainage holes? Is there a way I can make sure?

Also, I went and bought a very cheap and crappy desklamp that takes type A bulbs, and then bought a 10W floursecent "Soft White" compact. 10W of this curly bulb is apparently equivalent to a 40W incandescent. Even so, it seems pathetically weak, will this make any slight difference as supplemental light? I'm going to try to position the lamp so that it won't shade off any actual sunlight, or maybe just use it when it's very overcast/nighttime. It's also going to provide some reading light since the sill is next to my bed.

Ok so here's what's looking like the final setup:

it's all plastic, on a very bright West window, and I've got a 10W fluorescent (40W incandescent equivalent) bearing down on it during the day, making sure it doesn't shade the plant from real sun. Check out the pic.

New traps are coming in all the time, a big new trap just formed and is on the verge of opening, but the leaves are still growing prostrate, which is really annoying. We'll give it more time and see if anything changes.

awesome heres a pic of my setup

chompy wrote:Ok so here's what's looking like the final setup:

it's all plastic, on a very bright West window, and I've got a 10W fluorescent (40W incandescent equivalent) bearing down on it during the day, making sure it doesn't shade the plant from real sun. Check out the pic.

New traps are coming in all the time, a big new trap just formed and is on the verge of opening, but the leaves are still growing prostrate, which is really annoying. We'll give it more time and see if anything changes.

if you're gonna use a CFL.. use one that's equivalent to 100W.. or use a 40W tubes..

allen,

Welcome to the forum. my mom grew up in SF and she went to Berkely. I like the bay area, well... all of Cali really.

Because its in a west facing window, you probably dont need the light. How many hours of direct sunlight is it getting?

From your pics it looks like everyone got you pretty squared away. But my two cents are, water less than more. In my short experience, mold grows easily if watered too much. Which could lead to a decline in your plants health. Im find that bottom watering just and inch or two, every 4 to 5 days seems to be doin the trick.

Feel free to ask more questions, as youve witnessed everyone is pretty friendly and open to talking around here