FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

If some photos seem to disappear I do apologise, I'm in the midst of cleaning out my old photobucket account and moving my images elsewhere, so will need to do lots of transferring of files and updating links!

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Just a few photos from late winter, taken today, in a surprisingly mild part of England... as you shall see, the orchids are LOVING it.







If you have a phobia of insects please look away from this photo...
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx23 ... f123e8.jpg

Aaand this is a sight I've missed all too much...

SEED TRAY! Woohoo (with random food processor unit!)!

As of two weeks ago we also gained a new family member. Here is a photo of her chomping on a dog treat while very sleepy.


In case you can't decipher what she is, here's an older photo that should answer your question...

Her name is Tribble.

Needless to say, our male cat Skatty is not overly amused.

"You've got what now?!"

Did you name her Tribble after the Tribbles in Star Trek?

This winter has been fairly mild hasn't it? I only had proper snow the other day, and it still didn't settle! Been doing the paper round in a T-Shirt!
What seeds have you got on the go?

I did, yes. Ironically I've never seen the full episode but the name suited her immensely so there we go!

It's beautifully sunny out at the moment, orchids just seem to be excited. Even their old roots have new growth points on them! The seeds are:

Pinguicula grandiflora subsp. rosea
Pinguicula lusitanica
Pinguicula vulgaris (named location)
Pinguicula vulgaris mixed with bicolour

Old packets I had in the fridge; didn't stratify the ones that need it so it will be interesting to see what happens. Hoping to get some salad and herbs on the go this spring, too, maybe some veggies, will have to see about that one though.

Nothing's as rewarding/exciting as starting some seeds! Hope they turn out well for ya .

Hahaha, its the same on the other side of the north sea.. we had our first real frost last week, and im glad for it, its my first dormancy period for about 30 of my plants

But great photos, loved the hamster, and good luck with the seeds !

Oh wow. Heh. I'm really pleased to report that there are lots of little P. lusitanica sprouts popping up, sooo excited! Praise God! I'd forgotten how wonderful it was to see that.

Back to original post...

It's been a very growth-filled month for me, spiritually speaking but also plant-wise. The last few weeks have been filled with unsettling events, heartache, flare up after flare up and general winter blues but through it all I've been held up by God's grace; no time has been wasted, which I am very grateful for. Wanted to share some photos of the plant-orientated growth.

Let's start with the orchids! I need to give the leaves a clean but otherwise loooaaads of new roots and another new flower spike.
Phalaenopsis (unknown species) flower spike


Same as above, new root growth


All the orchids, a new one has been added since the last photo update (shiny pot at the back)


Phalaenopsis kolibri new growth (leaf/roots)


Oncidium Jungle Monarch, new "bulb" (lots of new growth going on with this one, it's finally beginning to look less sickly)


Now onto the seedlings on my windowsill; since the first post was made, I planted some mixed Utricularia but we'll start with the Pinguicula seedlings.
Pinguicula lusitanica; first sprout spotted 11th February 2014



Pinguicula grandiflora subsp. rosea; spotted the first sprout on 13th February 2014; I suspect this may be a misplaced P. lusitanica... whoops


Pinguicula vulgaris (named location); spotted 23rd February 2014; seedling ringed in dark orange, likely a few days old


And now onto the Utrics!
Utricularia mix; first sprout spotted 21st February 2014; I hope it's not actually grass LOL!


Utricularia sandersonii; not a seedling but recovered from the glass cube it was originally in, it's making a comeback!


And last but not least...
My next project(s)...


I'll hopefully continue to get some photos as these things progress into spring; such an exciting time!!

Your plants are beautiful!!! Do you have your Oncidium in orchid bark mix?

How exciting is it to see seedlings sprouting?! . Wow, you have got a butt-load of packets. Can't wait for those pics!!

That's very kind of you!! Thank you for the support. I'm amazed at how much the orchids have transformed this winter, prior to that they were somewhat just hanging on. A weekly watering/fertilizer schedule has been of immense benefit both to me and the plants haha. The Oncidium is in an orchid bark mix, yes, I haven't actually repotted any of my orchids since receiving them. Not something I admittedly ever thought about!

My word it is an amazing experience isn't it?! One of the best things in my books! The packets of seeds are all fruit, vegetable and salad leaves. I'm hoping to have a go at the ones organized tidily, just waiting for some perlite to arrive now.

God is so gooooood; plants are such an astounding thing.

Back to original post...

Planted some alpine strawberry, purple carrot and spinach seeds today - it's nice to have gotten started but boy have I been given a wake-up call! I had forgotten just how little I can do in one sitting, so this was a good reminder to take it slow and do things as and when I can. Took some photos of the other bits and pieces so here's another update for you (two in a week?! New record?!)...

Red, a male betta spledens who I have had in my care for over a year; pardon the watermark and snail luff mark...


Giant teacup of D. scorpioides; topped up the soil today, gave it a good water...


The Pinguicula lusitanica are showing obvious carnivorous leaves now, which is very exciting!



Flower buds on one of my Phalaenopsis swelling, awaiting its elegant white blooms...


I have a big pot of Drosera capensis (alba and typical "wide leaf") that I sowed today... and my awesome, ancient ruler.


Aaaand my set up parallel to my window...


Woohoo, random photos!

Looking great! And OMG, Tribble is so cute! I didn't see this thread before.

The alpine strawberries should grow really well. I have ones that have never been stored properly that sprouted in a few days....
They are really nice plants!
I can't believe how many different seeds you have!
It makes my 10 or so look paltry...

Thanks for reminding me, I need to repot about 5 muskmelon and about 100 tropical milkweed seeds from their plastic bags with paper towels...

Thank you both. I confess we had to rehome Tribble; loooong story, she's with someone who will take wonderful care of her, though. It's strange without her.

bananaman, the number of seed packets I have and the number of seeds I have sown varies quite considerably LOL. I'm hoping to do it a little at a time; I have a large tough in the back garden that needs bringing in so I can plant the salad leaves; they did really well in it last time, so it'd be nice to use that again.

That biiiiig silver pot of D. capensis seed should be interesting... I'd like to document it each week and make a slideshow. Shame I didn't think about doing that with the other seeds. Maybe next time? We'll see.

I'm pleased to report that I have spotted what appears to be another Utricularia sprout; I planted seed in two containers, one a trough with my U. sandersonii and U. calycifida and the other is an old orchid pot with transparent sides. The first sprout (which I still suspect may be grass) is in the trough, the second sprout is in the orchid pot (it may yet be grass but honestly, it's getting to germination time for the Utrics so I'm holding onto hope haha). I've sown some D. dielsiana seed in there, too, so it'll hopefully be a nice contrasting pot, should all go well.

Back to original post...

The sunlight here is dwindling but I took a couple of photos to give you all a brief update. I absolutely love how mum's camera picks up all the dust that has accumulated on the surface of the soil, as well as the mould in the sphagnum moss tray (nothing to worry about really, been keeping it at bay fairly well thank God) . I admit I'm tickled at how this was originally going to be mostly just other photos but now the carnivores are taking over. Speaking of which...

The grass is coming! (I think it's a utric now... preparing for potential U. bifida outbreak; this is the same sprout as in the 24th Feb update)


It's everywheerrre! Oh look, a different Utric species has sprouted (psst... to the left)!


This is the orchid pot with more Utrics sown in it... guess what? UTRIC GRASS! Woo!

To be honest I'm not actually bothered about the species I get, it's just wonderful to see the germination!! I don't remember if I said... the Utric seed that was sown is a mix of different species... I really, really like random seed mixes because the surprise is fantastic and my attempts at identification at this stage are hilarious!

Pinguicula grandiflora subsp. rosea (apparently, looks like the lusitanica though)...


Pinguicula lusitanica, these babies are doing well! Thank God!


Sooo much fun watching these things take off. Hopefully I'll have some drosera sprouts soon. Exciting times!

Sweeeet, it's great to see seeds germinate! Thanks for posting pics, Grey!