FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I'm not even sure if I'm asking a proper question but here goes.
How are perfect conditions for carniverous plants maintained in the wild in so many different environments so prolifically?
We source and experiment with our growing mediums and tweak our temperatures and conditions.
We spend a lot of time and money doing this and still don't get it right every time.
I discovered today that my rain water reads a higher tds than my tap water.
Are we moly codling these plants when it's not necasarry?
Is it all about getting the largest traps rather than keeping these things alive?
Surely they can't be that sensitive when nature is so temperamental and unpredictable?
Any opinions?

Nick 81 wrote:I'm not even sure if I'm asking a proper question but here goes.
How are perfect conditions for carniverous plants maintained in the wild in so many different environments so prolifically?
We source and experiment with our growing mediums and tweak our temperatures and conditions.
We spend a lot of time and money doing this and still don't get it right every time.
I discovered today that my rain water reads a higher tds than my tap water.
Are we moly codling these plants when it's not necasarry?
Is it all about getting the largest traps rather than keeping these things alive?
Surely they can't be that sensitive when nature is so temperamental and unpredictable?
Any opinions?

The answer is actually a lot simpler than you might think: the plants have evolved to perfectly fit the environment, not the other way around. Sometimes we can't even get certain plants to thrive for us because we are unable to mimic a needed unpredictability or unknown that occurs in the plant's environment. Some plants prove to be not so sensitive because their natural habitat is less un-predicable, or matches the environment that most of ourselves live in (like the temperate U.S.)

It seems that plants that live in harsher environments are more difficult to grow because they need the unpredictability and harshness of that habitat. These plants we "coddle" by attempting to mimic their natural environment, because our steady environments we artificially provide are too simplistic for them.

Thanks benuramii.
This makes perfect sense to me. I'm especially impressed in your explanation of us struggling to emulate the harsh unpredictable conditions these plants tolerate and thrive in.

Apologies for misspelling your name.

Nick 81 wrote:Apologies for misspelling your name.

No worries, my name is already sort of misspelled. It is supposed to be a mix of Ben and burmannii, but I misspelled burmannii and dropped one of the n's. Weird for a name to have two n's and two i's right at the end.

I used to be quite panicky about looking after my cp's. Now I just leave 'em outside in the sun and they do much better without my interference it seems haha! I live in NZ where we have no ozone layer so the worst thing is the Suns actually burns them! It's crazy. It is always raining and sunny at the same time here.


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Very good topic for discussion.

I agree with everything that's already been written. We also are growing these in pots (aside from the people who have actual in ground bogs) which brings in a whole other problem in temperature fluctuation. Where these plants grow is where the plants adapted. They have similar conditions year after year. The plants adapted to the "average" conditions i.e. humidity, temp, rainfall, photoperiod, some plants even wilfire. The seeds wont germinate without a smoke treatment. Then we buy the plant and try to make it work where we live. Some people live in areas where the plants came from, which certainly makes it easier.

I do have to ask, where do you capture your rain water? When I catch rain it's usually 1 or 2 ppm TDS. Which is very close to distilled quality.

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Actually we as growers don't always try to emulate their natural conditions to the best of our abilities. Most of the smaller CP's are overgrown by brush in the summer in their natural habitat. They don't really get direct sun until late fall. That's when they really start to color up. The northern S Purpurea and D Rotundifolia are perfect examples. I have several different bogs local to me containing both of these species.

We typically give both of these plants as much direct sun as possible, and yes so do I. I have yet to go to a bog and see a compact rosette type D Rotundifolia, like I see in cultivation. They are VERY etoliated in nature because of the overgrowth. Most S Purpurea in their habitat are almost all green right now. They'll start to turn dark red/purple here in the next month or so. Yet almost every pic of a S Purpurea that is posted is dark red in spring, summer, and fall.

Yes, we give them the their requirements to survive, and thrive. Proper water, nutrient free soil, and sun, and lots of bugs.

Yes, most growers do coddle their plants.

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boarderlib wrote:Actually we as growers don't always try to emulate their natural conditions to the best of our abilities. Most of the smaller CP's are overgrown by brush in the summer in their natural habitat. They don't really get direct sun until late fall. That's when they really start to color up. The northern S Purpurea and D Rotundifolia are perfect examples. I have several different bogs local to me containing both of these species.

We typically give both of these plants as much direct sun as possible, and yes so do I. I have yet to go to a bog and see a compact rosette type D Rotundifolia, like I see in cultivation. They are VERY etoliated in nature because of the overgrowth. Most S Purpurea in their habitat are almost all green right now. They'll start to turn dark red/purple here in the next month or so. Yet almost every pic of a S Purpurea that is posted is dark red in spring, summer, and fall.

Yes, we give them the their requirements to survive, and thrive. Proper water, nutrient free soil, and sun, and lots of bugs.

Yes, most growers do coddle their plants.

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The rotundifolia I have seen in the wild during the summer are by no means etiolated. They are quite red, and in rather open areas. D. rotundifolia and S. purpurea are adapted to their very wide range, and it is very much a generalization to say that the habit of these species is entirely represented by the plants that get covered in over-growth during the spring and summer months (which may not even be a natural condition, as humans have been surpressing fires allowing shrubbery to more easily take hold).

I collect my rainwater in a glazed ceramic pot in my back yard. It's north wales by the way.
Tds reading have varied from 32 to 175 tds.
I wonder if it's acid rain?

I have never heard of rainwater readings like that. I would guess something is getting into your water. I highly doubt rain is picking up 175 PPM as it falls.

It does seem odd scooter. I have never measured any water with a reading below 32. Unless my cheap tds meter can't detect lower readings.

Have you tested your meter on some distilled water? Is your pot collecting runoff from a roof or something? That TDS seems really high even if your pot was dirty.

I keep it away from the roof and the pot is relatively clean. I can't obtain distilled water but I have de ionised water and this reads 32. I was expecting around 2.

Benurmanii wrote:

boarderlib wrote:Actually we as growers don't always try to emulate their natural conditions to the best of our abilities. Most of the smaller CP's are overgrown by brush in the summer in their natural habitat. They don't really get direct sun until late fall. That's when they really start to color up. The northern S Purpurea and D Rotundifolia are perfect examples. I have several different bogs local to me containing both of these species.

We typically give both of these plants as much direct sun as possible, and yes so do I. I have yet to go to a bog and see a compact rosette type D Rotundifolia, like I see in cultivation. They are VERY etoliated in nature because of the overgrowth. Most S Purpurea in their habitat are almost all green right now. They'll start to turn dark red/purple here in the next month or so. Yet almost every pic of a S Purpurea that is posted is dark red in spring, summer, and fall.

Yes, we give them the their requirements to survive, and thrive. Proper water, nutrient free soil, and sun, and lots of bugs.

Yes, most growers do coddle their plants.

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The rotundifolia I have seen in the wild during the summer are by no means etiolated. They are quite red, and in rather open areas. D. rotundifolia and S. purpurea are adapted to their very wide range, and it is very much a generalization to say that the habit of these species is entirely represented by the plants that get covered in over-growth during the spring and summer months (which may not even be a natural condition, as humans have been surpressing fires allowing shrubbery to more easily take hold).

I apologize. I should've been more specific and stated this is based on what I've seen at my local bogs. I'm sure there are bogs that are far more open that allow both species to gain color throughout the whole growing season.

This was taken 6/26/16


This 10/15/16




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