FlyTrapCare Forums

I am dealing with probably the worst ISP in at least this solar system...Centurystink, er...uh, Centurytel. Terrible. Scum of the earth. Stupid customer service. Things like them are what causes people to go postal. I've tried numerous times to post this message, but Internet keeps dropping out courtesy of CENTURYSTINK!!!! But, speaking of postal and on to a much better topic...

Thursday the Santa Claus, disguised as the lady on the old mule that delivers my mail, brought me three small boxes coming from all over the world!!! Well, at least from all over the United States...well, at least the east side of the US....the part on the right bank of Ol' Man River (you know, if you was headin' upstream). Three pretty little boxes from Michigan, New York, and my neighbor to the east (to my right if I was going up the Chattachooche around Ft. Gaines ). It just so happens that my granddaughter who likes flytraps was visiting (and her sisters)...it was their last day at school and they came to chill her for a couple of days in celebration, rejuvenation, and because they can get away with murder around here (but, we *do* know where the bodies are buried in case we need some leverage!<g>).

I gotta say thanks to some folks... @Panman , @evenwind, and @Bug_cemetery for their generosity in helping me grow our garden! Great advice, recommendations, tips, and worked with me to get some very cool new residents to the "Home for Wayward Bug Eating Plants"...a non-profit organization dedicated to giving bug-eating plants everywhere a fresh start in life...no matter their horrid flesh-eating backgrounds! There's some great people here on this forum, some seriously good folks!!!!

I had a little help getting these planted . I'm not sure I got everything correct in our plantings...I was the foreman of this operation, so all errors (comedic, and otherwise) fall on me. As bad politicians are bad to quip..."The buck stops here!!!" If you see something I need to change *please* let me know. I think we did pretty good, though. Even if we got it all wrong...I had some great company getting them in pots!!!

Here's some photos, in no specific order. I'll post the images in several different posts so as not to give the Centurystink goblins a chance to kill a message with time put into a lot of image uploads.

Oh, and a few of these plants will be going home with my granddaughter...and she only lives maybe 30-40 miles from where Alabama pitchers grow wild!!!

Here we go, thanks...

Wow! I managed to get all the images in one post without Centurystink bombing out on me!!!!

Good job. This look great. I'm glad to see the sundew traveled okay. I was a bit worried about it.

Looks great to me, too! The only suggestion I have (and it's not necessary!) is to use a toothpick to gently untangle the leaves of the droseras while equally gently holding the crown in place. Otherwise, you've just got to let them acclimate.

Are we all going to simply gloss over the granddaughter wearing gloves? I didn't know ladies from Alabama were so frail.
Get dirty! Connect with the earth! You can always wash your dang hands.
But, Southern Belles to the end.

Roll Tide!

Gloves are a good thing when messing with sphagnum. I always wear them and I'd be a Northern Belle or maybe a Taco Bell or something.

Remember to keep the sundews under high humidity until they re-booger... dang. Santa's delivering presents on Memorial Day weekend?

I've only checked on them twice this morning...or, was it three times.

Thanks guys, these are so COOL!!!!!

We used a peat:perlite mix, a tad heavier on the peat. We used the moss that the plants came with for top-dressing.

Once we got them all situated in the pots I filled the trays up and inch or so with rainwater and let the pots suck up all they would. Once I hefted the pots and they were good and heavy with water I emptied the trays out. This morning they've been in dappled sunlight...soon to be a few hours of full sun. It is possible that where they're located they could receive four or more hours of direct sunlight. Should I move them to where they will continue with the dappled lighting and light shade for a another day or three of acclimation?

Also, should I add a half-inch or so of water back to the trays? I didn't want them standing in water until I knew for sure whether constant water was good for them. It seems like the pitcher plants are usually stated as growing in shallow water. I'm not sure about the sundews, though....and really not too sure about the pitchers.

My granddaughter will be carrying the large pot of flava home with her...if not for her I wouldn't be here in the forum. So it's all her fault!!! She was excited when told her it was going home with her. The flava consisted of three individual plants so I decided to go ahead and divide the clump...I hope I didn't mess up. She's also carrying home a couple of the sundews.

Sun just came out...let the new arrivals bask in the sun a while and move them into dappled shade or...let'em ride?????

Thanks, ya'll!!!

Panman wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 1:19 pm Good job. This look great. I'm glad to see the sundew traveled okay. I was a bit worried about it.

<chuckle> It made the trip just fine! I liked the way you had a wad of sphagnum moss covering the top of it...I wasn't sure what to expect. It was well flatten out betwen the mix it was growing in and the sphagnum moss but once we uncovered it it started springing up seemingly to say, "Hey! Where am I at? These my new digs, man????!!!!".

I did have to slap my granddaughters hand (gently ) to keep her little grubby paws off of it...I think she was envisioning sitting at her house.

evenwind wrote:Looks great to me, too! The only suggestion I have (and it's not necessary!) is to use a toothpick to gently untangle the leaves of the droseras while equally gently holding the crown in place. Otherwise, you've just got to let them acclimate.

Thanks for the tip on the toothpick. I tried to tease the leaves apart some with my trusty planting pencil but there sure are stubborn. I think some of the leaves are simply growing kind of in a particular direction. Now that they're back in the light and settling in I figure they'll expand outward some. I actually used a toothpick in cleaning and straightening leaves on my little rescue traps, I don't know why I didn't use one for the sundews...never too late, though!

About time you start your growlist!

Intheswamp wrote:I liked the way you had a wad of sphagnum moss covering the top of it.

BTW, that is live sphagnum, so if you use it to top off a pot, you will be able to grow your own supply.

ChefDean wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 3:01 pm Are we all going to simply gloss over the granddaughter wearing gloves? I didn't know ladies from Alabama were so frail.
Get dirty! Connect with the earth! You can always wash your dang hands.
But, Southern Belles to the end.

Roll Tide!

She's a little southern belle, that's for sure...just like her two sisters...when she wants to be...just like her two sisters. And trust me, ain't none of'em frail, especially the littlest one!!!

The gloves thing...they've always been attracted to wearing gloves. Almost back to when they could've gotten their hand in just the thumb of the glove. Beats me...<grin> But, I wore gloves, too, while we were planting. I had a divot out of one of my fingers and didn't want to risk it without the gloves. Interestingly, I thought that they would be clumsy but they actually worked quiet well and the peat barely would adhere to them. Of course next time...who knows what I'll do.

Panman wrote:

Intheswamp wrote:I liked the way you had a wad of sphagnum moss covering the top of it.

BTW, that is live sphagnum, so if you use it to top off a pot, you will be able to grow your own supply.

I saw that! Thanks! I did go ahead and use it for a top dressing. I hope it takes, good!

thepitchergrower wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 4:12 pm About time you start your growlist!

Yep, will probably be getting to that before long! I'm just scared that if I start one I'll keep wanting to add to it!! But, I'm already trying to figure out how I could build a mesh-fenced "shelf" out on the old deck...the decks a little rickety and a shelf would cover up some of the booby-traps. Maybe I could convince my wife that it's for "safety" purposes!

thepitchergrower wrote: ↑Sat May 28, 2022 3:36 pm Remember to keep the sundews under high humidity until they re-booger... dang. Santa's delivering presents on Memorial Day weekend?

I think they're in pretty good shape. The peat mix seems to be good and moist this morning...I'm hoping I didn't overdo the extra peat in the mix but I sense my flytraps dry out too quick at the top while there's still moisture down below...but past the depth of the roots.

Here's a shot of the mix that I used, it looks ok to me...???