Just picked up some plants for a terrarium container(both were in little cube terrariums and the garden center, but after reading some of these threads, I am already realizing I was starting off, wrong.
So, now that I've done some reading:
1. The pitcher goes outside in a bog with full sun and rainwater only.
2. The sundew can stay in the terrarium, with half peat/half sand, and distilled water.
Right?...or still wrong?
thank you
-Taylor
Here is the sundew. It has three cute little plantlets growing from it, and was only $4.97 at Lowes.
I think I may take the pitcher back, because it is very tiny, and don't want to make a bog, just for one tiny plant.
I was really just trying to find some things that would go well in the terrarium container...
Would a pinguicula do well in with the sundew?
-T
oops...forgot the picture
I hand-slapped a mosquito that had gotten into the house, and dropped it into the largest picther, yesterday.
Today it is still just sitting there... :0(
Also, I zapped a fly with one of those hand-held zappers. Instead of wrapping in a tissue and throwing it away, like I usually do, I dropped it onto one of the sundew's leaves.
I was a little surprised that the fly was still alive, because it tried to wriggle free(I thought it was dead).
At first I was glad because I thought the fly wriggling, would help trigger the sundew to curl its leaf around it, but here it is the next day, and the poor little fly is still flopping around in there. He made it off the leaf, and is just sitting on the moss :o(
Did I feed it the wrong thing? Do they only eat knats, not flies?
Is it just full?, lol...
Should I have bought a venus fly-trap, instead?
thank you for any help
-T
You are correct that the pitcher plant is not a good terrarium plant. However, you don't really need a bog for it. Just place it in a tray of good water (distilled is good, as is RO filtered and rain water) and place it, tray and all, outdoors in full sun. The water level should be generally 2 inches below the top of the soil, but will drop from evaporation. Keep the tray full, or at least with an inch of water all the time. A larger diameter tray will provide some local humidity for the plant, but will also dry out quicker due to the greater surface area.
The sundew is a Drosera adelae from wet-forested areas in the north of Australia. It should do great in a terrarium. They don't react to the wiggling fly as do some other sundews. If it wiggled free, then it is possible that it was a bit too big for the plant. Mine catch a lot of gnats and such, with an occasional larger bug. You should have given the fly to the pitcher plant, and the mosquito to the sundew ;-)
Good growing!
Pinguicula would do fine in your terrarium with the sundew. If I were you, I would take the top off your terrarium. This will give everything some air circulation, and help to prevent fungal infections that would look ugly, and possibly hurt your plants. I am growing some Pings on my window sill, with only moderate levels of humidity. The sundew will be fine too, with the top off, but might not do as well on a windowsill.
One more thing. Put 1/2" to 1" of good water in the bottom of the terrarium to sit the sundew in. Pings like this too.
Ron-
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, and for giving me advice. :0)
I have another container that might be better for this sundew, from what you are saying about the lid, so may scrap using that particular container, and plant it in something like this:
http://www.englishcreekgardens.com/images/cloche/ExaWinterTerr.jpg
I have a cloche type top that is really a candle part, so upside-down it looks just like a tall cloche, except for where the top ball handle is, it is just an open hole. (I'll take a pic later, but camera battery is currently on the charger, lol)
Anyway, I could use this open cloche over a deep saucer that fit its diameter, and then it could get some air. Also, the bugs can find their way in on their own. I think that would be better for it to catch its own food, anyway!, lol...
I make a rooting mix of equal parts: finely shredded coir, lava sand, and regular sand. Will that be a good soil to use for them?
-T
ok, charge finished.
I went out and took a picture of what I was talking about. These are supposed to be for candles, but if you turn them the way I have them, they make great cloches. I think I paid 40% off of 12.99 for the really tall etched one, and the other was only $2 at Hobby Lobby's 80% off aisle...
Would this work better?
-T
and here is a closer picture of the open top part.
If I put these over a deep saucer, or shallow dish garden container, would that be better for both the ping, and the sundew?
Could I go down to our creek, and get some living moss, growing by the water edge, to use as sort of a groundcover, or would that "contaminate" it somehow?
Yes, the candle part would be better. However, I have had really good luck with completely open containers, especially if they are tall. The first container you had them in is tall enough, that with water in the bottom, the humidity will be high enough without a top. It's also good because it is so easy to see the plants inside. The candle part is definitely an improvement because it allows some air circulation.
Just be sure that you don't have a pre-conception of these plants growing in hot, steamy jungles. In reality, they grow in open, wet bogs, or (for the sundew) in relatively cool forests, in wet moss. These will do fine with just a little extra humidity, and with very bright, indirect light. In the case of the pitcher plant, lots of direct sunlight. Trying to grow them in steamy jungle-like conditions is just inviting problems (pathogens). As an example, I have grown many small terrarium CPs in aquariums with an inch of water in the bottom, and the top either mostly, or completely open. The water keeps a layer of humid air around the plants, but there is still some air movement.
Do you know what kind of moss it is growing by your creek? If it is sphagnum, it would be ideal to top dress your plants with. If it is some other kind of moss, it might actually be harmful to the plants.
I do not know what sort of sand lava sand is. You always want to use very hard sand, which won't dissolve any minerals into the water. I recommend silica sand, if you can get it. It is sometimes called blasting sand. Usually, if you can get sand that is packaged for houseplants, it is fine. Silica sand it white, sugary-looking quartz sand. Mix this with peat moss in a 50/50 mix. Don't get peat moss which has plant food added, just plain, ordinary peat moss. Coir can be very good, but some sources of coir contain salts which can harm CPs.
Ok. So, back to the drawing board, again ;0)
I should probably take the original container(with the lid) and exchange it for one of those large open brandy-sniffer style glasses?
And then skip the lava, and scratch the moss :0)
The moss in our creek is the tiny fuzzy green carpeting moss you find at the water's edge. Lava sand is red lava rock, crushed small, like sand. Being lava, it might leach out some minerals, so probably shouldn't use it.
When I mix my coir, I always rinse it really well several times in a strainer, and I even bake it, to pasteurize it, so it should be safe for me to use with the regular sand...
So if I actually plant the sundew it should be in at least two inches, or more, and have a soggy bottom of one inch? Is that about the same that the ping likes?
Sorry to ask so many questions! you have been very helpful!
-T
You can exchange it if you want, but personal I really think it looks great, and should hold enough humidity. However, really large brandy snifters do work really well, and look good too.
Yeah, I'd nix the sand and the moss. And, if salts in the coir are not an issue, it is a really great material to use for CP mixes. It will outlast peat, which has a tendency to start to decompose after a year or two. Either use it alone with sand in a 50:50 mix, or you can mix it with some peat so that you still have sand at about 50% of the total.
Yes, sundews like their feet wet. Many like the surface only moist, but the D. adelae can be wetter, if you want. Mexician Pinguicula have very shallow root systems, in general, and grow in cracks on rocks, and even on rock faces which are kept wet by seepage, so they need the moisture that will wick up through the planting mix. They don't like having their tops wet, so don't spray them, but they like growing in containers with water underneath.
With the sundew and Pings you don't need to worry about keeping the water 2 inches below the plant's crown. That recommendation was primarily for the pitcher plant. Just keep the soil constantly moist. I sit mine in trays of water, with anywhere from 1/2 to 1 inch of water in the trays. It is harder to tell where the water level is if you directly plant into the terrarium. I still think you should keep your plants in the pots.
I think I get it know. Thanks a million!
Any sources that you'd recommend for the ping?
-Taylor
Well, you could try my company, Cascade Carnivores ;-) You can search on Dave's Garden for my feedback. Sorry for my plug, but I happen to like my Pings best.
Good luck,
Ron
Ron-
do you have any of this ping:
it is I think the 11th post by Keyring...gorgeous!!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/743473/
That is the picture that gave me the idea of getting moss from my creek.,..it is the same stuff that she has in with her ping...
thanks!
-Taylor
Maybe. It is hard to ID Pinguicula without seeing the flower, but this one looks a lot like P. x 'Weser'. It might also be some form of P. moranensis. Weser is a hybrid between moranensis and P. ehlersiae. You should do a search in PlantFiles: Genus:Pinguicula Cultivar: weser.
Please note: there are a lot of mis-identified plants in the P. 'Weser' pictures. Have a look at all of them, and see my pictures of the flower, and the plant - pink from growing under strong light. I just uploaded this later picture, so it won't be available right away.
Enjoy,
Ron
Thank you for adding that picture. I definitely want one that colors up pink :0)
I had a look at 'pirouette'. It looks like it has a very similar genetic background, but more color?...which colors best, or more easily: Weser, or Pirouette?
thank you
-Taylor
'Weser' is perhaps a bit easier to grow, but will be green overall unless grown in strong light. I use artificial fluorescent lighting, but sunlight would work provided you don't overheat your terrarium.
I find that Pirouette colors up easier, and with lower light levels still looks (slightly) pink. With high light levels it becomes really intense pink, as shown in my picture on this site.
Ron
Well, I went shopping today...
I picked up this cute little self-watering pot(usually associated with african violets) and thought it might work for the sundew
is this better?
I also picked this up:
the top can either be shut:
open a little:
or bent in a lot:
...and the entire top is on hinges and will fold back, or open, when you want it to...
How is the self-watering feature designed? Is the sundew sitting in the water? It looks really good.
Ron
the bottom is open, (which is weird), but I found that my salad containers fit perfectly in there, and I can cut it shorter.
I think the window sil thingy will work for now, but would like to eventually include the sundew and ping in the terrarium.
Can you let me know when you get more pirouette?? I think that is definitely the one I'd like to try. That windowsil faces east, and I also have an ultraviolet light tucked in behind the window molding, above the plants. I think it is definitely enought to "pink" it up. :0)
thank you
-Taylor
Wow! Now you're cooking. You can just 'dial-in' the conditions you want, with that adjustable top. And what a beautiful display!
Ron
this is a two piece pot...one pot inserts into the other.
The bottom holds water, and the top one is glazed only on the top half to look pretty. The bottom half is unglazed, so it can "wick" in the water.
It is pretty much what african violets are put into, and I've even seen little ones for sinningias, but this little one looked perfect for the sundew(and it matched my contianer!, lol)
:0)
I should have more Pirouette in 2 or 3 weeks. That's the time it takes to get them out of tissue culture and hardened off for sale. They won't be super colored up in that time, but they should be starting to get pink.
Taylor you are amazing!!
Well, it would be better if the sundew were actually sitting in water. But it might be ok, as long as the soil stays pretty wet. Generally, I've found African Violets to like semi-dry conditions. You can always add some water to the inner pot (the one the sundew's pot is sitting in). And it is a great match for your container.
Ron
Ron-I can wait a couple of weeks...no problem. Will you "start" one for me?
So will the self-watering pot be ok, or will it be too much water? I want to take good care of these.
Marie-
Hi there!...LOL...I don't know about amazing, but I just want to take care of these, and not kill them :0)
that white terrarium was a steal. I couldn't resist. I got it for 54.99, and then they took an additional 20% off. I couldn't pass it up.
I am going to make a mini scene inside of it. I already have the stuff ordered: dollhouse size patio furniture, courtyard tiles, a "water" feature, and more! I even got a tiny realy terracotta hanging basket for my micro-mini sinningia:
Ron-yes, it is sitting in water...it is soggy. There is water in the inner pot as well as the bottom pot. It just didn't show up well in the photo.
I just called the nursery, and told them to hold three more of those tiny pots for me, to pick up tomorrow morning.
I also got some really neat terrarium plants there. It is a pretty nice nursery. They had a ping, but it was not labelled, so didn't get it. I want a name, and I want girlly PINK :0)
-T
I kinda went overboard on the terrarium stuff, but it is so hot outside, that it is more fun gardening inside right now, than outside!, lol...
Marie-you know what I'm talking about! I'll bet you are even hotter than us, right now. By the way...those vines are going great! No flowers, yet, but doing well.
Here are some of the teensy tiny plants:
babies tears, tiny fern, and miniature creeping fig
I got a teensy arbor, and I'm going to try to make the fig climb up the arbor, lol...
yet another candle holder turned terrarium, that I got 50%off at hobby lobby...it think it was only 14.99, or something...
somebody stop me, lol...
-T
As long as the sundew and Ping are sitting in 1/2 to 1 inch of water, you are good to go. The Pirouette will be ready, and I will tag one for you, so no worries.
Ron
Thank you!!
-T
