FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

MrGrinii wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 10:54 pm

Intheswamp wrote:Here's a thread in the forum pertaining to growing plants in the heat:
sundew-heat-t37993.html

Focus on tropical plants.
Use white pots.

White pots are harder to get but as the sun is nothing to be joking with I'll have to figure something out, maybe self-watering solutions will come in handy in my region? I'll have to test. Thanks again for sharing valuable information. Possibly Drosera Capensis could take some more sun over my place...

We have the same problem finding white pots over here, too. But, they're out there. Something you can do is put a pot inside of another pot. Make the difference in size so that there's an air space between them. I have even slipped old styrofoam plates and cups down in the gap between the pots for insulation...it makes a difference when a hot sun is hitting the pot. I'm down in south Alabama and summers can get tough down here, too. Maybe not as arid as where you're at but we get some high heat and humidity. Paint is an option, but I'm not sure how it works out if the pot is sitting in water.

Self-watering containers... Most of the ones over here have a small reservoir. With sundews you may want as much as half the pot submerged in the water. But, being in your dryer region you may be able to find some with larger reservoirs. Most people that are serious with their CPs use trays to put there pots in. In all depends on your situation, location, climate, etc.,.

Bug_cemetery wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 11:21 pm Capensis should be happy with all the sun that you get once they are acclimated. It sounds like tuberous drosera could do very well in your climate! Pygmy drosera would likely be quite happy too.

That's great!

Filter sand for swimming pools is great for carnivorous plants because it is close to pure silica and already reasonably clean. I don’t even rinse mine anymore. That might be easier to find than horticultural sand.

Every time I was searching for silica sand I eventually encountered the filter sand for swimming pools, if it doesn't have any chemicals in it, I'll definitely go for it, thank you.
@Intheswamp

Something you can do is put a pot inside of another pot. Make the difference in size so that there's an air space between them. I have even slipped old styrofoam plates and cups down in the gap between the pots for insulation...

That's a great idea and seems to be more practical than painting, I also thought about doing the latter, and luckily I have some white paint leftovers, so I may find a new hobby of painting pots for a while. In addition despite the place being a deserted area, it has high humidity of 70%.

Self-watering containers... Most of the ones over here have a small reservoir. With sundews you may want as much as half the pot submerged in the water.

I see, thank you. Perhaps a custom solution for the reservoir will come handy, but I'll need to see how the watering system works before I do any further comments.

Most people that are serious with their CPs use trays to put there pots in. In all depends on your situation, location, climate, etc.,

Currently, that's my course of action. I'll have to try and experiment, I have a lot of people doing agriculture over the place so perhaps they might point out some useful things as well. In everything else, I'm relying on the people of the forum. For example that already saved me from trying coconut fibers, perhaps rinsing them a lot as you have already suggested earlier will save a part of the trouble, but right now I want to go with the optimal and safest way to grow the seeds.

Painting... Just make sure the paint doesn't leech out into the water. Maybe just plant above the imagined waterline of your tray.

Self-watering containers... They can work, but most that I've seen intend to use a wicking method which works well with normal, non-carnivorous plants. They seem to be geared to keep the water at a moistness level that a regular houseplant would like...not the soggy conditions some carnivorous plants require. There is a type of planter called an "Earthbox" that has a large built-in water reservoir, though intended for flowers and vegetables. I made a DIY one out of a large plastic "tote"/container last year. It worked very well for tomatoes. Maybe you could make something like the above but on a smaller scale. But, again...you will want the growing media wetter than this design keeps things.

I do like using trays. If you want the pots to dry a little it's easy to let the water dry down, leave it for a day (in your area keep an eye on it!) and then refill the tray ever how deep you want it. Very visible to see your water level, too.