FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

The link to my growlist can be found in my signature (I gave up trying to post the list in multiple places as it just took too much time).

For the past year or two, I've focused more on highland plants since I discovered they enjoy the conditions in my basement. While I always enjoy trying to understand what conditions in which each plant thrives - the epiphytic utrics have been particular challenging both in finding good specimens & in keeping them 'happy'...

Hi Ron-- You have taken some beautiful photos of your plants, linked to from your growlist. Extensive list too!

Nice collection!

I've looked at your list before Ron. It's a doozy

Thanks for the kind words guys - they're appreciated. Whenever possible, I try to take pics to help out folks who have questions. For example, there were a lot of issues with N. hamata's for a while & people thought they were really difficult - so when i got mine, I started a growth progression of pics. For a lot of utrics, there aren't many pics of their foliage - just the flowers - so I try & show the foliage so people know what to expect. With the Sarrs - some of the plants just grab me by the throat and demand that I take their pic. It took me years to get var atropurpurea plants that were really, truly red in my conditions. Now - I just love looking at them!

Matt wrote:I've looked at your list before Ron. It's a doozy

That's why I need to be a bit selective with my trades;
- the 'upkeep on the different groups of plants consumes significant time so i just can't keep adding anything... new plants need to fit into 'buckets' that have the same conditions as other plants to reduce labor. That's why I grow some of my cephs with my VFTs...
- bringing in pests is a real issue. While Sarrs & Neps handle pesticides quite well, dews & utrics don't. I'd hate to lose a rare plant (that I can't easily replace) because someone sent me mites (that's why I have a quarantine tank now)
- someday - I'd like to get back into the petiolaris complex - they are absolutely the most diverse & beautiful dews in the world. The fact that they are not self-pollinating nor self-fertile means that they will likely never be really common. Add in some demanding conditions, propagation difficulties & dormancy issues - got a wonderfully challenging and rewarding group of plants... someday .....

That's a great list!

RL7836 wrote:I'd like to get back into the petiolaris complex - they are absolutely the most diverse & beautiful dews in the world. The fact that they are not self-pollinating nor self-fertile means that they will likely never be really common.

That's very interesting, Ron. I didn't know that. Thanks for mentioning it.

I agree that getting a little spider mite colony from a newly received plant is a pain. I'm personally more concerned about plant viruses (although they are rare) because at least spider mites, aphids, scale, mealy bugs, thrips, etc. can be quickly and effectively eliminated, but "viruses are forever."

Anyway, great comments and information. Thanks.

Steve_D wrote:....because at least spider mites, aphids, scale, mealy bugs, thrips, etc. can be quickly and effectively eliminated, ...

While most pitcher plants & VFTs handle pesticide treatments well, many dews & utrics do not and a treatment will, at the very least, weaken the plant & possibly kill it. Pesticides containing imidacloprid seem to be less toxic to these two classes of CPs but sadly 1) imidacloprid is implicated in issues with honey bees and 2) it is apparently not effective against mites (ironically CO2 is also not effective).

So, if somehow I get mites into my Orchidioides utrics, I may lose some (or all) of them .... and many of these plants are difficult to source in the USA...