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By Fenlena
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Posts:  40
Joined:  Sun Jun 04, 2023 3:24 am
#436152
We have a fruit fly problem so I am hoping to get a little help from Drosera Aliciae. We have other fruit fly control methods in place but I feel like this is the perfect excuse to dive into this hobby. I chose the Alice Sundew for several reasons. I live in a tiny apartment with 3 children and a cat. From what I gathered, the Alice Sundew does pretty well with just room lighting but I also have a windowsill I can put it on if it needs more light. I'd like to keep it on my desktop if possible. Keeping our apartment below 55 degrees Fahrenheit for several months out of the year isn't an option so not needing dormancy conditions is a huge plus. I also read that the Alice Sundew will self propagate and is pretty generous with seed production. It was called the "weed" of carnivorous plants. Does all that seem right so far?

Now, for the cat, I figured it would be better for the plant if I put it in a terrarium but I also need the fruit flies to be able to get to the plant. So, I am thinking of getting one of those critter keepers that people keep crickets and small lizards in. It is plastic and has vents in the lid that should be plenty big enough for fruit flies to get in. I will have freeze dried meal worms on hand for the winter when the fruit flies aren't as abundant.

My thought is to burn holes in the bottom of the critter keeper with a soldering iron for drainage. I'd try to drill it but previous experience with drilling plastic has taught me not to drill plastic. I want to give the plant plenty of room to propagate and live a happy life. A lot of sites recommend a 4 inch round pot for this plant. Would the 9in L X 6in W critter keeper be too big? How deep should the soil mixture be? I will probably buy some premixed soil I found that is mixed specifically for carnivorous plants that like boggy growing conditions. There will be a lid at 6 inches from the bottom of the critter keeper. Should I add gravel to the bottom for additional drainage? Will that raise the plant too high? Would a taller, less wide container be more suitable? If I put the critter keeper in the windowsill, will it get too hot in there, keeping in mind the top is vented? Should I just put a 4 inch round pot inside the critter keeper and call it a day?

I live in Kentucky, USA. The average RH is 70.3% but the plant will be indoors. Not sure what the humidity in my apartment is. Would misting the critter keeper do any good, given that the lid is vented?

Any comments are greatly appreciated. This is my first go at carnivorous plants so I am not dead set on anything mentioned above. I am open to any and all ideas that fit within my limited budget. Thank you for your time.
By Barlapipas 6
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Joined:  Tue Aug 30, 2022 11:26 pm
#436155
Most sundews don’t need a terrarium, also most flies would not go in the slits and the problem won’t solve. You can just put the plant outside of the terrarium and it will catch a lot more flies. I am not sure how much light does D. aliciae want, but it is probably the most important factor for them to produce dew. The second factor is humidity and watering. At first when you get the plant it most likely won’t produce dew because it acclimates to your environment and conditions. If you get them right it will produce dew soon. If the fly infestation is big then one plant might won’t solve the problem so you’ll need to buy more sundews or butterworts. Or find another solution.
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#436161
I agree with the terrarium not being ideal for CPs. I would stay away from the critter keeper. Your critter keeper idea isn't entirely a bad one, though. I would go with something like this, though, to keep a terrorist cat away from the plant...Kaytee Take Me With Travel Carriers. It's a touch bigger, the gaps in the wire cage is plenty large enough for fruit flies and other critters to come through. And of course there's room for a couple more small plants.

CPs usually require more light than a window can provide. Most CPs are stated as requiring 6+ hours of full, direct sun. Does the windowsill receive a lot of sun? Most windowsills are lacking in providing enough light...either due to direction of window, limited time sun comes through directly, double or triple paned with UV "protection", etc.,. In your apartment situation I would definitely be thinking of utilizing the window, though...plus, flies are attracted to the windows when it's light outside but the lights are off inside. Plus, if the cat doesn't get on the windowsill you might not need the sundew in a cage. But, most apartment growers soon find themselves acquiring a grow light setup...before you go that route check here on the forum and get some feedback. I've seen more than one incidence of people throwing money at some poor setups whereas they could've had a nice, efficient setup for less.

Maybe your next sundew choice could be a variety of d. capensis. They have more uplifted leaves which it seems the gnats and flies like to land on. The capes are also a fairly "active" carnivorous plant in that it curls fairly quickly around the prey. Most varieties are small, even the large ones aren't very large, though.
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By evenwind
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Joined:  Sun Jul 07, 2013 4:16 pm
#436171
As ITS said, capensis may be a much better starter plant (although they're known to sulk occasionally). But I think that a variety of spatulata is easier still and typically just as easy to come by. I consider aliciae a plant that needs a grower with at least a bit of experience.

And, welcome to the forum!
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By Fenlena
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Joined:  Sun Jun 04, 2023 3:24 am
#436192
Wow. Lots of useful information without any sarcasm or undeserved arrogance on the internet. What an awesome welcome. Thank you all so much. I am going to do pretty much exactly what everyone said. I will come back to Alice. She and I have a destiny together. I am going to start out with d. capensis as suggested.

I do have experience with growing plants that started about 40 years ago in kindergarten with some dry beans, a wet paper towel, and a drinking glass. I always have plants around and at one time, had a full flood and drain hydroponic system with a 55 gallon nutrient reservoir and a vented 1000w HPS light. I know a thing or two about artificial lighting for most plants. I would imagine carnivorous plants aren't much different in that one aspect but again, I bow to y'all's expertise. Any advice in this area is greatly appreciated.

My husband isn't going to like me finding this forum. I am already imagining digging out my XML 350 from Advanced LED and setting up an entire carnivorous plant forest. Lol. I wish we had the room. I think the XML 350 will be overkill for the foreseeable future.

I am also really interested in the seed exchange. I know it is generally a good idea for beginners to start out with live plants and I will probably do both to start out. I have germinated thousands of seeds in my lifetime. Admittedly, I haven't looked into growing carnivorous plants from seeds much yet. From what little I have gathered, you just lay them top of your soil mixture, cover them with a thin layer of moss, and keep wet and humid. Any pitfalls or special considerations I should be aware of?

I live in the capital city so I'm not sure about the quality of the rain water here so I will be using distilled water from Walmart for everything plant related.
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By evenwind
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#436196
Fenlena wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 12:30 am Wow. Lots of useful information without any sarcasm or undeserved arrogance on the internet. What an awesome welcome. Thank you all so much. I am going to do pretty much exactly what everyone said. I will come back to Alice. She and I have a destiny together. I am going to start out with d. capensis as suggested.

I have germinated thousands of seeds in my lifetime. Admittedly, I haven't looked into growing carnivorous plants from seeds much yet. From what little I have gathered, you just lay them top of your soil mixture, cover them with a thin layer of moss, and keep wet and humid. Any pitfalls or special considerations I should be aware of?
You're certainly on the right track but for drosera, keep them damp, not wet and no covering - just seeds on top of the medium. Also, check out ZeroWater pitchers, they might work out to be cheaper than buying water by the gallon.
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#436198
"...without any sarcasm or undeserved arrogance"? Here? No, no, no...none of that around here! But, from time to time around here, there's a guy that duns a royal robe (he's a little looney) but we keep a good supply of pitchforks and torches leaned up against the wall leading into the village square that everybody is free to grab them when needed. Oh, and the guy likes kittens, too, he's crazy about'em!!!!

Like evenwind said, it looks like you're on the right track.

The grow mix is nutrient bankrupt...fertilizer will kill the plants.

>>Don't cover the seeds!<<
Just sprinkle them on top of the grow mix. If you're using a peat and perlite grow-mix then you might sift out enough peat to make a very thin "seedbed" to go over the top of the substrate peat and perlite mix. This will keep the tiny seeds from getting lost in cracks and crevices in more coarse material. A while back I made a fine seed bed material from dried sphagnum moss (Better-Gro from Lowes). I put it in a blender and chopped it to a very fine particle size. I sprinkle maybe 1/8" of it over the top of the peat and perlite mix.

You're on target with the distilled water...for now. At first it will be economical for a plant or two but once you get more plants and start rinsing ingredients for a grow mix (I'm "OCD-Me" :mrgreen: in another life, so I rinse my ingredients) and filling water trays up, distilled water can definitely get expensive. Some people use a reverse osmosis system to filter their own water. With your mention of hydroponics you might already have a system? You mentioned you live in the "capital city"...does that mean Washington, D.C. or did I miss something? I'm not sure how the rainwater would be there. A TDS meter is very helpful for checking water...anything under 50ppm is considered "good". The meters can be had on Amazon for around $15.

Your lights may come in very handy. CPs require large amounts of light, especially flytraps and pitcher plants. But, what they really desire to be outdoors and in full sun. That's where they came from! :D

Anyhow, just a few things there. I'm still learning myself...at least I *think* I'm learning. :lol:
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By Fenlena
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Joined:  Sun Jun 04, 2023 3:24 am
#436199
The capital city of Kentucky which is Frankfort.
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By Intheswamp
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Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#436204
Looks like (maybe?) your favored wind is coming from the direction of Nashville. So you've got about 200(?) miles from Nashville to your location. Your rainwater may be just fine, especially if there's not a nuclear reactor between Nashville and you. A TDS meter should let you know whether it's mineral content is okay. You'll probably need a geiger counter for the other.
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By Panman
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Joined:  Wed Mar 04, 2020 8:41 pm
#436215
Fenlena wrote:Wow. Lots of useful information without any sarcasm or undeserved arrogance on the internet.
That is one of my favorite things about this forum. There are no pretenses here. Sometimes people get advice they don't want to hear, but it is always presented in a respectful fashion. I quit responding to posts on Facebook because of what you reference. Plus, this is a fun group to be a part of. Lots of shenanigans and good humored teasing. Especially for the dude in royal robes and the loon in L.A.
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By Intheswamp
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Posts:  3307
Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm
#436219
Fenlena wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2023 3:06 am The capital city of Kentucky which is Frankfort.
My humble apologies in my poor reading comprehension...I see in your first post where you told us your state. :oops: It's Chef's fault! :mrgreen:

Oh, and in re-reading your post I saw that you asked about drilling or burning holes in the bottom of the critter carrier. I wouldn't, I would do as you alluded to and use a 4" pot in it and it sitting in a deep saucer or a shallow bowl for the water tray. I'm thinking that filling the entire bottom of the carriers could be a messy venture. ;)

And now I know what the capital of Frankfort, I mean Kentucky, is!!! :D

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