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Carnivorous Plants

I killed a lot of sundews and pitchers as a young man. I should try my hand again with them some day.
 
I actually found some sundews growing next to one of my family members ponds when I visited them a few years ago...
 
Connie and I are actually thinking about trying our hand at putting in some artificial bogs to try to grow these plants here. I've always been fascinated by them. Our main concern is that we are worried that the baby green anoles might get caught up and and killed by them, though. Connie is real protective of "her" lizards.

We've got two small venus flytraps growing in little containers in the house right now. Connie feeds them bugs every now and again. I would like to find some HUGE varieties of them.
 
Rich, I am not sure if any of the carnivorous plants are protected in Florida. But I did run into some wild growing N.American pitcher plants on the Eglin Reserve when I used to hike there back in 2005-2006. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what I had found. Unfortunately I have since lost the pictures. I was chasing a banded water snake when I found them. Beautiful plants. They were on a little "island" in the middle of a stream.
 
rafflesias really smell but theyre very attractive I think. I tried my hand at test tube raising venus flytraps but the enviroment has to stay so clean its really hard for them to thrive because mold will grow so quickly and easily if any airborne pathogens get inside.
 
Outcast said:
Rich, I am not sure if any of the carnivorous plants are protected in Florida. But I did run into some wild growing N.American pitcher plants on the Eglin Reserve when I used to hike there back in 2005-2006. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what I had found. Unfortunately I have since lost the pictures. I was chasing a banded water snake when I found them. Beautiful plants. They were on a little "island" in the middle of a stream.
Click to expand...

Actually we've seen quite a few areas scattered around here with pitcher plants in abundance. Sundews appear to be quite common as well.

There are supposed to be areas in northern Florida where venus flytraps can be found, but I've never seen them myself.
 
Back when I had the mail-order nursery I had a mess of carnivorous plants in the greenhouses. Got the TC plugs from this place. http://www.ag3inc.com/Uploads/availability.pdf
Also a local fellow has some cool and hot greenhouses, and has all the known species of Nepenthes. Evidently when collectors go to remote regions of the world collecting new living specimens for botanical gardens, he receives whatever they find first, figures out what they require for culture outside their native environ, and then propagates and distributes to the botanical gardens. Crazy place, only about 3 acres, it's easy to assume that's lawn you're standing on until the magnifying glass comes out and the guilt sets in.
There's a few old accounts of the peat lakes in a few counties in the south where the rotting sphagnum moss at the bottoms of the lakes would fill up with methane gas and lumps to huge chunks of it would float to the surface, and on these 'floating islands' is where the Venus's Fly Traps would grow abundantly. However, because of over-collecting to satisfy the interest in them, these places still exist, but nothing is growing on the floating lumps of peat. (rotted sphag moss = peat).
Now having said all this, the best peat for culturing Nepenthes, Butterworts, Flytraps & Sundews is, ironically, European (where none of these species is endemic to). A company called 'Prosource' used to carry it, not sure of the package label name, someone at Agristarts told me about it.
Notes on water.
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I was married at a botanical garden in Florida! This one... http://www.kanapaha.org/
I've been fascinated with plants much of my life as well. One of my first carnivorous plants... as is most peoples I'm sure... the venus fly trap. I loved hanging out with Mr. Bridges, a horticultural teacher, for many summers as well. I was so happy when I was finally old enough to take his class for credit. I've of course seen many pitcher plants, sundews, etc. If you ever make it overseas, Belgium has some beautiful botanical gardens. http://www.botanicgarden.be/ ... I'll look through my pictures and try to find some pictures of the Belgian and French botanical gardens I've been to.... I'll be sure to try and find some that show carnivorous plants as well as pictures of me in them so no one tries to claim I'm taking credit for their visit.
 
my favourite carnivorous plant has to be the pitcher plant, I have always found them growing around my cottage as a child and I was always just fascinated by them.. such amazing plants I think, and beautiful too!
 
sarracenia are my favorite, i have around 200 plants and a kajillion seedlings. nepenthes are my second favorite. i also have drosera, flytraps, cephalotus and drosophyllum
 
codymi, I would love to see some pictures of your plants/set up. I have a "grow your own" kit thing from Hobby lobby that I was debating on planting this spring. I was thinking about making a bog garden on my back porch.
 
i don't have any current pictures of the outside bogs, plus they're under two feet of snow. everything else is in the greenhouse. i can take some pics tomorrow.
 
there aren't any pitchers worth taking a pic of open right now. i'll get a few drosera pics. maybe start a thread for pictures of my plants...
 
What would you suggest for a back porch bog garden? I have a bin that is about 8 inches tall and 4 feet long x 2 feet wide. Would that work? Or should I get something larger?
 
are you thinking of direct planting or putting them in pots? since you're in nm, if direct planting i'd say go at least 12" deep or you'll be watering constanty, if going the pot route, then 8 inches should be deep enough. the length and width will be good for 7 or so sarracenia. a word of advice, go as big as you can or you'll very likely be repeating the building process in two years. i'm up to 6 of them now, for that reason. my bogs are 18 inches deep and double lined with 6 mil plastic. because it gets pretty hot and the bogs are in full sun i didn't put any drainage holes in it. i figure if they're in danger of rotting i can go out with a pitchfork.
 
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