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What type of plants are you interested in growing? This poll is closed. |
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| Perennials! |
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142 | 20.91% |
| Annuals! |
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30 | 4.42% |
| Woody plants! |
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62 | 9.13% |
| Succulent plants! |
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171 | 25.18% |
| Tropical plants! |
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60 | 8.84% |
| Non-vascular plants are the best! |
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31 | 4.57% |
| Screw you, I'd rather eat them! |
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183 | 26.95% |
| Total: | 679 votes | ||
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Kenning posted:I just finished the 100th post on my carnivorous plant blog. In celebration I took a picture of every plant in my collection. Those look amazing; have you tried growing them in a terrarium before? It seems like it would be fairly easy to control humidity and light but, I'm not sure. E: I was thinking along the lines of a fish bowl or tank. Azuth0667 fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Oct 19, 2014 |
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Oct 19, 2014 16:20
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Kenning posted:I just finished the 100th post on my carnivorous plant blog. In celebration I took a picture of every plant in my collection. Did your persian carpet flower survive? I remember liking the plant and then recoiling in horror at the linked photo of a bloom.
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Oct 19, 2014 18:43
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It's still alive, though it hasn't done much. It's in a windowsill with probably less light than it would prefer. We'll see if it blooms next season. I'll post pictures!Azuth0667 posted:Those look amazing; have you tried growing them in a terrarium before? It seems like it would be fairly easy to control humidity and light but, I'm not sure. I actually don't think most of these plants would like terraria. You don't need all that much humidity if your light levels are good. Several of my sundews look as good as any in cultivation, if I flatter myself. There are some species that would enjoy the high humidity of a tank, but without high light levels it wouldn't really matter. Light first, everything else after.
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Oct 20, 2014 07:34
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I was thinking of setting up a carnivorous terrarium down the line when I have the time. Some of them work pretty well with fluorescent lighting and controlled humidity and heating, but others are terrible fits and should just go on a windowsill or outside.
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Oct 23, 2014 00:35
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A quick note for Kenning, as of today, all three of the Drosera species you sent me have germinated. The intermedia and capensis are now big enough to feed, but I thought I was out of luck with the aliciae, until I looked closely today and found some babies!
unprofessional fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Nov 2, 2014 |
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Nov 2, 2014 19:31
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I tend to be a "plant it and neglect it" gardener; in Northern California this works surprisingly well, if you have a drip irrigation system. My yard overflows with old roses and fruit trees. Indoors, this system doesn't work as well, duh. My 1960s ranch has a half-height divider between the front hall and the living room. The top of the divider is hollow and lined with tin to serve as a planter. The divider is next to a heavily shaded west window; the large picture window of the living room is also shaded, and faces north. The room is well-lit by natural light during the day, but gets no direct sunlight. I want to make another stab at putting visually interesting plants in the planter, in pots. My questions: * Do you have a recommended mail-order philodendron and shade plant nursery? I'm looking for something more interesting than the standard Home Depot varieties. Variegated, interesting shapes, and so on. * For a more feathery texture, are there any sturdy indoor fern-looking things that don't require regular misting? Anything with divided leaves would be cool. * Do you have a favorite "water me, you idiot" gadget?
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Nov 2, 2014 20:00
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unprofessional posted:A quick note for Kenning, as of today, all three of the Drosera species you sent me have germinated. The intermedia and capensis are now big enough to feed, but I thought I was out of luck with the aliciae, until I looked closely today and found some babies! Awesome! I'm glad that you've gotten them all to germinate! And get ready for a growth spurt on those that you've started to feed, especially the D. capensis. How are you growing them? It looks like long-fiber Sphagnum moss. Are they outdoors?
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Nov 3, 2014 23:22
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All indoors, about three feet under my 300w metal halides. You're right on the sphagnum. 4" pots, in a tray that I pour distilled water into whenever it gets low. The first two actually germinated outside, right when the temps started to drop. The tray had flooded a few times with the rain, so I wasn't sure it was going to happen, but I've been pleasantly surprised. It's amazing that some of them are catching gnats that I never even knew were around, except when I see them in the sundews. If the betta food I fed ends up with white mold, I'm assuming the pieces were too big? I'm going to be teaching horticulture next semester and onward, and the kids are super excited that I have carnivorous plants for us to play with. Will have to get some more species from you soon.
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Nov 4, 2014 01:54
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I have some little Drosera just coming through as well, what size should they be before you start to feed them?
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Nov 4, 2014 02:25
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You can feed a sundew as soon as it has carnivorous leaves, but you may have to grind the food very fine. The sooner you can feed them the sooner they will growth spurt for you.unprofessional posted:All indoors, about three feet under my 300w metal halides. You're right on the sphagnum. 4" pots, in a tray that I pour distilled water into whenever it gets low. The first two actually germinated outside, right when the temps started to drop. The tray had flooded a few times with the rain, so I wasn't sure it was going to happen, but I've been pleasantly surprised. Hit me up over PMs if there's anything you'd like me to start as a leaf cutting for you. If I start it soon it will will be a decent size by January. Also consider starting some D. burmannii with the kids in January. You can experiment with different feeding schedules and show how nutrient availability increases photosynthetic efficiency and therefore growth speed (there was also a paper on this somewhat recently, I'll have to track it down). I really think carnivorous plants are an ideal teaching tool for learning about botany and ecology, as well as evolution and natural selection. They're so strange they help people think about complex ideas.
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Nov 4, 2014 08:33
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Hah...I was definitely planning on starting some D. burmannii, but more just cause the ones you've posted have had awesome colors. I need to get some Dionaea, because of course the kids are going to be excited about that. I will definitely keep in touch. How long do you think from dime size to flowering for the capensis with regular feedings?
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Nov 4, 2014 17:16
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If you feed every new leaf as soon as it's fully developed it will probably flower within 3-4 months. You can also probably get similar results if you feed every new crop of leaves once a week or so. Also, I'm going to be dividing my Dionaea in January or so probably. I'll let you know.
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Nov 5, 2014 09:09
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 Rescued this abandoned plant from the work lunchroom. What is it? What should I do to save it? That long piece in the front is broken off. It was sitting on that dish but the bowl doesn't have any drainage holes.
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Nov 13, 2014 19:45
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Some kind of aloe. http://n-s-succulents.co.uk/Aloes-a-n.php You might try rooting the broken-off bit in damp sand. e: Aloe humilis looks likely to me. http://n-s-succulents.co.uk/Aloes-a-n.php#AloesH
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Nov 13, 2014 19:47
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So I'm thinking about getting a terrarium which will be living away from natural light so I think it'll need a grow lamp of some kind. Would a standard white LED bulb do the trick, or would I need one with a bit more emission down in the red end of the spectrum? I don't want to use one of those grow lamps you can see on ebay; they are ugly as hell.
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Nov 16, 2014 18:16
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gender illusionist posted:So I'm thinking about getting a terrarium which will be living away from natural light so I think it'll need a grow lamp of some kind. Would a standard white LED bulb do the trick, or would I need one with a bit more emission down in the red end of the spectrum? I don't want to use one of those grow lamps you can see on ebay; they are ugly as hell. They make grow bulbs, you know. All different kinds and sizes are available, so you can find one to fit whatever fixture you desire. The most common grow bulbs are fluorescent tubes, but there are CFLs, LEDs and even some incandescents with special coating filters. As for the color, that depends on what you're going to plant in that terrarium. Different plants at different stages of growth and propagation like different wavelengths of light. Or you could just get a full spectrum grow bulb and be lazy. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Nov 16, 2014 |
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Nov 16, 2014 19:12
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Honestly, I don't think LED technology is at the point where it makes sense for the casual hobbyist to use it for growing. I like T8 fluorescent lights if you have a bit more space, and T5s if space is at a premium. What are you trying to grow in the terrarium?
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Nov 17, 2014 08:40
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I need forearm-length gloves since my arms and hands break out in hives if I even think of pruning some of my perennials, especially azalea. As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as a men's rose gardening glove. Are there any good stand-ins?
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Dec 5, 2014 19:36
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I just bought myself some forearm-length gardening gloves, sized for my medium-sized man hands, at OSH. Unfortunately, OSH's website search is clearly nonfunctional (search for any permutation of "garden glove" and get hundreds of items that aren't gloves) so you might have to just go and look around. I got mine maybe a month ago so they're probably still in stock. e. They're "digz" brand. When I google for Digz long cuff gloves, though, I only see some women's gloves that aren't as long as mine. e2. they're fairly similar to these Also if you just search for "rose tending glove" you'll find lots of mens sizes. E.g., these or these. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Dec 5, 2014 |
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Dec 5, 2014 19:54
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Kenning posted:Honestly, I don't think LED technology is at the point where it makes sense for the casual hobbyist to use it for growing. I like T8 fluorescent lights if you have a bit more space, and T5s if space is at a premium. What are you trying to grow in the terrarium? Well, I was planning on succulents and/or cacti since I have plenty of experience with them but after a little reading it sounds like they're unsuitable. Begonias look good with all the great leaf pattern available, but the terrarium I have is pretty large (an open hand made green glass punch bowl, about 5 litres) so I'll need a couple of others too; I'm totally open to suggestions.
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Dec 7, 2014 21:41
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Shame Boner posted:I need forearm-length gloves since my arms and hands break out in hives if I even think of pruning some of my perennials, especially azalea. As far as I can tell, there is no such thing as a men's rose gardening glove. Are there any good stand-ins? Check out welding gloves. If you have short forearms, you might even find some that will reach to your elbow. Hell, I use insulated welding gloves as oven mitts.
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Dec 8, 2014 06:32
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Does anyone have any tips for tricking carnivorous plants into going dormant? I live in zone 9 and my pitcher plant and venus flytrap are both still growing. I've read that you can repot them to get them to go dormant, but all my plant did is throw up his two biggest pitchers yet  I've always loved pitcher plants and now that I finally have one I would hate to see him die early because he couldn't get a dormancy period.
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Dec 16, 2014 22:43
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If you're in zone 9 and growing outside don't worry about it. Dormant plants don't always totally stop growing, they just slow down quite a bit. They'll be fine as long as photoperiod goes down along with temperatures. By the by, I decided to enter this Drosera capillaris into the Plant of the Month thing at Terra Forums. 
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Dec 18, 2014 13:43
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Kenning posted:If you're in zone 9 and growing outside don't worry about it. Dormant plants don't always totally stop growing, they just slow down quite a bit. They'll be fine as long as photoperiod goes down along with temperatures. OK Cool, thanks. And that is a sweet looking plant. Your sundew blog is fantastic btw.
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Dec 22, 2014 04:51
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Well, I'm hooked. 13 new pygmy drosera species/hybrids on their way. callistos Brookton dichrosepala Fish Track Rd. enodes Scott River helodes Red leucoblasta Cranbrook occidentalis microscapa occidentalis Cape de Grand Drosera oreopodion Drosera roseana scorpioides pink xCarbarup omissa x pulchella helodes x pulchella
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Dec 24, 2014 13:16
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Nice! I just did a post about getting my order from Drosera Gemmae all sown. You've probably seen it, but in case someone else hasn't. Pygmies are the best! Are you going to be growing yours outside, or under lights? Also, D. enodes Scotts River is an amazing plant, one of my favorites. And here's what you can look forward to with your D. callistos Brookton large form:  Little Christmas wreaths!
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Dec 25, 2014 13:31
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That's gorgeous. I'm actually going to try a shallow, long terrarium, under my metal halides. I know not many recommend it with pygmies, but I have a lot of experience with terrariums, and know how to avoid most of the common pitfalls. That said, I'm willing to accept that it could all fail miserably. My D. intermedia 'Cuba' should open up any day now. Never grown a plant this small before. Think they're all still a little smaller than quarters right now.
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Dec 25, 2014 14:13
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Leperflesh posted:I just bought myself some forearm-length gardening gloves, sized for my medium-sized man hands, at OSH. I should look into getting some of these, I have the same problem with juniper bushes. I was pruning some yesterday and my hands are still itchy. Unrelated question--what controls when bulbs and the like start sprouting? We had about 10 days of sub-freezing weather around Thanksgiving or so, and it's been much milder since then. I've noticed a ton of stuff starting to pop up in my garden beds. I haven't lived here a whole year yet so I'm not sure if this is normal or if they think it's spring already. Are there crazy things that start growing this early, or is this all going to die again if it gets cold again or fails to get warmer when they expect it to?
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Dec 26, 2014 00:11
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stubblyhead posted:Unrelated question--what controls when bulbs and the like start sprouting? We had about 10 days of sub-freezing weather around Thanksgiving or so, and it's been much milder since then. I've noticed a ton of stuff starting to pop up in my garden beds. I haven't lived here a whole year yet so I'm not sure if this is normal or if they think it's spring already. Are there crazy things that start growing this early, or is this all going to die again if it gets cold again or fails to get warmer when they expect it to? For most, bulbs and such, it's temperature. That's how some growers will "force" spring blooming bulbs simply by bringing them into room temperature. So if your weather is wonky and you get cold weather early followed by mild temperatures, they might think "it's Spring!" and start growing early. Don't worry, they will go back to sleep and wait until warmer temperatures. The same thing would happen if there's a normal start to spring followed by a cold snap a few weeks in. Then there's weirdo bulbs like voodoo lilies that will bloom without warmth, dirt, or even light. Somehow, they just know it's the time of year to bloom.
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Dec 31, 2014 02:54
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stubblyhead posted:Unrelated question--what controls when bulbs and the like start sprouting? We had about 10 days of sub-freezing weather around Thanksgiving or so, and it's been much milder since then. I've noticed a ton of stuff starting to pop up in my garden beds. I haven't lived here a whole year yet so I'm not sure if this is normal or if they think it's spring already. Are there crazy things that start growing this early, or is this all going to die again if it gets cold again or fails to get warmer when they expect it to? Most bulbs have surprisingly tough tips, and even when they sprout early, the worst that will happen later is that the tips get frostbitten but the rest of the leaf comes up fine when it warms for good. The worst thing to happen to a bulb is an oscillating winter where it's going repeatedly fifty to thirty to forty to twenty. A couple of warm spells in between a cold winter won't do much if ay harm. (See Robert Frost's poem, "Goodbye and keep cold".)
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Dec 31, 2014 03:13
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I ended up with an Orchid for Christmas, any idea how I keep this thing alive? It had pink flowers and a ton of buds when it arrived, then they all fell off at once and now it just has big green leaves and grim looking stalks. It wasn't terribly expensive but I'd like it to not die. On bulb talk, I have an Amaryllis that's been flowering every couple of months for ~2 years now. I mostly ignore it but it seems happy.
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Jan 3, 2015 23:06
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Nettle Soup posted:I ended up with an Orchid for Christmas, any idea how I keep this thing alive? It had pink flowers and a ton of buds when it arrived, then they all fell off at once and now it just has big green leaves and grim looking stalks. It wasn't terribly expensive but I'd like it to not die. Just mist the roots or drop a couple ice cubes on them once a week. Did the plant get cold when you were bringing it home by chance? Might be why the petals fell off. You can get fertilizer to use if you want it to grow faster but they generally take months or years to rebloom.
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Jan 4, 2015 01:38
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ghetto wormhole posted:Just mist the roots or drop a couple ice cubes on them once a week. Did the plant get cold when you were bringing it home by chance? Might be why the petals fell off. You can get fertilizer to use if you want it to grow faster but they generally take months or years to rebloom. What he said. Orchids typically do better the less you water them. Just make sure it's in a sunny window and barely water the thing.
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Jan 4, 2015 04:02
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Ah, it can go next to my amaryllis and tiny Christmas Cactus and be ignored then, awesome! I'd heard they were hard to keep alive and was worried it was going to need ceremonial chanting and blood rituals every other day or something.
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Jan 4, 2015 04:24
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Nettle Soup posted:Ah, it can go next to my amaryllis and tiny Christmas Cactus and be ignored then, awesome! I'd heard they were hard to keep alive and was worried it was going to need ceremonial chanting and blood rituals every other day or something. Don't get us wrong, some orchids are notoriously hard to maintain. That being said, they do make special soil mixes especially for orchids. Their main advantage is that they're extremely free draining, exactly the best environment for orchid roots. If you use a regular soil mix for orchids, then that's just an invitation for root rot.
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Jan 4, 2015 04:41
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I leave my orchids in a north-facing window and water them once a week or so, and they seem content with it. Too much direct sunlight can burn the leaves and I've lost a couple of phalaenopsis that way before.
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Jan 4, 2015 12:34
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I grow ~30 orchids, in about 15 different genera. I did the things people here are mentioning, with differing levels of success for years. Basically, what I found was if I kept an eye on my plants, they did well, and when I ignored their needs, they died. Then I discovered semi-hydroponic growing, and I haven't lost an orchid since then. It takes all guesswork out of growing, and is easy enough that almost everybody can maintain it, and I'm generally confident enough with it, that I only buy orchids on clearance for $5 at the local garden store, no matter what condition they're in when I find them. I bought a 50# bag of LECA (Hydroton) about four years ago, and that's lasted me up until this past week - well worth the expense. In the summer, I put them all outside and keep doing the exact same things.
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Jan 4, 2015 12:35
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I have a question for the plant gurus on here... I've had a Chinese ladder brake fern (pteris vittata) in a terrarium for the past 4 or so years. It's clearly stunted and not happy living like that so I'd like to transition it to a houseplant. The problem is that I can't find anything online about care of these guys. Should I just treat it like any other fern? I know it can grow epiphytically but doesn't necessarily have to. Any thoughts?
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Jan 4, 2015 17:32
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unprofessional posted:I grow ~30 orchids, in about 15 different genera. I did the things people here are mentioning, with differing levels of success for years. Basically, what I found was if I kept an eye on my plants, they did well, and when I ignored their needs, they died. Then I discovered semi-hydroponic growing, and I haven't lost an orchid since then. It takes all guesswork out of growing, and is easy enough that almost everybody can maintain it, and I'm generally confident enough with it, that I only buy orchids on clearance for $5 at the local garden store, no matter what condition they're in when I find them. I bought a 50# bag of LECA (Hydroton) about four years ago, and that's lasted me up until this past week - well worth the expense. In the summer, I put them all outside and keep doing the exact same things. Well. Thanks for that.  That looks interesting. I got a small bag and will see how it goes!
Nettle Soup fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Jan 4, 2015 |
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Jan 4, 2015 22:16
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| # ? May 16, 2024 19:30 |
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unprofessional posted:Then I discovered semi-hydroponic growing, and I haven't lost an orchid since then. That looks fascinating; thank you. I may risk buying an orchid now. (I wish I could find a semi-hydroponic breeder that wasn't all the way across the US from me, though.)
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Jan 10, 2015 22:43
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