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Xest bontany corner

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 4:53 pm
by Lieva
Question from Lieva re Flytraps wrote: so they really work? you can keep your window open and they kill all the bugs who enter barring family?
Answer from Xest wrote:They kill a fair few yeah but their traps take some time to digest before opening back up. And the traps only spring like 3 - 5 times then die. But new ones are constantly grown. A mature plant can have like 50+ traps on it though. Different plants for different insects however, flytraps rock for flies and moths but anything small can crawl out and some creatures can eat their way out. Combination of cobra lillies, sundews, flytraps and butterworts will deal with just about all insect pests. Oh and pitcher plants
Question from Takitothemacs wrote:you know any plants that help to deal with moisture issues... condensation etc?
Answer from Xest wrote:Not sure really, stuff like sphagnum moss will soak up water extremely well, but it still has it's limits. Probably want something fast growing if anything. Sunflowers can soak up a pint of water in a single day if they're in hot direct sunlight but also grow to like 5ft in just 3 - 4 weeks. My flytraps love humidity but that doesn't necessarily mean they take the water out the air very well, just that they like it being in the air
Perhaps look into forest cacti, they're slower growing, love it humid and are good at storing it.
Ask your botony questions to him :p

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:24 pm
by Xest
If you're going to keep plants like flytraps you need to feed them clean water - either distilled water (can get this pretty cheap from shops like Halfords) or start collecting rainwater.

I'm not sure if Brita filter water would do the trick, depends how effective it is at removing the solids in the water but certanly boiling water isn't good enough, although collecting the steam would be if you can figure out how! ;) Normal tapwater will kill them off though, so either way definitely don't use that! They prefer to sit in peat and definitely don't like fertiliser although I hear you can get away with compost but it's not quite so recommended. The alternative is to just sit them in sphagnum moss which you can get at garden centres pretty cheap. Some people recommend using sand and perlite in with the peat but I don't bother with that shit and my flytraps are perfectly healthy. Growing them from seed isn't easy, I've not had that much success yet so it's easier to buy them, either online or at a garden centre (or B&Q). If anyone really is interested in trying flytraps then I'll post more info on keeping them healthy and alive.

The only reason I started bothering with carnivorous plants is because I get sick of insects pestering me in the summer but I absolutely do need the window open because it gets far too hot in here, insecticutors are an alternative but they can be messy, use electricity and so on so I picked the green option! ;)

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:32 am
by Lieva
can they live in a normal plant pot or do they need certain conditions?
you mention they like water in the air? would you need some type of mister like ankh has for his snakes or would a spray of water do every day?

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:48 am
by Heta
why do my plants keep dying?

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 8:19 am
by <ankh>
I've got some problems with my 250 redwood tree's. They seem to have outgrown my backyard. Any ideas of what I can do about it?

/Ankh

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 9:58 am
by Xest
Any old plant pot is fine but I'd clean it out first just to get rid of any crap. You can use a mister, I just use a little spray now and again but it doesn't matter too much, it wont kill them to not have it.

You need a hole in the bottom of your plant pot, put the plant pot in a tray/dish that's half an inch to an inch deep in water and the peat/sphagnum moss will soak the water up through the bottom of the pot fine, but again remember to use distilled or rain water. You don't therefore need to water them, just keep the dish at the bottom at a decent level of water. Humidity from evaporating water from the top of the peat/moss and the dish below is generally enough humidity for them for the most part.

Heta, what sort of plants :p

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:02 am
by Xest
<ankh> wrote:I've got some problems with my 250 redwood tree's. They seem to have outgrown my backyard. Any ideas of what I can do about it?

/Ankh
Sell them to the American's :p

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:10 am
by Satyn
I cant seem to keep plants alive. I bought a plant now and i seem to do ok with keeping it alive but now my cats have started eating it :(

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:38 am
by Xest
Put cat poison on the plant :p

Plants pretty much all need sunlight and water, just different amounts for different plants. Some prefer the shade and hence indirect sunlight, others prefer to be in full sun. Watering isn't too hard, most plants just like the soil kept moist, it's only really desert cacti and maybe a few other plants that prefer to be watered sparingly.

Only other thing is temperature that's difficult to maintain, but it basically comes down to whether you can reproduce the temperature a particular plant requires and if you can't, you can't grow it. Most plants are fine at room temperature, it's only when trying to grow from seed that temperature needs to be regulated better for more difficult varieties.

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 1:00 pm
by Heta
the plants I got atm are perfect, easy to maintain etc, no need to worry


go go plastic flowers!