What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • #21
nice, its supposed to stay cold here untill may 24 degrees currently and snowing up a blizzard (not quite), but theres no need to fear heated greenhouse is here! (photos tommorow)
 
  • #22
9 week update!

FINALLY its warm enough for the plants to go outside for the season!
they all went out on the balcony today.
we do have one overnight low of 32 degrees F forecast for one night next week, but I will probably just leave the plants out anyway..
They did go out for 2 days about 2 weeks when we had a brief warm spell, but then nights dropped back below freezing..
finally we have forecast lows in the mid 30's and mid 40's for the foreseeable future..thats warm enough!
as long as the overnight low is above freezing, they stay outside.

CP-2005-06.jpg


CP-2005-07.jpg


notice that really weak floppy sarracenia growth?
those are the pitchers that grow between February and April indoors..
they are weak and spindly pitchers that burn to a crisp when they go outside, because they havent been getting enough light indoors..
I just put them right outside and make no effort at all to "acclimate them slowly"..they just fry! no big deal..they get crispy brown on the side that faces the sun, just like a sunburn for us, but then new pitchers emerge quickly that are "normal" and can take the sun just fine..
in about a month of so I will just cut off all that weak spring growth after a fresh crop of new pitchers has emerged, and the plants will look great for the rest of the season..

CP-2005-08.jpg


My 'Leah Wilkerson' is putting up one tall pitcher!
cool.gif


Scot
 
  • #23
[b said:
Quote[/b] (scottychaos @ Feb. 12 2005,1:19)]
CPdormancy07.jpg
You had a bunch of beautiful pitchers you cut off... rather than toss them, why not keep them in vases of water until they die?
 
  • #24
[b said:
Quote[/b] (SarraceniaScott @ April 17 2005,8:59)]You had a bunch of beautiful pitchers you cut off... rather than toss them, why not keep them in vases of water until they die?
Scott,
cool idea! but...
the pitchers were all jammed full with bugs..
would make an icky "cut flower" display.
smile_m_32.gif


Scot
 
  • #25
I enjoyed this history of your CP, but yeah, when the wife arrives, CPs will probably have to go out of the fridge. Just get yourself a place with an unheated sunporch like I did and you can keep them out there. My wife is not thrilled, but better than fridge. BTW, you get extra points for neatness for sure. She's gotta love that!
biggrin.gif
 
  • #26
Four month update!
June 11, 2005.

we had an unbelieveably cool and dry spring..
the entire month of May had daytime highs in the mid-50's, nighttime lows in the 40's, (often high 30's) and not a drop of the rain the entire month..we had frost a few times in early  May..I didnt bother to bring the plants inside..(there wasnt physical frost ice on my plants, because they are close to the building, but there was frost on my car and the grass..)
basically my plants didnt grow at all in the 6-weeks they have been outside..  
smile_h_32.gif


but in the last week we went from those highs in the mid-50's straight to 90 degrees and 90% humidity!
dreadfull weather for me, but delightfull weather for my plants..

so there still isnt a lot going on, but im posting some new pics anyway..


june11-01.jpg

If you compare this pic to the one above from April 17, you'll see that barely anything has happened in TWO MONTHS!  
smile_h_32.gif

after 4 months of being out of the fridge, I have about 3 sarracenia pitchers open!
Thats Rochester for you...
oh well..the plants are happy and alive, that should be enough.
FINALLY we are getting some summer weather up here, so that should really kick-start the plants.



june11-02.jpg



june11-03.jpg

The mini-bog is doing well!
the VFTs have been doing very well..the Sarrs in the bog are barely there, but they will catch up.

june11-04.jpg

My Leah Wilkerson put up one big pitcher when I got it in March..then nothing until this week..finally a second pitcher is pushing up!

june11-05.jpg


Last year at this time my big purp was a rosette of 5 pitchers!
only 2 so far this year...


ok! thats all for mid-June..Summer just began a few days ago, so I will post a new update in a month..Mid-July, should be a LOT of progress then!
still a solid 4 months of the growing season to go...lots of opportunity.

Scot
 
  • #27
Nice pics, and great VFTs. I have exactly the same experience with my 'Leah Wilkerson'. You were smart to put that support collar there. That big gal is like a 450 pound sumo wrestler on a 90 lb weakling legs. The roots can't yet support the monster pitchers--but they will.
smile.gif
 
  • #28
Nice!!
As I said before I am due west of you and have had similar "luck"
My S.flava has just finished flowering and has maybe 10 pitchers open, but there are more HUGE ones springing up currently, if I had a digicam there would be evidence- I could always drag the whole thing inside and see what my webcam can do, but I don't have much luck taking worthy pics with it
biggrin.gif
 
  • #29
[b said:
Quote[/b] (scottychaos @ April 18 2005,8:47)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (SarraceniaScott @ April 17 2005,8:59)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] (scottychaos @ Feb. 12 2005,1:19)]
You had a bunch of beautiful pitchers you cut off... rather than toss them, why not keep them in vases of water until they die?
Scott,
cool idea! but...
the pitchers were all jammed full with bugs..
would make an icky "cut flower" display.  
smile_m_32.gif


Scot
I just cut them high enough I can blast the hose through them from the bottom up. Blows the bugs away, and i am left with beautiful, odor-free cut pitchers that will last several weeks.
 
  • #30
I was at an local outdoor art display recently. I saw a display where the artist had preserved flowers and put them inside a thick frame (like 1" thick). I thought it would be pretty cool to do the same with Nep or Sarr pitchers...if I only knew how to preserve them.

Scott, I remember you mentioning elsewhere that you use the CDs to scare bird from your plants. Do you ever have any problems with squirrels? Do you do anything to scare them off?
 
  • #31
Scott, I can't tell you how useful this type of photo-documentation is. We appreciate you doing it.

I am already beginning to be concerned about getting all these plants I now have through the winter. Though I will try to set up light banks for some - placing others in suspended animation is an attractive idea.

John
 
  • #32
thanks all!
glad you are enjoying my little photo essay..

I did notice a squirrel once climbing down off the roof, heading for my balcony, when I first set up my shelf on the balcony.
I opened the door and scared him away..

ever since I put up the CDs, the birds and squirrel never came back!
I know the CDs work for the birds, but im not sure if its the CDs that keep the squirrels away, or if its just a fluke that my one squirrel never came back.
I dont think we often have squirrels on the roof of my building anyway.
so I cant say that the CDs work for squirrels, because I never actually had any "squirrel problems" that were then solved by the CDs..
but I did have bird problems, and the CDs definately work to keep them away..

Scot
 
  • #33
I started to restore the photos in this thread.
they were all wiped out when PFT had to delete all the user accounts.
smile_h_32.gif


I have restored some..I have the rest of the photos on a CD at work.
I will try to restore the rest tomorrow..
and upload some new pics too!
everyone is having a fabulous summer!
it has ultra hot and steamy this year..
days in the 90's with 90% humidity!
dismal for me, btu lovely for my plants!

Scot


UPDATE! are you saying HEY! WHERE DID THE PICTURES GO??

I moved this whole thread over to a webpage..
click here:
http://gold.mylargescale.com/Scottychaos/CP/page2.html
 
  • #34
I just spent the past THIRTY MINUTES looking through this post, and was utterly floored. How detailed, helpful, immaculately written, arranged, etc.

I really really do hope you can find the lost pictures, because I wanted to see how the plants were doing mid summer last year.

(in the height of their power)

smile.gif


thank you!
 
  • #35
scotty...wow...thank you for this amazing guide. This will be extremely useful for a newbie like me.

However, from page 2 and so on...many pics are broken. can you please post a zip file of all the images to download?

I appreciate the effort taken. And BTW....a long belated happy birthday.
smile.gif
smile_n_32.gif
 
  • #36
oopsy....sorry...I didn't see the last page. Started from post 1 and so on....
smile_n_32.gif
 
Back
Top