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Drosera terrarium

M

Michael Gerdes

Guest
Hello new to the forum.. I have started a terrarium and would like to know which Drosera you would recommend for terrariums and how do i stop mold, and algae from attacking them...maybe it is too moist? And......(thought I was done eh?) the annoying non vascular sphagnum moss plantlets that always seem to overtake my ecosystem and choke out my plants.
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Droserely,

Michael H. Gerdes
seedcollector@wmconnect.com
 
Well Michael here you are at last! Welcome to the forums and thanks for joining! Regarding terrarium culture, my recommendations are to grow the plants in indicidual pots in the terrarium, vs. trying to do this in a "substrate" terrarium where the plants are planted directly in the medium. The former method allows for greater variation in substrates, and if problems arise they can be individually dealt with. Substrate terraria are pretty, but in time they become unstable for various reasons.

If you are getting lots of algae, mold, and moss growing in your pots it is likely due to trace nutrients in the peat and sand that you use. I always rinse my sand (pure white silica) until the water runs clear. I would do the same with the peat if I had a way. The way I handle this is to keep some peat outside where the rain runs through it. Old peat is better for CP, and the natural leaching action of the rain usually keeps these incidents to a minimum.

Once the plants have germinated and have some root, I sometimes spray the surface if I see the green goo starting. repeated spraying can leach away the nutrients, but this is not always successful. Prevention is the better method.

As to the moistness, I generally grow most of my tropicals in tray watering, using only rain or distilled water, and I change the trays when algae becomes evident (It needs doing now, but I have been to busy to get to the chore&#33
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I hope this helps you.
 
As to species, most all the tropical and subtropical species do well in terraria. The tuberous and pygmy species do not, nor do the North American temperate species unless they can be removed for their requisite dormancies. Other problems would be the South African winter growing species as these require a summer dormancy, as well as the Boreal droserae: D. arcturi, stenopetala and uniflora which have dormancies similar to the N.A. temperates (although somewhat warmer). Some growers have success with the binata complex plants in terraria, but I have better luck growing them outside in the warm months.
 
I will try that thanks. makes sense with the trace nutrients.
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