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thez_yo

instigator
I would like to ask,

1. What plants do you grow?
2. What setup are they in (terrarium inside, outside au naturel, outside in greenhouse, etc.)?
3. Artificial lights or sun, and the amount of hours directly exposed to the sun and/or bulb(s)
4. Potting mix (rough estimate... 1:1 peat: perlite, 1:1:1 sphag:crushed pumice:cocohusk, etc.)*
5. Rough estimate humidity/misting conditions
6. Rough estimate day/night average temps
7. How often do you water (1x week into saucer, 2x week into the pot, etc.)

*= 1:1 sphag: perlite means 1cup of sphag mixed with 1 cup of perlite. 2:1 means 2 cups of sphag mixed with 1 cup of perlite, ad infinitum.

Since I've got the ability to set up polls, I might set up a poll based on the answers if there's enough answers.

I'm just asking because this is my setup and I might need to go out of town for more than a week, so I'm trying to not kill my plants (I might just bring them all in and stand them in water in tupperwares). I've been using this setup for 3+ years.

1. Mostly Neps, so I'll describe those.
2. Mostly on Balcony. 10ish plants inside by a window.
3. Balcony: 3-5hours direct sun. Inside: 5-6hours direct sun through glass.
4. 1:1 sphag: perlite for pots 4" and less, 1:1:1 sphag:cocohusk: perlite or 2:1:1:1 sphag:medium orchid bark: perlite:cocohusk on 5"+ pots
5. Balcony, anywhere from 80% humidity to 0% humidity, Inside 70-80% humidity.
6. Balcony, usu. 80 Day/65 Night. Inside usu. 75 day/night. (this time of year)
7. 1-2 times a week water the top of the potting mix, depending on if it's e.g. 85F & 0%RH or 70F and 80%RH during the day. I let the saucers fill up so they can stand in water for a day or few days too, because wind allows topsoil evaporation so it's not really standing water.
 
1. Nepenthes
2. Grow tent
3. South facing windowsill
4. 50/50 Sphagnum moss to perlite
5. nightly 90%, daily 65%
6. day 77F, night 65-55F
7.1x a week, top water until water comes out the bottom of the pot, I am extremely paranoid about root rot so I do let it get a bit drier than a lot of people do.
 
1)Mainly drosera and nepenthes.
2) Indoors on a grow rack, some are in humidity domes.
3) T5HO fixtures, on 16 hours a day.
4) Sphagnum/perlite/husk mixtures for neps, mainly dand/peat for drosera.
5) 50% humidity? Just household conditions if not under a dome.
6) 70 or so constant
7) For open trays, top water maybe 2x a week when they are getting dry. I keep abotu a quarter inch of water in the humidity doem trays, refill when it depletes, mayeb once every 2 weeks.
 
1. Mostly Nepenthes
2. Indoor grow rack
3. SSW-facing window, with supplemental CFLs. I'd guess about 2-4 hours of direct sunlight per day, depending on the season.
4. 1:1 sphagnum and perlite, for the most part
5. Depends on the caprices and vagaries of mother nature; can get as low as 30% for short times in the winter, 75% on sticky summer days.
6. Same as above; winter nights = 58-60, winter days = 70-75; summer nights = 70s, occasionally as high as 80, summer days = 75-80
7. Thanks to 5 & 6, it really depends on the weather. Generally water 2-3x per week, just enough to keep the media moist.


Addendum: going out of town is a nightmare, as you can imagine, especially in the winter. I usually find someone brave enough to look after the jungle.
 
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Addendum: going out of town is a nightmare, as you can imagine, especially in the winter. I usually find someone brave enough to look after the jungle.

Yeah I need to find someone who is brave and doesn't have black thumbs, because apparently all the people I know are plant-killers/afraid of taking care of plants.
 
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I grow Nepenthes mostly. I grow in custom built enclosures.

Highland Nepenthes:
Days 70-80 *f
Nights 50-60 *f
Humidity 90%
Temps controlled by fan and AC in hot weather
Watering needs to be done at least twice a week


Lowland Nepenthes:
Days 75-90*f
Nights 65-75*f
Humidity 90%+ glass stays fogged up
Watering is only necessary every 3-4 weeks
 
Great thread :-D I'm curious to see how different all of our setups are in general. I had many but now just have 2 for a few mixed plants. I'll describe the HL b/c the LL is incomplete & pretty much empty.

1. Nepenthes - mostly HL & hybrids
2. Terrarium - enclosed w/ventilation on timers
3. Metal Halide & T5 - 12hrs on 12hrs off w/timer
4. For most: 1:1:1 peat/perlite/sphagnum. For some: 1:3 sphagnum/coconut
5. Humidity - 60/80% day/night. Kept up with makeshift bubbler system & sphagnum for now on 24/7. Mist avg 1x per day. (working on simple misting system)
6. Temperature - 80-85/60 day/night. A/c unit on timer.
7. Water - 1x per week
 
Lowland Nepenthes:
Days 75-90*f
Nights 65-75*f
Humidity 90%+ glass stays fogged up
Watering is only necessary every 3-4 weeks

Yeah, so at work I actually have a small terra set up with mostly warm intermediates under a bulb, and I don't end up really needing to water other than occasionally for show it seems, because most of the plants are just sitting in water and haven't died yet. Maybe what I need to do is turn on my AC and eat the electricity bill, and just get some huge enclosures. Are yours like herp terrariums or... ?? Most people don't post pics of the whole thing.
 
  • #11
VFT's (none right now), cobra lily (none right now), and Sarracenias go outside, for ~8 months of the year. They get rain and snow, supplemented with WFI (water for injection). Their media is a mix of sand & peat, topdressed with LFS

U. gibba & Aldrovanda go outside for !8 months of the yea. They get rain and pond water.

On the grow rack, under fluorescent lighting, by west-facing glass doors, are the sundews, terrestrial utrics, and some butterworts. One tray has a 'tent' and stronger lighting, to mimic a mini-greenhouse. They have the Petiolaris Complex sundews, as well as D. indica, B. liniflora, D. hartmeyerorum, and sometimes utrics. Generally speaking, I don't go after Neps anymore. Most plants are in a peat / sand mix, with LFS on top. They get WFI.

Most of my butterworts (Mexican) are on window sills. Their media is a mix of sand, perlite, and egg shells. They get WFI and are kept on the dryer side.
 
  • #12
VFT's (none right now), cobra lily (none right now), and Sarracenias go outside, for ~8 months of the year. They get rain and snow, supplemented with WFI (water for injection). Their media is a mix of sand & peat, topdressed with LFS

U. gibba & Aldrovanda go outside for !8 months of the yea. They get rain and pond water.

On the grow rack, under fluorescent lighting, by west-facing glass doors, are the sundews, terrestrial utrics, and some butterworts. One tray has a 'tent' and stronger lighting, to mimic a mini-greenhouse. They have the Petiolaris Complex sundews, as well as D. indica, B. liniflora, D. hartmeyerorum, and sometimes utrics. Generally speaking, I don't go after Neps anymore. Most plants are in a peat / sand mix, with LFS on top. They get WFI.

Most of my butterworts (Mexican) are on window sills. Their media is a mix of sand, perlite, and egg shells. They get WFI and are kept on the dryer side.

Interesting - do you bake your eggshells, or just wash and use as-is? Mine are in straight perlite : vermiculite.
 
  • #13
I water before they get dry and die.

Simple, yet effective.
 
  • #14
1. Mostly Heliamphora, with a couple neps, utric, drosera, pings...
2. Shelf type plant rack
3. T5's, summer photoperiod 16/8, winter 12/12
4. Most are planted in APS/Sphag/Perlite 1:1:1
5. Complicated to give a black and white answer... constant gentle fog and breeze cycle with lights.
6. Seasonal with summer: 68-72f, winter: 58-64 and no diurnal drop to speak of.
7. Automated flood and drain every two days

:p
 
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  • #15
1. mostly Utricularia and Drosera, with a few other genera
2. Utricularia are almost all in "terrariums," highland Drosera and Nepenthes in covered setups, and everything else in my front or back yard
3. 8 hours of CFLs for highlanders, 10 hours of T5s for my Orchidioides, sunlight for everything else
4. pure peat for Utricularia, peat and sand for Drosera, LFS for Nepenthes and Orchidioides
5. near 100% humidity for Utricularia and highland plants, 20-40% humidity for everything else
6. 70-80 for plants inside with maybe a 10 degree drop at night, 80-90 for plants outside with temperatures in the low 60s at night (I put the highlanders and Orchidioides outside at night)
7. almost never water the plants in terrariums, every day or every other day for plants outside
 
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