Post by wireman on Mar 29, 2013 0:19:13 GMT -5
Dionaea is arguably the most popular of all CPs, so I'll cover the detailed culture of it first.
Potting: Plastic is preferable, but ceramic pots with a glazed interior will also work. Make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom. This is essential to prevent root rot. I recommend a pot larger than 12" across if they are going to be left outside during Winter.
Soil: Peat and sand. Line the bottom of the pot with dried Sphagnum moss to prevent the fine particles from escaping through the drainage holes. No nutrient additives!
Water: Rain, R/O, distilled, or low TDS water. Too many nutrients will burn the roots and kill the plants. Keep them constantly moist, but do not submerge them. They live in drier ecotones than Sarracenia, so keep them moist, but not dry or soggy.
Lighting: Full sun to dappled, intense light. They occur in open habitats cleared by low intensity fires. They can also be grown under daylight spectrum lights with a light output rated over 1,800 Lumens. Good light is essential to proper growth and surviving flowering.
Dormancy: Winter dormancy is essential to growing healthy Dionaea. The easiest way to do this is to leave them outside. They may look exotic and fragile, but they're surprisingly tough. They have even naturalized in some areas of Virginia.
If it is not possible to keep them outside, then refrigerator dormancy is second best. Simply remove all dead foliage and place the pot in the fridge.
Feeding: They will do best if kept outside and are allowed to catch their own food. You'll be surprised how diverse their diet can be. If they can't be left outside, then supplement with live crickets of an appropriate size. The trigger hairs need stimulation to fully close the trap, which is why I recommend live food.
I do spray fertilize my seedlings with a 1/4 diluted orchid fertilizer to give them a nutrient boost while growing under lights. This is done once a week.
Growing from Seed: No cold stratification required. They can be sown as soon as they're harvested from the seed heads. The seeds are exposed to open air when ripe, so special attention must be paid to when they're ready to disperse.
Seeds will germinate in the summer and form a small rosette before winter sets in. I grow mine indoors under lights to speed up they're growth over winter for the first few years. They are slow growing as seedlings, so this strategy may cut a few years out of the maturation.
Potting: Plastic is preferable, but ceramic pots with a glazed interior will also work. Make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom. This is essential to prevent root rot. I recommend a pot larger than 12" across if they are going to be left outside during Winter.
Soil: Peat and sand. Line the bottom of the pot with dried Sphagnum moss to prevent the fine particles from escaping through the drainage holes. No nutrient additives!
Water: Rain, R/O, distilled, or low TDS water. Too many nutrients will burn the roots and kill the plants. Keep them constantly moist, but do not submerge them. They live in drier ecotones than Sarracenia, so keep them moist, but not dry or soggy.
Lighting: Full sun to dappled, intense light. They occur in open habitats cleared by low intensity fires. They can also be grown under daylight spectrum lights with a light output rated over 1,800 Lumens. Good light is essential to proper growth and surviving flowering.
Dormancy: Winter dormancy is essential to growing healthy Dionaea. The easiest way to do this is to leave them outside. They may look exotic and fragile, but they're surprisingly tough. They have even naturalized in some areas of Virginia.
If it is not possible to keep them outside, then refrigerator dormancy is second best. Simply remove all dead foliage and place the pot in the fridge.
Feeding: They will do best if kept outside and are allowed to catch their own food. You'll be surprised how diverse their diet can be. If they can't be left outside, then supplement with live crickets of an appropriate size. The trigger hairs need stimulation to fully close the trap, which is why I recommend live food.
I do spray fertilize my seedlings with a 1/4 diluted orchid fertilizer to give them a nutrient boost while growing under lights. This is done once a week.
Growing from Seed: No cold stratification required. They can be sown as soon as they're harvested from the seed heads. The seeds are exposed to open air when ripe, so special attention must be paid to when they're ready to disperse.
Seeds will germinate in the summer and form a small rosette before winter sets in. I grow mine indoors under lights to speed up they're growth over winter for the first few years. They are slow growing as seedlings, so this strategy may cut a few years out of the maturation.