Thursday, November 25, 2010

I was getting Impatient

After waiting for 15 days I got little bit impatient since I wanted to see some growth. I decided to ask some one to make sure if I am doing everything right have I missed something due to which seeds aren't germinating, so I logged on to one of the forums to take help of the well experienced grower and cultivators of CPs. After posting pics of my setup and explaining it I came to know that I have not brought the right thing to grow seeds in.
Since its was really hard to find seeds in the media and and the whole media was smelling very badly I decided to throw it away and start from the beginning with right and proper things to grow CPs.

The long wait

After sowing the seeds I knew that it can take 14 days to 40+ days to germinate but still since its was my first
time growing CPs I couldn't hold my self back from checking the pot at least twice daily, I made sure that the moss stays wet and I used tray method for it. I used one white container in which i use to keep the pot and I use to make sure that there is at least an inch deep of water is standing in the container so that moss doesnt dry which can really stop the growth or kill the seedlings. Also, once a day I use to open up the cover of the pot which was there to increase humidity, so that the media can get fresh air and doesnt grow any kind of mold or fungus in it. I waited 14 days and still didn't see anything happening.

Getting the growing media

I went to buy some moss, Initially I didnt know the difference between the sphagnum moss and the regular moss, so i went to  a local nursery and asked for loose moss and he handed me 1 kg pack of regular moss.
I thought I got the right thing, so I came back home and kept moss in water for 3-4 days so that it can be free of
impurities and all the chemicals can come off. After soaking moss for 3-4 days I filled one small plastic container with it and sowed the seeds, since the seeds were so small after sowing the seeds it was really hard to find where the seeds were sown.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Growing Carnivorous Plants from seeds

After not being able to find carnivorous plants in local nurseries I decided to get some seeds and grow it by myself, when I logged on to internet and searched around regarding growing such plants I came to know that there are many carnivorous plants enthusiast or grower out there who have been successfully growing these plants and cultivating them from long time. But it was not just about getting seeds and plant will grow right away since these plants grow in specific type of growing media which is nutrition free otherwise roots will burn and seedlings will die down. Then I went on hunt to find growing media for the seeds(which my friend sent from abroad) while my seeds were on the way. Majorly the growing media required to grow CPs(carnivorous plants) are Sphagnum moss or sphagnum peat moss, there are other different growing media which people use but basically these are the two main growing media which are used and many times mixed with perlite or silica sand to make a proper mixture for the plants.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

How I came to know about the plants

Around 4 months ago I was surfing on youtube and was watching some random videos,
then I came across the video of Venus Fly Trap catching a fly or some other insects, I remembered vaguely about the lesson on carnivorous plants which I learned when I was in school in 4th or 5th standard. I really got fascinated by the plants after watching some videos of different kind of carnivorous plants present in nature. I decided to grow these plants and tried searching about if there are any local nurseries who have such kind of plants available with them, but after roaming around constantly, searching in each and every nursery in my locality and getting reaction  from nursery owners that I have gone retarded since I am asking for such kind of plants which they have never  heard of..

Carnivorous plants

Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients (but not energy) from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs and rock outcroppings. Charles Darwin wrote Insectivorous Plants, the first well-known treatise on carnivorous plants, in 1875
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnivorous_plant