Carnivorous Plants - India

Problem :(

2011-07-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

After trying to grow more plants inside I started to see that plants health started to go down.
I could see upcoming leaves were deformed and some of them were not having dew on it.
After looking into the matter I realized I have bitten off more then I can chew, I wouldnt be able to handle
so many plants(8 to be specific) at a given time to grow all of them inside. My plants were growing but they were not healthy leaves were in bad conditions and they needed immediate change.

Everything WAS working fine

2011-07-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

Everything seemed to be working fine with my plants(4 Sundews, 1 Venus Fly trap) as they were catching insects and growing really well. But my desire of keeping more and different type of carnivorous plants took me into wrong direction. I exchanged seeds of Drosera Binata with gemmae of unknown species of Drosera Pygmy. Gemmae is a part of plants which can be used to grow another plant or in simple word it is like a seeds but it is quite faster then seed. some species of gemmae can start growing withing 24 hours of sowing.

I prepared 2 plastic cups 1 with soilrite as growing media and other with sphagnum moss as growing media.
After sowing I observed that gemmae in soilrite sprouted faster then in sphagnum moss, gemmae in soilrite took 5-6 days to show sign of sprouting where as one's in sphagnum moss took almost twice the time.

But I didnt realize that I dont have much space to expand my collection like this, I was growing my plants inside a closed space and under artificial lighting(100 watt cfl) and I didnt have space enough to accommodate bigger lights. I kind of tried stuffing in all the plants under small coverage of light which lead to less amount light being received by all the plants.

Green Green Green

2011-07-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

It had been a month since I have potted my carnivorous plants in sphagnum moss I received from Shillong.
I have been keeping sphagnum moss wet for proper growth of my plants but after some time I started to observe that sphagnum moss has starting turning green, for a moment I thought that dried sphagnum moss must have turned alive after sitting in water for some time but that was not the case, It was Algae. I have read on internet that one should clean up the growing media really well if it is not manufactured commercially and it is collected from wild, but in excitement of founding sphagnum moss I didnt clean it really well, I washed it only 2-3 times instead of 10-12 times due to which growing media was still having some nutrients in it which lead to algae formation.

Initially I thought algae formation would affect my plants in some way but after consulting with some experienced grower online I came to know that algae can affect growth of seedlings or very tiny carnivorous plants, so I had nothing to worry about it.

Plants Growing Well

2011-07-23T05:39:00.000-07:00

After potting all my plants into sphagnum moss I was little worried as within past 3 days I potted my plants twice(first in soilrite n then in sphagnum), but plants did well and slowly started signs of improvement.
After a week I could see plants have acclimated to the new growing media and I could see new leaves appearing from growing point. It was a nice feeling that I found out a source of sphagnum moss and it has started working out for me. I started observing my plants daily and as I was having lots time I use to read about different kind of carnivorous plants online.

Received Sphagnum moss

2011-05-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

My bag of sphagnum moss was on the way from Shillong to Delhi and I was really curious if it would be the real sphagnum or It will turn out to be the sheet moss just like earlier. I was expecting moss to arrive in 7-10 days but to my surprise within 5 days postman asked me to come and collect it from post office.
I was expecting it to be a big parcel as seller told me that 4kg of sphagnum moss fits in the rag bag big enough to accommodate 40 kg of flour(it was an approximate method of giving an idea). After receiving the parcel I came back home and opened up the bag to find out that it is the real white sphagnum moss. Right away I got my self prepared to re-pot all my plants into it as soon as possible.

While I was re-potting I could see that the moss was not pure, I found out that there were dried leaves, branches and similar things were also there mixed in it as seller told me earlier this mos is collected from wild generally when ever winter season arrives. After cleaning up impurities and potting my plants I use to check out regularly how plants were doing and slowly I could see that plants adjusted well in it and started growing again.

Finally found some Sphagnum-II

2011-05-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

After searching alot on net and regularly going through different kinds of forums I came to know there are some nurseries in Shillong/West Bengal side which sells white sphagnum moss, this made my search little easier and with the help of Google, I found out contact numbers of different nurseries in Shillong area. After calling some nurseries I finally came across one nursery which was ready to sell me 4 kg of sphagnum moss.
It was a big discovery for me as I finally found the growing media which will help me grow carnivorous plants properly. After fixing up cost and delivery charges I ordered the sphagnum moss which was supposed to be the last stock available with the nursery. I had to deposit money in the bank account of the nursery to complete the order, there was a slight risk of loosing money but since it was the first time I got a positive reply from somewhere in India regarding sphagnum moss I just went ahead with it.

After placing the order seller gave me some different options of getting the delivery done such as courier service, railways service etc. Initially I took the option of railways as it would have been fast and hazel free, but after knowing about bills and some different story from different people about railways I called up the seller and asked him to send moss by express parcel option of Indian Post.

Finally found some Sphagnum

2011-03-26T23:23:00.000-07:00

Initially when I started thinking about growing CPs I came to know that the media I will be needing is either Sphagnum moss or peat moss, so I tried finding it alot but didnt succeed and found only grass moss or coco peat, out of which grass moss was not the right thing to grow CPs in and coco peat(made of coconut husk or coirs) was very high in salt content(almost 300 PPM) which leads to burning of roots. I was looking for sphagnum or peat moss everywhere but every where I came across coco peat only.

I started searching online to find some source and also inquired online from international sellers about the cost and shipping, it was little hard to import small amount of sphagnum moss as it was costing alot and also it required certificates from government authority to import it. I had to cancel the option of importing sphagnum moss mainly due of not being in mood of going through the tedious paper work or employee of the government authority. I tried using Soilrite mix which was available in plenty here till I was able to find a source of Sphagnum moss and it worked well too.

Getting Impatient

2011-03-07T11:32:00.000-08:00

After seeing a slow growth in seedlings I really got impatient and wanted to
see carnivorous plants catching some insects, I started searching alot but
couldnt find any seller in India, I was really disappointed. I knew that
Drosera Indica and Nepenthes Khasiana are natives to India but if I want
to find these plants I would have to go far away from my place in jungles or
forest of North-East India or Southern India and collect plants by myself,
I know my parents will never let me go off on such trip and also I was sure
it wont be easy to find such plants specially since these plants have different
local names at the place where these are found. After not being able to find
anyone or any nurseries which can sell CPS to me I just thought about keep on
checking regularly with different phone numbers of nurseries I found on Google.

Lighting

2011-03-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

Its been long since the seeds germinated but still the seedlings were really tiny,
initially to protect it from getting destroyed by pigeons and squirrels I thought
about growing the seedlings inside. I heard about people using artificial lighting
so did some research on it and came to know that I can sue a normal CFL bulb
to grow the seedlings, in excitement I went to nearby mall and bought a 22watt
6500k CFL. I though it will work out well. Everything was looking fine but still
seedlings were growing slow, I tried to think where I went wrong and came to
know that I need to have a powerful CFL as 22 Watts arent good enough to grow
the plants. So once again I went to nearby malls and markets to find high power
CFL with minimum wattage of 40 watts 6500k, Initially it was hard to find it but
after going through some electrical shop I found a nice 100 watt 6700k flower
shaped CFL. I bought it right away thinking I can grow more seedlings or plants under it.

Long wait again

2011-02-06T04:35:00.000-08:00

Now after seeds got germinated my hopes got high again n I started regularly checking the seedlings to see when they will grow carnivorous leafs n start hunting. But I didnt know that growing cps from seeds takes lots of patience, according to me seedlings were growing really slow, I wanted them to grow really fast and after consulting some experts online I came to know that I would have to feed them to make them grow fast. But the problem was the seedling was so small that it wouldnt be able to handle even smallest insect like an ant.
If I feed any thing bigger it me result into mold as plant wont be able to digest the insect completely.
So I had to leave it the ways it is and let it grow without feeding it.

Finally

2011-02-06T03:34:00.000-08:00

Well after sowing seeds and almost checking the pot every day I was lil sad since I couldnt see anything happening so in disappointment I just filled the ziplock bag in which kept the pot with 1inch deep water and left it out side. I stopped looking it regularly thinking nothing will happen, then one fine day I decided to throw everything away since nothing is happening. When I opened the ziplock bag I notices lil tiny seedlings.

Finally my hard work paid off and some of the seeds germinated. I was really happy and couldnt wait to see these seedlings grow n start kicking some insect butts. I placed the pot under 30 Watt cfl inside my almirah so that it can grow safely inside without being disturbed by pigeons or other stuff

Starting Again from Zero

2010-12-02T04:06:00.000-08:00

After facing failure in first try due to wrong growing media I decided to give it another try with the right things, I tried finding Sphagnum moss in the local nurseries but was only able to find the same sheet moss, I also inquired about peat moss and I found some but it was Coco peat moss not Sphagnum peat moss. So I bought some of the Coco Peat to give it a try while I was finding Sphagnum peat moss. After searching on internet I came across one ready mix which contains Irish Peat moss mixed with Perlite and Vermiculite and it was available at near by nursery in 1kg packing. I went n bought 1 Kg pack since seeds didn't require much growing media in the beginning. I used two white-food containers which I got when I use to order lunch or dinner from restaurant for home delivery. I filled one container(after making holes at the bottom of the container) with the ready mix and another one with Coco Peat. Also before sowing seeds on coco peat I made sure that I washed it 10-12 times with pure water so that all the impurities and extra salt would flow away. After putting media n sowing seeds in the container I bought a ziplock bag big enough to accommodate the containers in it. After placing container in the ziplock bag I made some holes in the top part of bag so that little bit of circulation can take place without decreasing the humidity inside of bag. After this I kept both setup out side and kept some water at the bottom inside the ziplock bag to keep the growing media moist.

I was getting Impatient

2010-11-25T23:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-25T23:30:00.000-08:00

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.

Growing Carnivorous Plants from seeds

2010-11-22T00:16:00.000-08:00

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.

How I came to know about the plants

2010-11-21T23:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-21T22:21:00.000-08:00

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