Adventures of the Travelling Bog Planters

[DaniL]

The bog planters are bouncing back! The mealy bugs are gone and I hardened the planters off to go back outside, but out weather has been all over the place, so no growth happened for a while. Now they're looking more perky and dewy and things are warming up at night (sort of...). The VFT Akai Ryu is really enjoying the sun, and after a winter of being more green than red under a cheap indoor grow light it is now a deep red again.

 

[Atom]

Looking good! I've found a suitable saucer and pot combo and am starting mine up soon

Did you fill the entire thing with LFS and perlite or is there regular peat in there as well?

I'm guessing you chose all temperate species due to the dormancy cycle? Would it also be possible to use non-native sarracenia varieites or would the needs in water retention be at odds with everything else (VFT, sundews, etc) in the planter?

Thanks again for documenting!

 

[DaniL]

Looking good! I've found a suitable saucer and pot combo and am starting mine up soon

Did you fill the entire thing with LFS and perlite or is there regular peat in there as well?

I'm guessing you chose all temperate species due to the dormancy cycle? Would it also be possible to use non-native sarracenia varieites or would the needs in water retention be at odds with everything else (VFT, sundews, etc) in the planter?

Thanks again for documenting!

I did the bottom half with 50/50 peat and perlite and then the top with about 70/30 LFS and perlite. No great reason for that except I had both and I'd seen a post somewhere by someone who successfully did it that way. I think you would probably be fine with either mix though. Check this post for soil mix recommendations https://carnivorousplantsociety.ca/index.php?threads/carnivorous-plant-soil-recommendations.1615/

Yes, I chose all temperate species because I knew they all had similar needs and had intended to let them live on my covered balcony year-round, as here in Vancouver, BC our winters are usually mild (haha, so much for that this year). If you were planning to mix it up with different Sars I think you'd want to make sure they had similar needs for medium, light, water, hardiness, and dormancy. I don't know enough to recommend any though, but I'm sure a search of the forum will give you lots of info

Take pictures when you get started and share here! I'd love to see what you come up with.

 

[DaniL]

The bog planters have been eating well on the balcony this summer. The VFTs keep filling up with those medium-sized flies that circle around each other, and the sundews catch tons of little gnats. My Sar caught itself a nice big housefly that survived for a day or two before succumbing. Note the desiccated fly in the VFT trap next to the pitcher. I guess it wasn't enough of a warning to the housefly

@Smilodonichthys 's labels have also held up very well to the elements on my covered balcony

 

[DaniL]

Dormancy has begun as our temps are dropping below 10C overnight. Since last year the bog planters did well with just a couple of months of dormancy and coming inside in mid-Jan before the worst of winter, think I will do that again this year. Glad I had this post to refer back to for timing so I didn’t just get impatient and bring them inside now, lol - it’s so tempting to see that burst of growth when the plants revive!