tap-water-kills

[tap-water-kills]

Nepenthes x Rebecca Soper. Looking great after being outside all summer. Bottom pic after a few months of Manchester winter. Hopefully we get a nice mild spring and I can put it outside again quicker. I’m about to order a load of live sphagnum moss. to repot it before spring.

Second pic is end of January 2022 after a few months idoors, in winter, in a draughty Victorian terrace. It’s a crap photo but pitchers have died back from lack of light, the coulour is fading from the leaves, it does prefer summer outside.

It didn’t grow any new traps for a year because it wasn’t getting enough light. I read lots of websites and blogs that said full sun would burn it or kill it. I didn’t take into account our less than tropical climate. So last summer I decided to put it outdoors in sun to see if it was ok. As soon as the last frosts were gone I put it in full sun on a south facing wall (Gate) and it loved it. Grew really well, made loads of new pitchers. I’m sure other Nepenthes might not like that but my Nepenthes x ventrata was much happier too.

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Cobra Lilly (Darlingtonia calofornica) I treated myself for Christmas and bought a few more plants. I’m hoping British summer won’t be too hot ;) for the Cobra Lilly I bought. They don’t like their roots getting warm. I’m going to plant it in a large pot in live sphagnum and lime free grit. Hopefully a larger pot will keep its roots a bit cooler. Worst comes to worst I will move it to a shadier spot or work out a way to shade the pot more than the plant. I bought some other plants too because every time I say I’m not buying any more plants..........

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These are the second generation and third generation babies I got from the Original Drosera capensis my friend bought. I have given away dozens of them but there’s something about growing your own from your own seeds that’s magical.

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Drosera capensis. My first carnivorous plant. A friend bought it in May 2020. I knew almost nothing about them at the time. I had no idea carnivores would become such an addictive hobby. It’s a South African species and probably the easiest carnivorous plant to grow as a houseplant. I made weekly visits to the petrol station to buy distilled water to keep it alive. Remember, tap water kills!

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Cephalotus follicularis. First post! My favourite plant in my collection. I’m not sure where I am going with this blog but after a couple of years of growing carnivorous plants indoors and outdoors in Manchester, I decided I wanted somewhere to post pics and things I have learned.