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Post by r3dz on May 7, 2016 11:06:04 GMT -5
Hey folks how's it going?
I just read the post about new members not being allowed access to the marketplace looking for freebies which totally makes sense.
So I've decided that I want to try to start a discussion on Drosera Gigantea. I have read that it is particularly good for dealing with fungus gnat problems, they can eat up to 100 gnats per day or something kind of absurd.
Are other species of Drosera as good at catching gnats or is this the species I should be looking for?
I have more problems with Chironomids than I do with fungus gnats but it does not hurt to be prepared for the worst and I'm sure that it would still eat the chiros, right?
I'm going to do some more research using the search bar I just wanted to see if I could get some discussion going.
I've also heard that they are very difficult to grow from seed, should I bother ordering some seed or should I try to find a live plant?
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Post by WillyCKH on May 8, 2016 1:34:15 GMT -5
Hello! I'd suggest you grow D. Capensis or Pinguicula to fight gnats instead because: 1. Drosera Gigantea is tuberous sundew and may not be the best type of plant to start with. 2. D. Capensis or Pinguicula are just as effective if not way more effective at trapping gnats 3. they are easier to grow and buy; tuberous sundew usually hate transplanting hence you will have to wait until someone offers tuber for sale So, unless you're really absolutely in love with D. Gigantea and want to grow it as your gnats killer, consider other easier plants. PS: Capensis is just an example of an easy starter plant, you can also get D. Aliciae, D. Spatulata, D. Capensis 'Alba', D. Binata, D. Adelae, they work the same, I promise you Pinguicula: D. Capensis: hope that helps, Willy
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Post by r3dz on May 9, 2016 12:56:51 GMT -5
Wow awesome thank you for the informative reply, it definitely helps! I'm going to keep my eye out for some pinguicula, they look quite effective for my purposes.
I have another, somewhat controversial, question now haha
Is "poaching" sundews from the wild pretty much totally frowned upon?
I have a friend who says that he lives near some public land that is totally full of different types of sundews,
would they survive a transplant if he gathered some soil that came from the area as well? The worst thing would be if they were endangered and we ended up killing one or something.
Obviously I would want to be way more experienced keeping them before attempting anything such as this, if it were even an ok thing to do.
I don't want to break any laws or put any at risk species further into the negative, but I would love to have a wild cp in my collection if it didn't do any harm, I'm a pretty aware dude and I would hate to be part of the perpetuating system of destruction that humans are maintaining, but nature is incredibly resilient and fixes just about everything we do so I can't imagine digging a little hole in the swamp will do a whole lot.
Let me know, I'm obviously incredibly conflicted about the whole thing lol
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Post by lloyd on May 9, 2016 13:23:55 GMT -5
Don't do it. You can get any local sundew without poaching. Or you can collect seeds, which is much less harmful.
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Post by H2O on May 9, 2016 14:24:34 GMT -5
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Post by H2O on May 9, 2016 14:25:47 GMT -5
I will also note I have seed from pretty much every temperate Drosera each fall. You are more then welcome to some to try, just PM me in the fall.
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Post by r3dz on May 9, 2016 16:56:28 GMT -5
But when purchasing CPs how do you know they are not wild poached? I sort of always thought this was a problem with them. I definitely plan to grow them from seed as well, and will start calling nurseries and stuff to find some temperate species.
Thank you for the link! I certainly will do that if I remember, though knowing me when I want to start collecting something, I go kind of overboard and gather way too many.
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Post by amanitovirosa on May 9, 2016 19:54:05 GMT -5
...hmm, interesting. I don't think harvesting in situ plants is your best option or even necessary. There are tons of plants available here and seeds.......various, easy Drosera seed is always available on eBay for peanuts pretty much. I purchased tons of stuff on eBay when I started up again, before I became familiar with all of the cool people here. In my opinion, it is a good resource. Cheers!
AV.
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Post by lloyd on May 9, 2016 20:51:57 GMT -5
You can get an amazing amount of stuff here. Most seeds are probably not wild collected for practical reasons. Some people like Silverhill do wild collect but are quite responsible. Unless you're really looking for extremely rare or oddball plants you're probably not going to have to worry about poached seeds. It's good to consider the possibility, though.
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Post by r3dz on May 9, 2016 21:39:38 GMT -5
Thanks for the thoughts guys! You're probably all right, I definitely will be able to find everything I need here.
Cheers folks!
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