mobile Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Update. Cant view the code anymore to edit images. Have to delete image then retype everything. Damn I just used to copy the code from previuos posts and just change the image number I think you need to use he light switch button at he top of the edit window to select code. Works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted August 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Thanks that great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted September 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 (edited) Update. This will be the last photo of this experiment. Conclusion VFTs grown in a mix of peat and pine needles appears to grow better than in the common mix of perlite and peat. Best growth occured in a 50:50 mix. However the experiment was only conducted on single plants for each medium type. A larger group of plants grown in each medium would need to be tested to statistically verify this finding. Pine needles certainly do not harm the VFTs and can safely be used as a substitute for perlite. If indeed the pine needles are resulting in better growth of the plants then possible reasons for this are given below. 1) It is possible that the needles maintain the acidity of the peat creating a longer lasting, more stable acidic environment around the roots. Unfortunately I did not have any means o testing the pH to confirm this. 2) The pine needles might be slowly decomposing releasing small amounts of nutrients into the peat, sufficient to benefit growth but too low to harm the plant. 3) The filamentous nature of the needles may create better aeration of the peat. It was noticed that the pine needles medium did not compact as much as the perlite medium and remained more more spongy to the touch. 10/09/2012 05/08/2012 01/07/2012 Edited June 9, 2022 by mantrid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkmplants Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Hi Mantrid, I cant see the pictures, can you change the server please? Really good post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted August 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 sorted, eventually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Do you have some new pictures Mantrid? Would be good to see how the experiment is getting on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Mine is still in the original pine needles. Think this is the third season and the plant has been outside year round. Been a poor year for VFT outside this year, buts its still put out some small traps and flower stalks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted August 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 I still have the plants in the same pots. Havent looked at them for a while. I will take some pics tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted August 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Mine is still in the original pine needles. Think this is the third season and the plant has been outside year round. Been a poor year for VFT outside this year, buts its still put out some small traps and flower stalks Yes it was a bad start but the hot sunny weather over the last few weeks with some recent rain means things are picking up nicely and colouration is getting better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peabody Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 I collected someLarch needles a few weeks ago. When I scraped the needles up I found that the rotted down needles has produced a brown material a bit like peat so I collected some of this also. I made up a compost mixture of 1 part Perlite, 1 part grit sand (J Arthur Bowers) and 1 part Larch material - mostly the brown "peat". I planted up some straggly Venus Flytraps in it that I wasn't bothered about losing and three or four weeks later they have put on some growth and certainly are not showing any signs of distress. The pic is of the plants just after I potted them up (10cm pot). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 The pine needles in my original plant have all rotted down and the VFT is still growing fine, albeit a little slowly due to inclement weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted August 24, 2013 Report Share Posted August 24, 2013 My experiment has settled/sunken down in its pot due to needle decomposition. I shall have to bottom dress the pot next season to raise the level of the plants up to the top of the pot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Mine has never been repotted since my original picture post in this topic in 2011. The VFT doesn't look the best this time of year, as it grows outdoors year round. You can see that the medium level has dropped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guillaume Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 As I am in Lebanon now, I have bring with me some tuberous drosera, no peat here so I have use pine needles, burning pine wood and some sand. It work good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I personally think that pine needles are quite a viable alternative medium and I have started to add them to my normal mixes. I have had less issues with them as a CP medium than I have had with coir and I don't have to worry as to how they have been washed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlytrapRanch Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 (edited) Mobile, do you have any idea what those plants are growing in the pot with the VFT, with thin, round leaves (in cross section)? The common name or genus/species name? I have one of those plants, which germinated in a batch of sphagnum peat moss, that I have cultivated as a potential companion plant for Venus Flytraps (although it grows quite large when it has the root space), but I have no idea what it is. Regarding coir, I'm personally fond of the physical properties it adds to a mix, but coir from every source I've tried all must be carefully desalinated by repeated soaking and draining first, before use. One of my better sphagnum-free mixes, in which several Venus Flytraps have now been growing well for several years, is composed of-- silica sand coir (desalinated) evergreen needles small pieces of evergreen bark Edited November 30, 2013 by FlytrapRanch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Sorry, but I don't know what the companion plant is, but I'm sure someone on here will know. Maybe coir works ok when in certain mixes, rather than being a direct substitute for Sphagnum peat, but when I have tried it mixed with just perlite then it has not performed well for me. I also find the need to repeatedly soak it as being rather tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlytrapRanch Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 (edited) Yes, it certainly is tedious and time-consuming to methodically desalinate coir, but I like the rot-resistance and springiness it adds to a mix, the great water retention while still aggressively incorporating air into the mix. Regarding coir and perlite, I've found a 50/50 or 60/40 mix (by volume) of desalinated coir and perlite to be an excellent medium for some orchids including Paphiopedilum and Tolumnia. Edited December 1, 2013 by FlytrapRanch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little-Bacchus Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Mobile, do you have any idea what those plants are growing in the pot with the VFT, with thin, round leaves (in cross section)? The common name or genus/species name? I can't be 100% sure but from the image it looks a lot like Juncus effusus or at least a member of the Juncus genus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlytrapRanch Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 I can't be 100% sure but from the image it looks a lot like Juncus effusus or at least a member of the Juncus genus. Thank you very much, Little-Bacchus. After looking at quite a few photos of Juncus effusus and other Juncus, I'm sure you're correct that it is one of the Juncus species. I live in a dry grassland area of the United States and had never seen one of these plants and have been curious for several years as to exactly what this plant was. Thanks for identifying this "mystery plant." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billynomates666 Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 I too think that that is what it is, if it is, they do have inordinately long and sturdy root systems that will soon crowd out your VFT, I would get rid of it fairly quickly. Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlytrapRanch Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 I too think that that is what it is, if it is, they do have inordinately long and sturdy root systems that will soon crowd out your VFT, I would get rid of it fairly quickly. Cheers Steve Thank you, billynomates. The plant sprouted in a very small container and at that time its root system was limited by the container itself, and the plant was also small. That's when I decided it might make a nice companion plant in a larger pot containing several Venus Flytraps, so I transplanted it into that pot. Within several weeks the plant (the Juncus) grew to twice as large and began to overgrow, crowd and shade the Venus Flytraps. This was alarming to me (I wondered just how large the plant could/would grow) so I unpotted that large community pot and found that the Juncus roots had spread to most of the growing medium, especially at the lower half of the pot. So I decided to plant this mystery plant (now identified as a Juncus rush species) in a separate (and smaller) pot, where it remains at this time until I decide what I want to do with it. Thanks to those who identified the plant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Mobile, do you have any idea what those plants are growing in the pot with the VFT, with thin, round leaves (in cross section)? The common name or genus/species name? It's a common rush, I have fields of them if you want some more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlytrapRanch Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 (edited) It's a common rush, I have fields of them if you want some more No, thank you. I live in a very dry environment with almost no surface water deposits anywhere, no rivers or streams. I had never seen this plant. But now that I know what it is, a rush of the genus Juncus, and how large they are inclined to become when planted in a larger pot, I might be tempted to place it outside in a nice, comfortable spot where it can peacefully die. Edited December 2, 2013 by FlytrapRanch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 I too think that that is what it is, if it is, they do have inordinately long and sturdy root systems that will soon crowd out your VFT, I would get rid of it fairly quickly. I have a Cephalotus that is very happy sharing a pot with a fern, which has sturdy roots. I actually think the companion plant is helping. Afterall, what competition is there, the companion plant will be competing for nutrients and water, of which there will be little of the former and plenty of the latter to share. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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