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carambola

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Posts posted by carambola

  1. PayPal have now closed my case because I didn't provide correct tracking information - which is true, as I didn't/couldn't send anything - and blissfully overlooked the note I attached where I asked how I was supposed to send back disintegrated plants, or plants that were never received, and where I explained sending the living plants back was not an option because it would be a sure death sentence for them. I even wrote that I would be willing to forgo a reimbursement for the plants that were 'not as described', but I couldn't and can't accept not being reimbursed for a plant never received. (Not to mention the shipping costs would have been on me, even though I'm the one who got duped, and Belgium is not exactly known for either its low shipping costs or its excellent postal service.)

    Anyway, conclusion of the story: David never sent me a Utricularia praelonga, knew about it, took my money for it yet didn't tell me anything about it until I inquired, David sent me a Drosera adelae with 2cm leaves and claimed it was a (semi)adult specimen, David sent me a Darlingtonia and a Drosera roseana, both of which turned out to be dead on arrival, and David sent me a Drosera binata var. dichotoma 'Giant' in a large bag to accomodate the large leaves that were all black or blackening (admittedly the least troublesome aspect, as the roots were healthy and the plant is now, a few months later, growing well), and PayPal clearly don't have a lot of experience with plants.

     

    I think I'll stick to the 'Buy and Sell' area of this forum from now on. Much less hassle, and there's a direct network of trust.

  2. There are lots of different species of bamboo, but one thing to note for many of them is that if you plant them in your garden, you should dig an extra meter down and to the sides and fill it with concrete. Bamboo can and will destroy everything, and it grows so quickly you could be gone for a weekend and come back to your neighbours complaining about 4cm thick, 3m high unbreakable bamboo stalks wrecking their garden.

  3. You don't need any drainage holes in a bog garden. You can drill some close to the top as you were already planning to do if you don't want the pot to overflow after heavy rainfall, but it isn't necessary if you don't have any plants (like Pinguicula) that could float away. One thing I would note is, because your pot is relatively small, it's more likely to freeze in winter, so you should keep it somewhere it's less likely to freeze when it gets cold - this could even be in an unheated room in your house. Otherwise not much you can do wrong, just keep the soil as wet as you can.

    2 hours ago, Karsty said:

    I would drill the holes 6 inches from the top.

    What would that accomplish other than requiring the moss/peat/etc to wick the water up fifteen cm before it reaches the top? And what would the charcoal do?

  4. What I meant to say was that it isn't necessarily so that either the new shoots are causing deformed leaves, or deformed leaves are causing new shoots, but there could (likely) be a different cause responsible for both the new shoots and the deformed leaves. As Blocky71 and David wrote, it could be aphids sucking on the new leaves, causing the plant to create more offshoots to survive.

  5. Interesting, thanks for the information and pictures. They seem greener, smaller and more stretched out than they would be outside, but they still look pretty good considering their abnormal growing conditions. I have a feeling this will be a new long term experiment for me.

  6. On 27-8-2017 at 9:53 AM, Karsty said:

    With such a vast variety of clones, is it possible that some do better in warm winters than others?

    It's technically possible, but unlikely, because the clones are always selected for their looks and not for their ability to handle unnatural growing conditions.

    On 26-8-2017 at 10:45 PM, acheta said:

    Sorry to contradict, but this assertion is misleading. Keeping VFTs on a sunny windowsill indoors over winter will not spell certain death. I've been keeping them successfully all year round on south-facing kitchen window sills (in 3 properties) for the past 31 years. In my experience, it's the shorter photoperiod during winter months that mainly influences dormancy.

    I also have some VFTs that grow outside in plastic planters that have survived the past 7 winters unprotected.

    What are your indoor temperatures?

  7. Those are looking very nice! Really makes me want to hurry up and pot my seeds already. Did you have any of them suddenly give up the ghost after getting their adult leaves, without a clear cause? I'm trying to figure out if I should maybe get some more seeds to be future proof.

    Btw, is that a pineapple to the right of the big one?

  8. Thanks for posting this thread! I'll have to try again with my remaining seeds, taking your advice in mind.

    I would have thought the seeds had to be flat side up, because the heavier and rounded side would be the one touching the ground first after the seed had been blown away in nature. The one seedling I had came out looking fine with the seed flat side up, the 'wings' still attached.

  9. Interested in seeing a picture of your Welwitschia (unless I missed it on the pictures you've already posted). I tried growing some last year, but only got one seed to sprout, and then managed to kill the seedling by locking it in a much too humid jar in full sun. I still have some seeds left, so I think I'll give it another try soonish. Do you have any germination and general growing tips?

    Nicely decorated studio, btw, it's as if you're right in the middle of a forest.

  10. I read something once that it keeps the caught gnats from walking onto the non-sticky side of the leaf to escape. It does seem like they can trawl across the whole leaf, but still end up stuck at the edges. That said, if they walk to the other side, they can just crawl onto the bottom of the next leaf, so I'm not sure how much weight can be given to this explanation.

  11. You don't need to repot Pinguicula unless you just want to put them in a nicer looking pot, they don't care and their roots don't grow beyond the 2cm mark. They don't need distilled water, tap water will do fine. A little bit of water every 2-3 weeks will suffice to keep them healthy, more is unnecessary. In winter they get tiny succulent leaves, so need less water still. They flower profusely, and I'm pretty sure the amount of flowers is an indication of the amount of growth points (that will become visible in a matter of weeks). Very easy to take care of, they're basically regular house plants with greasy leaves.

    • Like 1
  12. 10 hours ago, Party_Gecko said:

    True but it is still another nepenthes to add to my collection

    The problem is that you could have paid a scammer too much money for something you won't know is wrong till it's far too late (unless the seeds are obviously not Nepenthes) and you can no longer get your money back or leave a bad review, thereby both getting ripped off and supporting these practices. That said I must have missed the part where you wrote that you got them on eBay.

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