LJ

I know their nepenthes seeds are notoriously bad for viability but then nep seeds dont last as long as others. Not sure about their drosera seeds though I'm afraid. Hopefully someone else will be able to advise on that.....

Great pics Brian, looking good!

Looking good Carl, lets hope the nice colouring gets even better with time :) Hope it grows quickly for you too. Thanks for the update!

Wanna swap Gary?? Getting a bit miffed with it all now - people that havent got snow are bloody lucky I say!! A bit is nice and exciting but too much is just a pain!!

Yep its supposed to be the worst snow in Sheffield for 31 years! We hardly ever get any, normally a couples of inches at most - certainly for the last 15 years or so. I remember it being a bit worse when I was really young, it must be how the Scots feel most winters! Atleast we havent got it quite as cold - brrrrr!

Here was my front door this morning! Goes further down too as a couple of steps below the door line. And a few more....

Firslty welcome to cpuk! You say it is bright sun - is it full direct bright sun?? Does the person you exchanged with grow in a greenhouse? Also it seems the friend you mention is growing several clones in that big pot - which ones did she send you? Some of hers had bright red traps buit some were only pink in the traps - perhaps you got the ones that were pink? In which case yours dont look much different. Perhaps try a clone that you know gets very red traps? Heather

I'm sure people will understand under the circumstances, make sure you take enough time to grieve, dont worry about the plants for the monent. Sending my deepest sympathy to you and your family. Take care, Heather xx

Nope never enough time - usually have to quickly run in and water them when needs be, always have so many things I need to do but takes ages to actually get round to doing ti, many waiting for be repotted, lots of leaf cuttings I need to take to keep up with the requests from people....... I could do with an extra few hours each day atleast! By the time you've done your day job, got home and cooked and cleaned, checked the internet etc the day is nearly over! Wish I was a guy sometimes, atleast I could try and get out of the cooking and cleaning then!

Welcome to the forum Ron! Heather

Wow, sounds like you've had a touch time recently, glad to hear you're on the mend and back to good health. Best wishes to you and your family! Heather

A good deed - well done. And will be nice to get some photos for it too! Look forward to seeing them!

Welcome to cpuk Heather

Looking lovely as always! I dont know how you do it - mine look pretty crappy at the mo!

It doesnt look like it will flower now if the tip has gone black, I'd simply cut it off. Perhaps it didnt quite have enough energy for the flower to form properly? Great pics Matze, I havent let any flower yet fully or try to pollinate. Can the pygmies be self pollinated like normal dionaea? I find they take so much energy just to produce the flower stalks!! It really slows their grow badly for me, I'm sure different clones will behave different though, do you find some clones more vigorous and able to withstand flowereing and produce seed more easily?

Hmm interesting information Amar - I didnt realise wistubas came from Harold Weiner. We need someone to grow them all side by side in the same conditions for a while!! Personally I cant tell much difference between any of my ceph clones, though most of them are small and grow in varying conditions which doesn help. I do have 2 german giants, ni dea if they are the same plant, one that originates from harold weiner...sounds like they could be the same. I dont have such a keen eye for cephs, the subtle differences for me are too subtle and I dont think I've managed to get any full size yet, no doubt that would help highlight the differences....or atleast I'm hoping so!

Very nice photos, I always love a good thread with pics of plants in habitat. Many thanks for sharing with us MFS. I look forward to see anymore field reports of your in future!

I dont know enough about superthrive Dave, maybe someone else can advise on that bit. I would assume that vfts wouldnt like calcium in the water as I think this would increase the TDS reading....its recommended for this to be quite low. Are you using tap water? Have you measured the TDS level at all. Though I dont think it would have any bearing on this issue but if high they might not be too happy, it may just be a weird grow pattern if its continually dividing and staying small. If its nice and healthy looking then I'd be inclined not to worry and just watch with interest :) You could try giving it a little extra nutrition to see if that breaks the cycle, feeding it live food if the traps are big enough and its not catching that much or even a bit of fertiliser? (be careful with the latter though , too much can be harmful). I'd see how it goes this season. We often have lots of time over winter where its below freezing, I'd actually think it would be good for your plants if its been colder than usual as I think your climate is warmer than in their natural habitat so anything closer to that should be a good thing.

I've not heard of vfts constantly dividing to the point they only divide and get smaller instead of growing and get bigger. Perhaps chemicals in TC could cause this temporarily but that shouldnt be the issue in your case if it was growing normally when you got it. Have they had a good dormancy period? How long have your vft been doing this? If not that long I wouldnt worry, vfts do this every so often, they dont all divide the same way or at the same pace, sometimes my plants divide and I get a good sized division(s), sometimes the a vft almost looks like its dying off but then I find its suddenly produced lots of smaller divisions. Hopefully they'll grow better and bigger this season for you.....

Wow, what a great collection! Looking VERY nice François Thanks for posting some pics. Heather

I tend not to keep mine too cold - some are in the conservatory, those tend to slow right down, some I keep on wamer windowsills, some under lights....I've always get some growing somewhere - I darent leave them out in the greenhouse! I know one grower who lost most of his collection last year in an unheated greenhouse. Fingers crossed for a milder winter! Main point was unless under lights I dont think cuttings will do much over winter anyway so prob easier to wait.

Me - I'm completely bonkers! My plants go some way to keeping me sane :) Seriously though it is a subject people might not be totally comfortable discussing on a public forum but then anything is up for discussion on this section if people want to partake. I think most people will go through ups and downs during their lifetime, some more seriously than others but thankfully the stigma isnt as bad as its used to be and there's much more help available now too....I know enough people who have had problems with depresssion, anxiety, eating disorders.

Great pics as always Brian - thanks for sharing! Heather

Matty - I'd wait a while until the plants settle in properly....as they're quite small you risk damaging the main plant if trying to pull bits off. I find bigger leaves and ptichers tend to produce bigger plants and tend to work better, hiwever I've also had good results from smaller leaves but they tend to produce smaller plants, dont think I've oulled any off plants that small though. As its coming to the end of the season it might be best to wait until spring anyway unless growing under lights. With a bit of luck you might get more leaves over winter........