carnivore_queen

Is it possible for you to reupload the previous version: 1.5.12 ? Thank you!

That would be the smart thing to do... But if I'm repotting everything now, then I'd like to have things put in the larger pots now, since doing so in winter would be too damn silly and wastful. Which is the other thing- nice new pots. Not ones that have been previously used and from unknown origins. But otherwise that is the game plan =)

Yeah, no grubs, although as stated, my AlataxFlava cross has some fat white roots, lol. My flytraps are doing quite nice, actually. I got them as bulbs, and that they've flourished so well makes me know that apparently, the peat I used earlier in the year is just too old. But my Sarrs are suffering the same. Premature browning, shrinkage, some twisting. I'm debating using the Neem again after repotting. I'll be repotting once I get new pots in.

I didn't notice any weevils, or anything besides the things I know as rove beetles. My S. Alata "Red/Black" x Flava Kimber has some fat white root looking things, and it just got put into a 1 gallon pot maybe last month as the pot it was presently in was far too small for it, and it wasn't looking good. The photo album has been updated and has pictures of three variously ill plants and their roots. The wilting Leucophylla Tarnok was rotted and discarded. Perhaps that is fungus? As for the water, I don't know. I don't have a TDS meter, but I just bought 12 gallons of RO water which is no higher than 4 on the TDS scale, as it's cheaper than distilled. So once everything's been repotted, I ought to be fine. I doubt it's the pots. If it were, I wouldn't have gotten this far.

I...I honestly don't know if it's viral. I guess anything's possible. What a nightmare. My beautiful collection D: What would you suggest as far as "quarantine"? Ill plants in one tray, and good ones in another at opposite ends of the table? I'm thinking the twisted pitchers are pest related, sure. Since I haven't been Neeming, that'd be the perfect opportunity. Believe it or not, prior to Neem, I used Acephate, and it didn't do nothing worth a damn. But thinking about it, it's possible the Tarnok is in old media and I just moved it into a larger pot, because it had over 12" tall pitchers and was in a ridiculous, short 3" pot. Actually, I think I may have done that. Which would explain why it's failing (but not explain why it's damage is so unique), and why the pot isn't full to the brim, which is typical of me. Why the hell would I only half-fill a pot? Maybe some people get lazy, but that's one of my peeves. Well, if they die now, I do have a ton of plants coming to me in the fall. I'm just going to grown as I won't have alot of the more common ones.

Laurent, what VFT is that??

So, my decent collection is declining for no apparent reason. I've been growing since 2006, so I'm not exactly a newb. There's just nothing that really goes over this, as far as I can tell. Everything's in a 50/50 blend of perlite and peat, which is additive and fertilizer free, as far as I'm aware. There's typically lots and lots of bright and direct sun. I maintain 1-2" of distilled or collected rain water in the trays. I've been using distilled since they came out of dormancy as I haven't gotten a good rain since! They are repotted with fresh media every winter. I don't use any fertilizer, or feed them. We don't have a yard man that would've sprayed them with some toxins. They experience dormancy every winter. Once they started coming out of dormancy this year, I was battling a huge infestation of spider mites. Got GreenLight RTU Neem II, which was pretty recommended in the thread I made about that. Treated the plants with it. Mites went away. Plants were doing great. Noticed a couple of plants doing an odd wilting thing. Rather than wilt, they remain upright but shrivel up. I'm also seeing spot browning (not in the throats), premature browning starting at the lid, soft/thin leaves, twisted pitchers and ones with tiny mouths and lids. Discovered shiny little black bugs, and they could be springtails, or harmless beetles, thriving in the soil. Also discovered Neem doesn't stop them. Haven't been treating with Neem since, on the off chance the Neem was causing the damage, and the downfall has been spreading to more plants. There's an overwhelming amount of various spiders. Orb weavers, jumpers, and a large wolf or brown recluse, so much so that the webs are very prolific and bending growth. Definitely not a fun ordeal for an arachnophob. So, since everything else is ruled out systematically (or has been so far on TF), it looks to be bad soil. Here's the catch: Does peat go bad? I got a bale of it, and a bag of perlite (it was in a brown paper bag which was about as big as I was, and was like, 99.5% perlite and .5% quartz) back in May of 2007, and that is the same stuff I've been using all this time (everything was stored in a dry, shaded place), and up until this past season, everything's been thriving and growing marvelously. I only just had to get a new bale a couple months ago, and it was from the same Home Depot, and the same brand as before (Lambert, is it?), and only the new additions have been potted it in, that and my VFTs, and those so far are doing quite well. And because they're so newly established, those &^%$%^# bugs haven't gotten into the mix yet, or atleast, not as heavily as in other places.. The Leucophylla Tarnok, which is fully wilted and limp, is also in new media, but it's the only plant in new media not faring well. Pictures: http://tinypic.com/2mplurkx Flooding has been recommended to get rid of the bugs. Soil toxification from regular treatments of Neem has been suggested. But now it seems to be pretty likely that somehow, my batch of media from the great repotting this past winter got contaminated. It's been recommended that I repot EVERYTHING now, and use less perlite. Thoughts?

So, if you take a peek at my growlist, you'll see I'm no beginner and have a moderate collection already. The thing is, those are ALOT of plants, in the Florida heat, to keep those trays filled drives me nuts. The price isn't what bothers me as much as the method- buying about 10 jugs of distilled water a week at Wal-Mart. Now, that comes up to like, not even $10, but that $10 a week adds up. I certainly don't have the money for a distiller, and even then, I think that would take alot of work for little yield. So what do you guys with larger collections do? (I collect rain, yes, but it hasn't rained in quite awhile)