AdamH

I'll be there on the Sunday helping at the stand / display, so hopefully I'll see some of you there!

Thanks for sharing all the photos - the plants look stunning, and it sounds as though everyone had a fantastic day! :-) It's a shame I couldn't make it this time - but will plan things well in advance for next time - so hopefully I'll meet up with some fellow CP enthusiasts in 2017!

Aaarrgghh.... You must've jinxed me David! Sadly it turns out that I'll almost certainly be working tomorrow after all, so 90% sure can't make it tomorrow, I was hoping otherwise - sorry Mike... Oh well - there's always next year (or at least, whenever you've settled in after moving [Good Luck with that Mike, by the way! ] - even if it means you're skipping a year or so if necessary...). I wish I could be there - Good Luck tomorrow anyway, I hope it goes well (I'm sure it will), I bet those leucophyllas look stunning - and I hope everyone has a nice day - and hopefully I'll meet up with some CP people again next year, I didn't get to any of the meetings / Open Days etc this year, so hopefully that will change in 2017!

As a very late decision... I'd love to get there on Saturday is possible - there's a 50/50 chance I'll be there, I'm not sure yet due to possible work commitments. And if I don't make it this weekend - I'm sure I'll see you at some point next year Mike - and I hope you & everyone has an enjoyable & successful Open Day, Good Luck!

Hi Ian & Dianne, Hopefully I'll be there - looking forward to it! I can highly recommend Ian & Dianne's Open Day to anyone, well worth the trip!

Yes I must admit I really enjoyed Mike's open day - the first one in several years for me! Many thanks to Mike and Helen for the excellent hospitality, as always. It was also nice to meet up with friends - nice to see you Ian & Dianne, hopefully I'll make it to your open day on 11th July. It was also nice to speak to other growers I hadn't met before, including Jeremiah Harris, Richard Bunn & Tim Bailey, amongst others. Although it's difficult to map people to names on this forum sometimes - I think we need name badges, LOL! Anyway - a very enjoyable day - thank you!

Good idea! And thanks - hopefully it will work out like yours! I must add, my "office" is a room at home (as I mostly work from home) - and the humidity here in Wales is also high (probably similar to Cologne, maybe even higher at times). I may try Drosera adelae soon too. I do think Utricularia in general have the nicest flowers of all the CP genera. Those U.alpina remind me a bit of some Coelogyne orchids (e.g. C.cristata) from a distance with the while + yellow colour scheme. Anyway - I'll wait to see how successful my U.alpina is first before trying U.quelchii later.

Hi OpenFire, Those are fantastic photos of some wonderful plants - thanks for sharing them with us! I'm starting to grow some Utricularia species on my office windowsill, including U.alpina - and will be delighted if they turn out half as good as yours! I've even heard of people growing U.quelchii successfully on windowsills - so if I have success with U.alpina, I may give that one a go in future. And U.asplundii too. Thanks again...

Hi Jaicen, Of those 2 photos in Bristol: the top one looks like Dactylorhiza fuchsii (Common Spotted Orchid), and the bottom one looks like D.praetermissa (Southern Marsh Orchid) [or possibly a hybrid involving that species - Dactys readily hybridise with each other]. As for the earlier photo of orchid leaves - if it was taken near the Sundews (i.e. growing in acidic soil), then, given the spotted leaves, it is most likely to be Dactylorhiza maculata (Heath Spotted Orchid).

Oops... but I forgot to say, thanks for the excellent pics Ada - a very nice find so close to home! I expect that D.rotundifolia occurs within 10 miles radius of me, but I have to travel further afield (35 miles) to see all 3 in one place. But you can't beat the good old Round-Leaved Sundew as a CP! Good luck in your and Jaicen and Daniel's search of your local patch.

There's nothing better than finding CPs (and Orchids too of course!) in the wild. Those Dactylorhiza maculata (Heath Spotted Orchid) are really nice too. I'm lucky to have many Dactylorhizas (mix of D.fuchsii, D.purpurella & D.maculata, and various hybrids and back-crosses between these) growing wild on my own land here in West Wales! I'll have to go hunting for Sundews, Bladderworts, Butterworts & Orchids again soon! Oops... but I forgot to add: Thanks for the excellent pics Ada - a very nice find so close to home! I expect that D.rotundifolia occurs within 10 miles radius of me, but I have to travel further afield (35 miles) to see all 3 in one place. But you can't beat the good old Round-Leaved Sundew as a CP! And it's always a thrill to see them, and pics of them, growing in the wild. Good luck in your and Jaicen and Daniel's search of your local patch.

Hi Mike, Yes, thanks - I'm *hoping* to be there a week on Saturday - fingers crossed! Will be very interesting to see your results. Is that the Melrose Bark? I've used their orchid-grade bark (for orchids of course!) before. I'm hoping we'll finally get a good peat substitute in the not too distant future. (I'm now thinking - equal parts organic salt-free coir, milled pine bark & chopped live sphagnum, to substitute for peat - sounds about right!). Hopefully I'll see you soon Mike - will be good to catch up with everyone! All the best, Adam.

None of my local independent / family-run garden centres sell it any more either - they did up until a year or so ago. I think that, if we want CP-growing to continue to be viable (to the "general public" - who won't be willing to order bales / pallets of peat for a small windowsill collection), then we really need to find a readily available and viable alternative to sphagnum-based peat. Maybe the cultivation of sphagnum itself would be a start - hmm, maybe I should start up a "Sphagnum farm", rows of polytunnels to cultivate the moss en-mass! I am starting to trial "Fertile Fibre" Organic Coir (see: http://www.fertilefibre.com/coir-products/organic-coir/bales.html?SID=6hll7geuaclsde1vih5gj3kn05) as an ingredient in the various mixes for my Drosera, Utricularia and Pinguicula plants (those are the genera I am most interested in). Maybe something like a mix of live / chopped Sphagnum and washed salt-free organic Coir would act as a suitable replacement for peat. Had the CPS got any further in its trials of peat-free compost?

Hi Takaaki, I have just purchased your e-book on Drosera of Japan, and it is an excellent little book - I can highly recommend it! It's interesting that here in the UK (and Europe) we share 2 of your 6 species (Drosera anglica & D.rotundifolia, plus their natural hybrid D. x obovata). Of course we also have D.intermedia (and D. x beleziana, the hybrid with D.rotundifolia) as a native species, but I read in your book it has been introduced in Japan. I was especially intrigued to read about and see photos of pink-flowered Drosera rotundifolia! I had not heard of them before, and wonder if they occur elsewhere in the range of this species? (Should I go searching here in the UK?!). Or maybe do they result from hybrids and back-crosses with D.spatulata? Very interesting... You are lucky to have some nice interesting species and hybrids in Japan. I guess you have some interesting Utricularia species (as well as Pings, e.g. Pinguicula ramosa) there too. Maybe more e-books in future? Many thanks. Adam.

Hi Mike, I'm hoping to visit for your open day on 27th - it would be the first time in several years! But I'm not 100% certain yet if I can make it. Just thought I'd let you know (to help give an idea for numbers etc). All the best... Adam.

I would suggest the "Queensland Forest Sundews": Drosera adelae ("Lance-Leaf Sundew") - this one is the easiest, and probably suitable for open-windowsill culture in the UK (given our humidity) Drosera prolifera ("Hen & Chicks Sundew") - this is a nice one that creates new plants where the flower stems touch the substrate (like strawberries) - also quite easy, but likes more humidity than D.adelae. Drosera schizandra ("Notched Sundew") - this also likes more humidity, and is usually the slowest growing of the 3 species. Drosera prolifera and D.schizandra are probably best in an unheated (or heated) terrarium on the windowsill (e.g. a standard plant propagator), in order to maintain a higher humidity. I think Drosera glanduligera (which is a short-lived annual anyway) is a difficult specialist species to grow (from what I have heard - I have no experience of growing it myself), for the greenhouse or specialist terrarium, so probably isn't suitable for a windowsill. I would recommend you start with D.adelae, which should make a good houseplant for a North-facing windowsill. Other CPs that will grow quite well in the same situation are Mexican Butterworts (Pinguicula), and some of the terrestrial and epiphytic Bladderworts (Utricularia).

Hi, Will this trial include more specialist plants, like Drosera (tuberous, pygmy, S.American, etc), Utricularia (terrestrial & epiphytic), etc? And not just Sarracenia? It would be useful to include as wide a range of CPs as possible. Personally I will concentrate on growing Pinguicula (both temperate and tropical species & hybrids) from now on, as I'm sure it's possible to grow the vast majority of these peat-free already (using Coir, Multi-Purpose Compost / John Innes, Clay granules [terramol / Seramis / cat litter], Pumice, Perlite, Vermiculite, etc, and various mixes thereof). Incidentally, I expect a good alternative to peat would be a 50/50 mix of Fertile Fibre (the Organic version) and chopped/milled Sphagnum moss. Of course we'd have to start cultivating Sphagnum on an agricultural scale to make it worthwhile - maybe several hectares (split over multiple sites) under polytunnel, say in the west of UK / Europe to take advantage of the milder + wetter climate for faster lush growth. Maybe setup a co-operative of CP nurseries / enthusiasts to run the "Sphagnum farms"! Just throwing an idea out there... :-) EDIT: also, I'm sure it must be possible to grow many CPs without peat anyway, at lots of them grow in non-peat-based habitats in-situ: for example, many Australian Drosera grow in laterite or clay-based soils, quartz sand or Eucalyptus-based leaf litter, if I recall correctly from the Allen Lowrie books, so no peat in sight! So it must be possible to provide something closer to their natural soils anyway.

@Iggy - nice photos, thanks for sharing. @Phil - thanks for the tip-off, I'll check my local Lidl store when I go shopping on Thursday - that looks tempting for £50. I've read that Aldi stores also sometimes stock these Bresser USB microscopes. EDIT: unfortunately none left in Lidl (they had them in before Christmas).

Hi Marcel, Chris and Stefan, Many thanks for the extra updates. The general impression I get is that these cheap USB microscopes are really "computer gadgets", alongside other similar USB "toys": I guess it may be ok to start investigating Utrics or similar items, for identification purposes, but you would probably have to spend a lot more (hundred(s) of pounds or euros?) to get a decent USB-connected microscope. I *may* get the cheapest one (under £30) just to have a look, I haven't decided yet! I'm actually surprised that there isn't a wider range of USB microscopes out there. I found these - Digital Microscopes from Wedgwood - that start at over £120 when you include VAT, but not much in the "sub £100" range. Just found this one - Celestron Microscope from Amazon.co.uk Anyone else have any experience with different USB microscopes? Thanks again...

Thanks for the feedback Stephen - maybe not such a good idea then! Oh well... Any other recommendations for USB Microscopes? (Preferably ones that work with Windows and Linux [and Mac OS X too is a bonus]). It looks as though I'll have to save my pennies for a more expensive system (which could be some time away, it's a bit low down on my priorities in these tough economic times...). Thanks again.

Hi everyone, I'm interested in getting a cheap USB Microscope (may get a more up-market one later if required) in order to study, photograph and film CPs (in particular Utricularia) on my laptop / netbook, and was wondering: has anyone used the Veho VMS-001 miscroscope? See here: Veho VMS-001 at Amazon.co.uk Does anyone have experience or comments about this device, and would it be suitable for studying Utricularia traps and seed? (There is also a x400 magnification version - see: Veho VMS-004 at Amazon.co.uk - but I think x400 is too high magnification for Utric traps in general?) Many thanks.

Hi Mike, Sadly I can't make it this year - too much work to do (both "work" work, and in the garden), just at the wrong time! First time I will have missed it for 2 or 3 years. I hope to get to at least one more Open Day sometime this year if at all possible - in the meantime, I hope you have a great day Mike, and I'm sure that everyone who gets there will enjoy it. See you next year!

Hi Mobile, Sorry to drag up an old post, but I was just wondering: how did your Pinguicula plants get on in the mix containing Cat Litter? I have just bought some Tesco "Low Dust" cat litter as a Seramis substitute to use in a mix for Mexican Pings (I will probably use equal parts Perlite, Vermiculite, Cat Litter, Sharp Sand and New Horizon Organic Peat-Free Multipurpose Compost). Many thanks.

Wow, that's a beautiful and distinctive species! Is Pinguicula mariae in cultivation anywhere yet?

Hi Langy, I'd love to come along if that's ok, and have sent you an email. Looking forward to it!