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New member saying hello !


North West Neps

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Hi all,

Well i never thought i'd find myself on a carnivorous plant forum !

A few weeks ago, i went to visit a stranger who was offering free plastic plant pots. So i thought i'd pop along for 2 minutes and grab some, with the intention of using them to start potting common houseplants to brighten up my drab flat that the council had given me after i was homeless. 2 and a half hours later, i was leaving with my pots and also an unexpected half a dozen dormant cp's ! I was also told about this forum, so i thought it only right that i should sign up and start learning how to look after my new 'alien' plants !

I've been reading a wealth of interesting information on here and seen some fascinating, yet curious, photographs. And i must admit i've become hooked ! I live in a first floor flat, so i'm not lucky enough to have a garden or a greenhouse, but i do have two long south facing windowsills with radiators beneath them. Since bringing the plants indoors they've started sprouting new growth rapidly, so more quick research and learning was required !

I was given a selection of Sarracenia's, Drosera's, and VFT's and the majority of them were labelled, which made reading up on them easier. I don't think the Drosera's and VFT's are going to be a problem on my windowsill, but i'm not sure i'm going to want some of the Sarracenia's blocking my outside view if they grow to be about 3 feet tall, like i've read ! But i intend looking after them all for this first season to see which ones i like, and next year i'll probably pass on any that i consider to be too tall and silly for a windowsill ! I think i'll even start my own photo gallery on here to keep a record of their growth.

I can honestly say that i've become addicted already, isn't it funny how sometimes something can happen in life that you least expect, and it just grabs your attention and interest immediately. I wasn't even aware that some cp's grow wild in the UK ! Sure, i had a VFT bought from some garden centre when i was a kid, but when it turned black, i thought it was dead and threw it in the bin. If only i knew then what i know now !

I'm already excitedly looking to increase my collection, and i'm hoping to get some Nepenthes and Cephalotus next. These plants fascinate me even more in their appearance, and i think that's where my main interest is going to lie as i progress with my new hobby. Although, i'm open to other suggestions as to what plants would be good for a windowsill, so any recommendations would be gratefully received.

Anyway, that's a little bit about me, i'm happy to be here and look forward to learning as much as i can and meeting new friends. And please go easy on me if i start asking some noobish questions on the forums, we all have to start somewhere !

Cheers !

Edited by Welshy
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Welcome! You certainly seem to have caught the bug, so to speak. You'll probably have it for life! What are the species that you have?

Many nepenthes can be grown very well on the windowsill and they would not disappoint you. What kind of nepenthes have you been looking at?

Cephalotus is also a good choice. Some tropical drosera and Utricularia would be suitable, and mexican pings.

A good sarracenia for the windowsill could be psittacina or purpurea, they don't get too tall.

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Thanks James and Mark !

The plants i have been given are labelled :

S. Leucophylla 'fading vein'

S. Leucophylla (unknown)

S. Leucophylla LO3 (don't get me confused already !)

S. R.G. x S.G. (any ideas what this is folks, i assume it's a hybrid of two?)

S. Flava x Alata 'red lid'

S. Schnell's Ghost x Rubri (?)

S. Purpurea

D. Carpensis

D. Filaformis 'tracyi'

4 unlabelled VFT's, one with all green traps, two with red/green traps (but 2 different varities i think), and one which i'm sure had all deep red traps and stems when i had it in it's semi dormant state, although the new growth since being on my windowsill seems to be plain green.

I've also got some other Sarrencia's which were not labelled at all, so that should be interesting to see what develops. I was also given some random seed heads, which i now beleive may be Sarrecenia's too, so i've already been out and bought peat moss and perlite to sow these !

I've been reading up and looking at photos of S. Purpurea as i've already got one, and as you say James, it seems a suitable size for a windowsill so i'll definately be keeping that one.

With regards to Nepenthes and Cephalotus, i'm not sure which ones i'd be interested in specifically at the moment, as so far i've concentrated mainly on researching the plants i have already. I just know though from seeing photos, that they are going to be favourites. I'm not too sure i'm going to be interested in Pings though, they don't really appeal to me......... yet.

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The plants i have been given are labelled :

S. Leucophylla 'fading vein'

S. Leucophylla (unknown)

S. Leucophylla LO3 (don't get me confused already !)

S. R.G. x S.G. (any ideas what this is folks, i assume it's a hybrid of two?)

S. Flava x Alata 'red lid'

S. Schnell's Ghost x Rubri (?)

S. Purpurea

D. Capensis

D. Filiformis ssp. tracyi

The L03 on the leucophylla is a code number, which allows growers to identify specific plants. For example, the L03 of Mike King's plants is the yellow flowered form 'Schnell's ghost'. See: http://www.johnjearrard.co.uk/plants/sarracenia/deconfusifier.html

Not entirely sure about the r.g. x s.g.

'Schnell's ghost' x rubric will be a hybrid between a leucophylla, in fact the plant I mentioned above 'Schnell's Ghost', and a S. flava rubricorpora. A hybrid between a leuco and a flava is usually called a S. x moorei.

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The plants i have been given are labelled :

S. leucophylla 'fading vein' A random plant that starts veined and fades away through the season so discriptive only

S. leucophylla (unknown) Seed grown

S. leucophylla LO3 (don't get me confused already !) PJ Plants S. leucophylla, green and white code L 03 (L stands for leucophylla)

S. R.G. x S.G. (any ideas what this is folks, i assume it's a hybrid of two?) S. rubra gulfensis, mutant green form x S. leucophylla 'Schnells Ghost' ('Schnells Ghost' is an official registered cultivar)

S. flava x alata 'red lid'

S. Schnell's Ghost x Rubri S. leucophylla 'Schnells Ghost' x S. flava Var. rubricorpora (Phil Adadeji clone)

S. purpurea This should be Mike King-PP6

D. capensis

D. filiformis Var. tracyi (Hans Lhurs) I think he introduces this clone maybe?

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Hi

Welcome to the forum. Don't ever worry about asking noobish queations, I still do it, even afte being here from the early days.

If you live in a flat, a terrarium might be a good way to go, that way you can grow many different plants from many genus's.

Cheers

Alex.

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Ah, thanks for clearing those up Ian. I guess the cat is out of bag now as to who gave me the plants lol.

I didn't want to name drop on the open forum, considering i was given a load of freebies, so i hope you're ok about this ? I don't want to rock the boat within days of signing up here.

Alexa, yeah i've been reading a little bit into terrariums, but i'm not sure yet if that's the way to go or not for me, as personally i prefer to view plants as nature intended and not behind glass. I don't doubt there are benefits to terrariums, i'm just not sure yet if they're for me. But maybe one day !

It's a case of information overload for me at the moment, so much to read and so much more to learn. One step at a time i suppose, i don't want to run before i can walk !

But i appreciate everyone's tips so far, thank you.

Edited by Welshy
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Hi Welshy........

Glad to see you on here. No problem about the name........ we gave away a load of free plants for postage on here last year.

When you come for the open day you will see all my Mexican pings.......... they are very easy to grow :)

Dianne

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Hi Welshy, welcome to the forums, glad you could join us. I didn't really see the point of growing Pings to begin with either...until I got some that is, now I'm a convert. But you've got your hands full already with your great selection of plants and you'll need to save something for another day, half the fun is in always being able to find some new plant you want to add to your collection, so no need to rush ;)

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Just thought i'd let you all know that i've created a gallery now which can be found HERE.

Nothing much to look at so far, it's more of a personal record for myself to look back on and track progress. But please feel free to leave any comments to a particular photo to aid me get a rough idea what some of the unknown Sarracenia's could be. I understand this may be difficult until the plants are fully grown and coloured, but i'd be interested to hear your thoughts, tips, and advice.

I'm here to learn !

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