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Bell Jars


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First proper post here, so apologies if this isn't the best place for this!

I've recently gotten into CP, having picked up my VFT from a local gardening center, shortly followed by my sarracenia purpurea and drosera filiformis from Triffid Nurseries. I'm in a first floor flat so unfortunately no garden for a greenhouse and not really enough room for a terrarium, so all three are growing on a West-facing windowsill in individual pots, sitting in trays filled with rainwater. It isn't the sunniest windowsill ever, so it's been suggested that I could try placing glass bell jars over them to make the most of the sunlight they do get.

Has anyone here tried using bell jars like this before or seen it tried? Could it be beneficial? if so, are there any things to be careful of in terms of size and ventilation (I've seen some come with adjustable vents).

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Edited by Netjer
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Incidently, a good way to make a bell jar is to cut the bottom off of a demijohn. You need to file a line about an inch from the bottom with a file. Tie a string soaked in methylated spirit around the line . Set alight to the string and rotate the jar to get it nice and hot. Then plunge the demijohn into cold water and the line will fracture. Finish off the edges of the cut jar with sandpaper and hey presto, a nice bell jar.

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David, my comment was aimed mainly at the original poster (Netjer) who lives in a first floor flat so a window box could be possible... Your situation is quite different so this solution won't work for you. The only thing I can think of is the fridge method for winter dormancy but I have no personal experience so can't really advise... I'm sure somebody on the forum would be able to help with that though.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/11/2018 at 12:47 PM, Bluedog0628 said:

@Netjer Would it be possible to have a window box attached to the outside of the window? Don't know if you're renting or owning the flat or if the lease allows it but it's worth looking into...

Thanks for the responses everyone - some really useful stuff here. :)

Bluedog0628 - the idea had crossed my mind, however my landlord has said no to installing a water butt (even just a free-standing one) as it's apparently a health and safety risk, so I can't see a window box being allowed unfortunately.

 

As it is, I've just put all three plants in the sunniest windowsill I've got and they seem to be doing well - the drosera has really shot up and is catching flies like there's no tomorrow, the sarracenia has put out a couple of new pitchers and the VFT is a new trap every week or so and has put out three flower stems (I know a lot of people don't allow them to flower, but I kind of just want to let it do what it wants this year and if it makes it to next year I'll trim off flowers to see what sort of difference I get).

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