Carnivorous plants

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Carnivorous plants
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cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Apr 19, 05 7:22 pm Post subject:

My butterwort seems to survive nearly any fluctuations. As for light, I'd have said that putting it in the shade of other plants would probably work fairly well.

They really are naff as a means for actually controlling insects, though. They look like they should be great, but my experience is that they really suck at pest control!

And the butterword flower, when it chooses to as it currently has, is really beautiful.

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 8:16 am Post subject:
Would your sundew be better suited for this purpose? Or do you think the same about effectiveness as the butterwort?

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 8:23 am Post subject:
There's a website somewhere by a person who grows citrus in the UK, and (s)he uses a carnivorous plant called pinga I think, to capture sciarid (?) flies - the tiny black critters who are associated with indoor plants. So that might be a further option.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 8:35 am Post subject:

Res wrote:

Would your sundew be better suited for this purpose?

Or do you think the same about effectiveness as the butterwort?

A sundew seems to take more. As does the pitcher plant. The venus fly trap suffers the indignity of greenfly most years.

None of them are all that good at biocontrol; I suspect you'd need a heck of a lot of them to achieve anything, and even then you'd not get far.

A prize achievement of the venus fly trap last year was that he caught himself a crane fly. He looked so happy.

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 8:48 am Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

There's a website somewhere by a person who grows citrus in the UK, and (s)he uses a carnivorous plant called pinga I think, to capture sciarid (?) flies - the tiny black critters who are associated with indoor plants. So that might be a further option.

(Pinguicula) Thats the butterwort plant cab does not rate very good. I would think as he suggests, having to fill the greenhouse up with these plants to make it effective would leave you with a big problem. Where do you put your crops?

I would still like to try a few, just to see. Something is better than nothing as at the moment the flies have free raign, except the short while I am watering the seedlings, with intermittent frantic arm waving, resulting in either a squashed

or very releaved fly.

CAB wrote:

A prize achievement of the venus fly trap last year was that he caught himself a crane fly. He looked so happy.

Was he smiling

Richard

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 8:55 am Post subject:

Res wrote:

Aha, that's the bunny. Now I've found the website too:

https://www.saalfelds.freeserve.co.uk/CulturalAdvice.htm

"Sciarid flies, or fungus gnats, is another pest that is associated with using peat-based composts. Leaving the surface damp for long periods encourages them. The larvae then destroy seeds and attack the roots of small seedlings. An unusual way of reducing numbers of these small flies is to intersperse a few plants of Pinguicula weser among the pots. This bog plant gets its nourishment by catching small flies on the tiny sticky drops which cover the leaf surface. I have found this to be quite effective. The photo shows how large numbers of sciarid flies - plus some whiteflies - have been caught.As a bonus the plant produces attractive small pink flowers. "

What about this shoo fly plant? Or marigolds or basil? To repel rather than kill...

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 9:06 am Post subject:

Bugs wrote:

What about this shoo fly plant? Or marigolds or basil? To repel rather than kill...

The marigolds are supossed to be quite good, must get some this year. As for the Basil, what do you use to keep the greenflies off it!

Dont know the shoo fly plant.

Richard

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 9:17 am Post subject:
Haven't had much trouble with greenfly on basil... Shoo fly is nicandra phys-something, I think I might have some seed of it this year so I should get planting!

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 9:48 am Post subject:
Found "KEW - Nicandra physaloides Splash of Cream - Solanaceae - Shoo Fly Plant" on T&M but it says the seeds are poisonous, so I think I'll give that one a miss. Dont think Wifee would be to impressed if I poisoned her or the children!

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 9:52 am Post subject:

Res wrote:

Dont think Wifee would be to impressed if I poisoned her or the children!

The harvest would stretch that much further though

Perhaps you're right. I'm a bit nervous about it myself...

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Wed Apr 20, 05 10:02 am Post subject:
If it was just a flower garden, I would not be to bothered. In the veggie plot it's not worth the risk, slight, but still a risk I'm not willing to take. Next! Back to the marigolds then. At least you can eat them

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Mon Apr 25, 05 1:57 pm Post subject:

Well, I found some down at VH for just under £4 each, Pinguicula Tina.

One was it flower and the other just budding. Both were already covered in compost gnats, so they do seem to catch them but we will have to see how they go with the flies in the greenhouse. Now I've seen them in the flesh, I can understand a little about CAB's concerns about them not being very efficient and thing they are going to struggle with the bigger flies in my greenhouse. Who knows, I might be in for a suprise yet or the flies will

I also got a plastic hanging basket thing with a reservoir in the base, with the idea of potting them up in there. I have used the throughs from the same company with the reservoirs in and they do keep the compost quite moist, most are covered in spagnum moss so I think they will be ok in this hanging one and also the plants are quite small compared to the size of pot so I don't think I am going to suffer with draught.

The only question I have, is because I could not get any moss peat, I picked up a small bag of ericaisous compost and hoped that would be OK to plant them in. Can anyone advise if this would be detrimentle to the plants?

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Apr 26, 05 10:01 pm Post subject:
Wouldn't fancy it. I've been advised against it.

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Wed Apr 27, 05 7:10 am Post subject:
Thanks CAB, I will refrain!

Res

Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 1172
Location: Allotment Shed, Harlow

Posted: Thu May 05, 05 5:16 pm Post subject:
Well, I have to agree with CAB re. effectiveness the poor Pinguicula Tina does not seem to catch an awful lot, just a few little gnats. I need something BIGGER

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