# A Few Carnivorous Plants - Pic Heavy



## Crissytal (Aug 10, 2005)

Hello everyone. I thought I would post a few things that dealt with my other two hobbies: carnivorous plants and photography. I purchased my first DSLR a few years ago. I was warned about the extra weight and how inconvenient it can be compared to point and shoots. I'm glad I didn't listen. My camera is a Canon T1i. It's nothing too fancy, but it does what I need. As far as lenses go, I enjoy shooting with vintage manual focus lenses. These were shot with a Vivitar 28mm 2.8 Close Focus Wide Angle lens in Pentax mount. I use adapters that allow the lenses to attach to my camera. Anyone else use vintage/all manual lenses?

Here are some pictures of a few of my carnivorous plants. These are taken handheld. Not much processing (I'm still learning).

Cephalotus follicularis 'Czech Giant'









Drosera slackii









Drosera ultramafica









Drosera graomogolensis









Pinguicula agnata 'True Blue' flower









Thanks for looking,
Crystal


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## LB79 (Nov 18, 2011)

Post some more pics after throwing flies in!


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## mythin (Jun 26, 2009)

Awesome pictures! I have a few utricularia species and one venus fly trap, i want to get into pitcher plants next. BTW you have Drosera ultramafica mislabeled as a utric, but nice and healthy looking plants none the less!


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## Crissytal (Aug 10, 2005)

LB79, I'll see about getting a pic or two after feeding .

Thanks mythin, D. ultramafica certainly isn't an Utric. Thanks for catching the typo for me (that's what I get for posting stuff when I'm over tired lol)! Which kind of pitcher plants are you interested in, Sarracenia or Nepenthes?


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## PinkRasbora (Jan 22, 2005)

Great pictures. though those plants look like they belong in a sci fi movie lol


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

Haha, that "extra weight" of a DSLR brings so much more than it takes in results. Great shots.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Nice carnivorous plants!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice plants!


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

How difficult are they to care for? I'd love to get a little carnivorous terrarium going.


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## Indian fern (Jul 16, 2012)

I have Nepehthes, Sarracenia flava, Drosera, butterwort and venus flytrap. They require acidic soil. Place them near a east or west facing window. bright light suits them. A terrarium with mixed carnivorous plants will look good. feeding can be twice a month. use insects, dont use meats such as chicken pork, etc. :>


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Nubster said:


> How difficult are they to care for? I'd love to get a little carnivorous terrarium going.


Pretty easy or moderately difficult depending on which species you decide to grow. There's an ongoing thread in the Lounge about carnivorous plant care.


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## Crissytal (Aug 10, 2005)

Thanks everyone for the kind words .

Geniusdudekiran, the 'extra weight' is definitely worth it! I can't stand the quality of the pictures that my point and shoot takes after getting the hang of my DSLR.

Nubster, as it's been mentioned, it just depends on what you would like to grow. There are many many species of carnivores. You have your temperates that grow outside year around and require a winter dormancy (venus flytraps, Sarracenia, some Drosera species). Then there's the tropicals like Pinguicula, Nepenthes, Heliamphora, Utricularia, several Drosera, Byblis (well summer annual), etc. I grow my tropicals under t12 lighting on a grow rack. I also have good results with growing in a south facing window (I slowly acclimate though). Depending on what species you choose will depend on what growing media. They all need nutrient deficient media. Peat based mixes work for most. Pinguicula don't grow well for me in peat based mixes so I use a 4 to 1 mix of vermiculite and perlite. Nepenthes I use cypress mulch mixed with a small amount of peat, vermiculite, sphagnum moss, perlite, and sand. Sphagnum and perlite will work as well. Drosera, VFTs, Sarrs, and most Utrics I use 50:50 peat and sand. In my experience, feeding isn't necessary. The plants do just fine fending for themselves. It can speed up growth but is not necessary unless you are growing certain species from seed. Indian fern is correct, if you decide to feed, don't use meats. I like to use crushed fish food for the Drosera, cichlid pellets of different sizes for the Nepenthes and Heliamphora pitchers. Use a good quality food. 

A couple dews after feeding:


















A few pictures from earlier this year.

Sarracenia flowers:


















Sarracenia hybrids:









Sarracenia flava var. cuprea "Coppertop"









Nepenthes hamata


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