Post by stevebooth on Jul 2, 2016 11:16:56 GMT
Back in April I reorganised one of my bogs, whilst doing so I reduced the media depth by about 200mm to save media and of course expense and made a slope so I could get a wet end for the more wet loving plants such as S. psittacina and a drier end for Venus fly traps. I also decided to mix the peat with the large wood flakes used for horse bedding (phosplan which are mostly pine shavings) as it is considerably cheaper than perlite and I have had good results with it as a medium, in pots, over the past three years or so. It will be interesting to se how resilient it is outdoors for prolonged periods, in acid conditions.
The unintended consequence of reducing the soil level, was that the bog dries out quicker, necessitating an increase in the external water storage requirements and that the water level in the bog fluctuates a lot more and in a shorter time period than it used to, not that that has been a problem this year since the end of May. This too will be interesting, to see how the growth of the plants is affected.
Anyhow the plants are now growing well, albeit slowly in the recently cool conditions for the time of year, some are looking good with the S. oreophilas and some of their hybrids having mature pitches, others just staring pitchering properly, early season floppy S. rubra leaves and the S. flava and alata pitchers are just opening. The S. leucophylla are a little slower than the S. flava pitchers and are smaller but will put out their best in the autumn. The S. minors and their hybrids seem to be slower than the S. leucophylla, with the S. psittacinas and S. purpureas (particularly the Southern species subsp. venosas) just starting into proper growth bringing up the rear. The Vfts have been struggling away since mid May and are now beginning to produce some better looking traps, but it will be about three to four weeks before that look like they should. The D. capensis are growing back from their roots, the D. binata are growing well and the Pinguicula grandiflora are enjoying the more shady conditions provided by the new pitcher growth.
I removed all the Darlintoinia from this bog and redistributed them into pots and containers as temporary homes, some are doing Ok whilst others are sulking, I am toying with trying to find some more space to make a dedicated Sphagnum bog for them next year, perhaps with a circulating tank solar aerators and pumps.
Cheers
steve
The unintended consequence of reducing the soil level, was that the bog dries out quicker, necessitating an increase in the external water storage requirements and that the water level in the bog fluctuates a lot more and in a shorter time period than it used to, not that that has been a problem this year since the end of May. This too will be interesting, to see how the growth of the plants is affected.
Anyhow the plants are now growing well, albeit slowly in the recently cool conditions for the time of year, some are looking good with the S. oreophilas and some of their hybrids having mature pitches, others just staring pitchering properly, early season floppy S. rubra leaves and the S. flava and alata pitchers are just opening. The S. leucophylla are a little slower than the S. flava pitchers and are smaller but will put out their best in the autumn. The S. minors and their hybrids seem to be slower than the S. leucophylla, with the S. psittacinas and S. purpureas (particularly the Southern species subsp. venosas) just starting into proper growth bringing up the rear. The Vfts have been struggling away since mid May and are now beginning to produce some better looking traps, but it will be about three to four weeks before that look like they should. The D. capensis are growing back from their roots, the D. binata are growing well and the Pinguicula grandiflora are enjoying the more shady conditions provided by the new pitcher growth.
I removed all the Darlintoinia from this bog and redistributed them into pots and containers as temporary homes, some are doing Ok whilst others are sulking, I am toying with trying to find some more space to make a dedicated Sphagnum bog for them next year, perhaps with a circulating tank solar aerators and pumps.
Cheers
steve
. Incidentally Steve, it's July already
not here it isn't