New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

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elgecko
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:31 pm
Location: PA

New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by elgecko »

Hello all.
Been snooping around the forums for a short time now and decided to join.

I’ve been growing carnivorous plants over 15 years now.
I’ve always liked the looks of some cactus and succulents but never purchased any. I didn’t have the room. Every inch of growing space was for CP’s. Recently I’ve been going through my collection and getting rid of plants which do not look interesting to me anymore. I only had them because they were carnivorous.
Now that I have some space, I’ve been getting some cactus and succulents.

I already have found out that I’m making some mistakes.
I’ve repotted many of my plants in a store bought cactus mix. I should know better. I don’t plant any CP’s in any store bought mix, I make a blend, and I have Google…. Oh did I mention I watered the plants after repotting. Seems to not be a smart move either…..
I’m hoping they will be fine in the store soil mix as I don’t want to stress the plants by repotting them again.
So much to learn….

I’m hoping not to over water the new plants. CP’s love moist, wet soil. A death sentence for cactus and succulents. I just have to remember it’s ok not to water these plants…LOL

I’m sure I’ll have questions along the way that I’m sure you experienced growers will be able to answer.

I’m being lazy, do cactus flowers self-pollinate? How long till flowers set seed?

I’ll get some pics of my up of my cactus soon since that why I’m here.



How about a few pictures of carnivorous plants I’ve taken over the years.

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Anyone interested in CP's now?
I may have extras to trade for cactus. LOL
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gemhunter178
Posts: 2762
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 6:10 pm
Location: Massachusetts,USA. Zone 6A

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by gemhunter178 »

Welcome! Those are some impressive plants!
A cactus and succulent collector who especially likes Ariocarpus. …Though I have a bit of everything! Want some pictures? See my flickr! I also do art and such.
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adetheproducer
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Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:15 pm
Location: Porth, the Rhondda, Wales

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by adetheproducer »

Hello and welcome. Cool plants I do like these but have failed with every purchase of a carnivorous plant they always rot on me. Nice to see such large pots nice and full. I to have branched out, if you will, to new plants and revived a child interest in bonsai/penjing which ever term you prefer. Alway good to try something different now and then. Hope you enjoy the forum there is plenty of great people and lots of advice hopefully your cacti will end up as impressive that pot of little pitcher plants you are holding.
And as the walls come down and as I look in your eyes
My fear begins to fade recalling all of the times
I have died and will die.
It's all right.
I dont mind
I dont mind.
I DONT MIND
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hegar
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Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by hegar »

Hello Steven,
I too welcome you to the cactus and succulent forum. Like gemhunter178, I too am amazed at the variety of carnivorous plants you have. I did enjoy looking at that "sun dew-like" plant getting hold of that caterpillar. Those plants are very interesting indeed. Some do not even look, like they could belong to that group, e.g. the plant that is flowering like a violet or the one that resembles a tuft of grass. I especially like the images 11 and 16, with those claw-like structures on the plants that prevent the escape of the captured prey insect.
With the addition of cacti you are going a completely different route. Which kind of cactus plants do you have at this time? Did you get both "jungle cacti" and the "desert cacti"? If you are only half as successful growing cacti as you seemingly are with growing carnivorous plants, then you will be doing alright in my opinion.

Harald
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elgecko
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:31 pm
Location: PA

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by elgecko »

Thanks. Glad to be here.
adetheproducer wrote:Hello and welcome. Cool plants I do like these but have failed with every purchase of a carnivorous plant they always rot on me. Nice to see such large pots nice and full. I to have branched out, if you will, to new plants and revived a child interest in bonsai/penjing which ever term you prefer. Alway good to try something different now and then. Hope you enjoy the forum there is plenty of great people and lots of advice hopefully your cacti will end up as impressive that pot of little pitcher plants you are holding.
What CP's have you tried?
hegar wrote:Hello Steven,
I too welcome you to the cactus and succulent forum. Like gemhunter178, I too am amazed at the variety of carnivorous plants you have. I did enjoy looking at that "sun dew-like" plant getting hold of that caterpillar. Those plants are very interesting indeed. Some do not even look, like they could belong to that group, e.g. the plant that is flowering like a violet or the one that resembles a tuft of grass. I especially like the images 11 and 16, with those claw-like structures on the plants that prevent the escape of the captured prey insect.
With the addition of cacti you are going a completely different route. Which kind of cactus plants do you have at this time? Did you get both "jungle cacti" and the "desert cacti"? If you are only half as successful growing cacti as you seemingly are with growing carnivorous plants, then you will be doing alright in my opinion.

Harald
The plant that looks like a violet is a Pinguicula, also known as Butterworts.
Picture #11 is Cephalotus follicularis
Picture #16 is Nepenthes hamata

Is it bad that I don't know if I have "jungle cacti" or "desert cacti"? LOL I need to research more what I have.
I posted pics of all my plants here: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38915&p=332373#p332373
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hegar
Posts: 4596
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:04 am
Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by hegar »

Like any "newbie" I am sure, that you are going to learn quickly to figure out, to what category your plants belong.
By the way, you are a great photographer!
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elgecko
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:31 pm
Location: PA

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by elgecko »

I will learn.

Thanks. Photography is one of my many, many hobbies I have.
If you have 15 min free, a large screen, and a good sound system, and like nature shots, I recommend my video here:

https://youtu.be/kCbh0BQG2Rw
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greenknight
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Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:18 am
Location: SW Washington State zone 8b

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by greenknight »

Welcome! Yes, great photos, obvious that you're serious about photography (even without the copyright marks).:)

As for your questions about pollination, it varies widely. Some need a pollinator, others are self-fertile - they may need something or someone to transfer pollen anyway, but some will set seed without the flowers ever opening. Seed generally ripens months later. On Mammillarias and their kin, the flowers shrivel up and disappear, fruits may appear months later,seemingly out of nowhere - but some hold the seed internally for years! We have a whole forum on pollination.
Spence :mrgreen:
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elgecko
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:31 pm
Location: PA

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by elgecko »

greenknight wrote:Welcome! Yes, great photos, obvious that you're serious about photography (even without the copyright marks).:)

As for your questions about pollination, it varies widely. Some need a pollinator, others are self-fertile - they may need something or someone to transfer pollen anyway, but some will set seed without the flowers ever opening. Seed generally ripens months later. On Mammillarias and their kin, the flowers shrivel up and disappear, fruits may appear months later,seemingly out of nowhere - but some hold the seed internally for years! We have a whole forum on pollination.
Thanks for the info.

I started to add copyright marks on my pictures because I was finding the pictures I took used by sellers on Ebay. I would post my pictures on a CP forum. The problem is I sell my extra plants on Ebay and didn't want the other sellers using my pictures for their gain, or confusing buyers seeing the same pictures by different sellers that wasn't me.
apoplast
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Jun 24, 2017 12:58 am
Location: Minnesota, USA - Perfect for cactus, right?!

Re: New guy here. Growing the most contradictory plants I could find. LOL

Post by apoplast »

Older thread, I realize, but I wanted to say hello to the well know "El Gecko"! I know well of your growing skills with CP. You have some great plants that you grow under some unexpected conditions - a really great demonstration of horticultural chops!

I joined here recently because I'm getting back into growing succulents and arid adapted plants. I've grown a few in the past, but it's time to start again. I think succulents and CP are natural partners for interest. In fact when I talk to people about CP I explain they are much like succulents. CP have disallowed - see forum rules to be the nutrient version of succulents (that is they survive in conditions of minimal availability and make the most of resources when they can grab them - a little more literally in the case of CP). And unlike say, orchids, neither group of plants is a single taxonomic unit. These adaptations have appeared across multiple lineages of plants - a feature that fascinates me endlessly! Plus, both groups of plants have a tendency to bite back, though succulents are more likely to bit you!

Didn't realize you sold your extra plants until I saw the above discussion. Want to PM me the link? Thanks, and looking forward to interacting with you here (good to have a small CP contingent)!
"If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener."
-- J.C. Raulston, horticulturist, founder of the J.C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, N.C.
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