Re: Pest on VFT

From: Susan Farrington (sfarrington@ridgway.mobot.org)
Date: Mon Jul 31 2000 - 06:27:47 PDT


Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2000 08:27:47 -0500
From: "Susan Farrington" <sfarrington@ridgway.mobot.org>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg2298$foo@default>
Subject: Re: Pest on VFT

My suspicion is that you are keeping your plants in less than full sun...
are they inside or outside? And where do you live? Sarracenia and
VFT's like LOTS of sun, and prefer to spend the summer outside.
Also, Sarracenia like to sit in trays of water, but VFT's generally do
NOT. They like it quite moist, of course, but if they are constantly
waterlogged, their roots rot. I suspect you are experiencing an aphid
attack because the plants are stressed in general. Also, what kind of
water are you using? Hopefully it's either distilled water or rain water.
As to the aphids, you could use a cotton ball soaked in alcohol to rub
them off... if you can get your plants in a healthier place outside, the
aphids will probably go away.
Good luck!
Susan

> Hello,
> I am a beginner at this so any help is appreciated. I am fifteen
> and
> have always been interested in horticulture. I have been doing bonsai
> for a few years and have recently acquired a few plants from a nursery
> call Botanique. I ordered, over the Internet, Dionaea muscipula,
> Dionaea muscipula 'Akai Ryu", Sarracenia purpurea, & Drosera
> intermedia. I put all my plants in a plastic pot with a mixture of
> half sand, which is actually play sand that I first rinsed in a bowl,
> and milled sphagnum moss. I have them resting in deep trays and
> watering them by putting water in the tray. I went away for one month
> and when I cam back. The leaves on my VFT's were very long and
> narrow. My red type had many leaves but they were short and some
> without traps. Some of the VFT leaves were deformed and had tiny
> bumps on the leaf. The Pitchers on Sarracenia were long, narrow and
> floppy. This morning I found a few aphids on my VFT. Should I treat
> the plant with alcohol? What am I doing wrong? Any help is greatly
> appreciated. Thank you.
>
>

Susan Farrington
Missouri Botanical Garden
P.O. Box 299
St. Louis MO 63166-0299
susan.farrington@mobot.org
(314)577-9402



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