![]() Water distillation is actually very simple, and understanding it is great not just for getting water for carnivorous plants: it’s also a survival skill. So, I decided to go for distilling water myself. Nor do we plan to buy a filtration system that uses a reverse osmosis method, since they are expensive. And, in our home, buying bottled distilled water is not something we plan to start doing: too much waste and travel go into bottled water, distilled or otherwise. Rainwater is great, when it’s raining, or, if you have a good system for storing it, but I know that when the rains stop in late spring, I’m going to need a new way to get water for my sundew. My plant was starting to flower–a LOT–and look a little sickly, so I deduced the water was to blame and started using rainwater instead. What we didn’t know then, was that the water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (which supplies Brisbane as well as San Francisco with drinking water) contains lime, and lime is bad for bog plants. Our cool little plant monster happily enjoyed some fruit flies and ants as snacks, and we kept the dish below the plant full of water to resemble a sundew’s naturally swampy lifestyle. Next part, I will talk about the pros and cons of growing rare exotic plants in low humidity.When I wrote a while back about the Carnivourous Plants Store in Half Moon Bay, I mentioned that we took home a sundew for ourselves. Water and oxygen intakes will happen simultaneously, but in phase one, the plants get more water, and in phase two, they will get more oxygen. Then moving to phase two (dry), the roots will breathe more oxygen in for photosynthesis. In phase one (wet), the main purpose is to give as much water for the roots. A dry/ wet cycle really means the substrate goes from holding a lot of water to the point it contains less moisture (so the air can easily get in and oxygenate the roots.) It's the dance of air and water, involving two phases. Letting the plants dry out will kill the roots, and cause root rot. If you want to pace out the frequency, you can add peat moss into the mix and have your plants watered in a week or more.īut people said aroids like philodendrons love cycles of dry and wet, right? If you keep watering the plants, will they always stay wet? There is a misconception that you have to let the soil dry out before watering again. I keep my plants either in a very well-draining soil mix or pure moss so I can water them almost every 3-4 days. Hence you need to hydrate your plants more often. The external environment (temperature, airflow, and light.) High temperature, airflows, and light will accelerate water transpiration. Are they in a growing state? Or are the new leaves coming in? If yes, then you need to increase your watering frequency.Į. The more leaves and the bigger the leaf's area, the more water the plants need.ĭ. The bigger and chunkier the roots, the more water your plants need.Ĭ. The airier the potting medium, the more frequently you can water your plant.ī. The type of substrate: How well-draining the soil mix is. There are factors that will determine the watering schedule:Ī. But it's not as simple as increase your watering frequency and call it a day. Yesterday, we learned that you could grow finicky plants in low humidity with the proper watering regiment.
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