Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 12/28/2010

Question
Hi. I am going to re-enter the carnivorous plant hobby beginning February. My knowledge from not growing them in 2 years is now clogged. I am starting my collection with Nepenthes glabrata, Heliamphora minor, Cephalotus, and Drosera scorpiodes. I am wanting to keep them under a desl lamp with CFL but don't know what watt type I shoulg use. I plan to buy them already potted with the exception of the Drosera, that is going to be gemmae. I am not going to use a terrarium but rather a small dome for until they can acclimate. I am using live sphagnum for the nepenthes and heliamphora for humidity. I live in the suburbs of Los Angeles and my temps are 85 high and 50 lows. The plants will be near a window so the may get a bit of natural light, not much. I want to know:
watering for the ceph and heli
what cfl bulb wattage
if this setup is good
Thanks

Answer
Hi Brendon,

When watering either Cephalotus or Heliamphora, do lots of top watering.  Keep just a small amount of water in a tray below them.  Neither plant should sit in water for long periods of time.  Cephalotus will benefit from being a little drier; root rot is the most common cause of failure with this species.  The Heliamphora can be a little wetter.  For more information on growing tropical pitcher plants consider our "Grow Carnivorous Plants" volume #3 DVD.  http://www.cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=38&products_id=...

Go for the biggest CFL you can fine.  A 200 watt equivalent is a good size.  This will give you plenty of light for a small collection.  If you can find one in the cool-white or daylight spectrum range that's better, but not vital.  You may need to check stores other than big box places for a larger CFL.  I find that Lowe's and Home Depot don't tend to carry them, just a hundred different varieties of the same little ones.

This set-up is ok.  If you can set up a shelf with a two-tube shoplight, you may find that more practical, and allows you to have a few more plants if artificial light is your sole source of light.
More information on using artificial light can be found in our volume #2 DVD:  http://www.cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=38&products_id=...

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com