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QUESTION: Hi my sarracenia and venus flytrap seedlings are growing in a pure peat moss and now there is a ton of algee over the entire pot can i stop this and is it bad or harmfull to them?
ANSWER: Hi Ean,
Once the algae starts, it's hard to stop. Prevention is better than cure. If you can scrape some off that will help. Be sure you're using only distilled water. Try some aggressive rinsing, and don't keep them overly humid. Here's another example where excess humidity causes problems. If the seedlings are large enough, try to transplant them out into fresh media.
The best prevention I've found is to treat the peat with boiling water before sowing seeds. This will kill algae spores. Algae is harder to treat for than fungus since it's not killed by fungicides. It's not harmful once a plant is larger.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: My seedlings are not in high humidity and all of them have about two to three pitcher on them. are they ok to repot and i am using distelled water.
Hi Ean,
Those are easily big enough to transplant. Just lift them out gently with a spoon handle or something similar, carefully clean off the algae and transplant them. After that try to scrape off algae before it forms a thick layer. Sterilizing the soil as I mentioned before will help also.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
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Sarracenia Northwest
Expertise
If your plant is showing poor growth, discoloration, abnormal leaves or possible infestation, the growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin will help you diagnose the problem and get your plants on the right track. Their no nonsense approach has helped thousands of growers all over the world. They can help you too!
Experience
With over 40 years of combined experience, Jeff and Jacob has definitely taken a straight forward approach to growing carnivorous plants. They have encountered many types of diseases, abnormal growth and infestations related to carnivorous plants, and they know what it takes to get plants looking beautiful and healthy again.
Education/Credentials
Authors of Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden and producers of the Grow Carnivorous Plants! DVD Series. They also produce a monthly video podcast to illustrate how plants cycle through the seasons.
No terrariums. No myths. No nonsense.
Just the straight facts from guys who grow and propagate
thousands of carnivorous plants each year.
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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR QUESTION: We no longer answer how-to questions (i.e. How do I propagate...?; How do I grow...?). Instead, we help growers by diagnosing a specific plant problem and offering solutions (i.e. Why is my sundew not producing dew?; Is now a good time to divide my Sarracenia?; Why are the traps turning black?; What's a good substitute for perlite?; Why didn't my seeds germinate?; Can you identify this carnivorous plant for me?) For general plant care, please read our care sheets on our main website: http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets For business questions: http://www.cobraplant.com/contact |
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