Subrosa's Outdoor Carnivorous Container

[SubRosa]

Like the title says! Back in April I took a half of a 55 gal plastic drum and put about 2" of gravel in the bottom. I then inserted a length of 1.5" PVC to act as a stand pipe and allow me to check the water level. The container was then filled with a mix of about 2/3 peat moss and 1/3 construction sand. I added about 10 gal of RO water to moisten the mix and provide some standing water in the pipe. Initial plants added were a garden store Venus Fly Trap and two sub-tropical Sundews, a D. capensis and a D. spatulata. Later I added some garden center Sarracenias, a rubra, a leucophylla, and two purpureus. Later still I came across some nice sphagnum and some temperate Sundews, D. filiformis and D. rotundifolia. These last three plants were wild collected, but after walking all over them all day long in a VERY public setting I thought it was the least I could do to give them a good home!
One thing I've noted is that even though this has been a moderately dry year, I've only had to water 2 or 3 times all season. I've drained excess water by means of a drip acclimation line over a half dozen times, and a next generation of containers will address the problem of too much water. So here are the pics!

 

[jpappy789]

:thumbsup:

I wish I still had my outdoor temperate setup. How do you personally insulate for the winter?

 

[SubRosa]

They're on dollies, so I can wheel them into my garage for long freezes. It's unheated, but my furnace (which also supplies my domestic hot water) is in there, and it never gets below freezing. I'm still considering an inground set up for next season. I have some larger Pitchers that I got from Meadowview, along with a bunch of really nice hitchhikers since Phil was behind on repotting! I have volunteers of Rhexia, Polygalum, Calopogon, D. filiformis and a few other things I can't ID. They're in a container now but they'll definitely need more space soon.

 

[jpappy789]

Very cool. I tried in my unheated basement but for whatever reason the hibernacula didn't take hold on any of the dews.

 

[fermentedhiker]

Very cool! I'm looking at setting up a hob style refugium on one of my tanks using one of those finnex/marina breeder boxes and suspending some potted pitcher plants in them. Looking at your setup makes me wonder if flytraps and sundews can handle wet "feet" as well as the pitchers.

 

[jpappy789]

Unless your tap has VERY low TDS then the mineral content alone will kill them...also, they like lots of sun so you would have to rig up lighting for them.

 

[SubRosa]

Very cool! I'm looking at setting up a hob style refugium on one of my tanks using one of those finnex/marina breeder boxes and suspending some potted pitcher plants in them. Looking at your setup makes me wonder if flytraps and sundews can handle wet "feet" as well as the pitchers.

I can't answer about VFTs and wet feet other than to say that my container has flooded overnight over a half dozen times. I drained it down the next morning or whatever, so it's never been exposed to extended periods of flooding. The "water table" in the container has run as high as 4" below soil level for a week at a time. Sarracenia Pitchers will get WAY too big for a set up such as you describe, but I've seen Purples growing with constantly very wet feet. And over 2' in diameter! As far as Sundews, Drosera intermedia likes wet feet. I have two small ones I got from Meadowview, where I was told that they naturally grow in thick floating clumps of Utricularia! Mine are in a soupy mix right now, but I'm going to try them on mats of Riccia or whatever floating plant I can get to form a mat in my upcoming NA blackwater tank. If your water is soft enough, the light bright enough and you can keep them from getting blown away or sucked into a pump they would do fine in your set up. They do need a dormant period.

 

[fermentedhiker]

I've got plenty of light(T5HO suspended above the tank). Water hardness and also the nutrient content are my main concerns, although you make a good point about the ultimate size of pitchers. I knew the pitchers could take the wet roots because there is a place I occasionally go camping which is in a flood plain(artificial) and some years they are totally underwater for days if not weeks.

Thanks
Adam

 

[jpappy789]

Sub also brings up a good point...Sarrs and other temperate CPs would need a dormancy period, otherwise they may not survive much past a couple years.

I'd make sure you get a specific TDS reading of the water you are using. Even a splash of hard water on a leaf can sometimes cause problems.

 

[Piranha86]

Looks awesome!