Gardening with a strange twist

[Kevin L]

Hi Guys:

Where I live in Florida is borderline--tropical, so I can grow certian plants that may not thrive in other parts of the country.

Please consider the below image:

This is a nepenthes pitcher plant.

There are about 85 known species and innumerable hybrids.

I've grown them before, and they climb up a trellis like a vine.

My point is that they eat bugs. It's a carnivorous plant that utterly feasts on flying insects . . . especially mosquitoes, horse flies, bot flies, house flies, flying cockroaches, and so on.

If they were planted around the perimeter of the house, and maybe one or two kept indoors (and rotated outside), do you think it would help with a bug problem? After all, people use sticky fly paper.

They seem to grow very well here in Florida. The pitcher of the plant has downward-pointimg hairs that prevent a bug from climbing out. The plant smells sweet, as it secrets a sweet nectar for bait . . . except that this nectar is naturally laced with an opiate drug that sedates the fly (like a date-rape drug for insects) so that it tumbles painlessly into the pool of digestive fluids, where it gets dissolved and absorbed by the plant.

On top of it all, the plant is attractive.

I have wondered about the idea of planting it with tomatoes (or other vegetables) with the idea that pest bugs will get eaten by the pitcher plant, so I'll have healthier crops and greater yields without chemicals (and the expense of buying chemicals).

 

[Maverick]

Wife loves those plants

 

[Brent S]

I don’t think they will get rid of pests in the garden or around the home completely by any means, but between the beauty and the help with pests it’s a win win. Sure beats starting out with chemicals on vegetables you’re going to eat!

 

[Kevin L]

I don’t think they will get rid of pests in the garden or around the home completely by any means, but between the beauty and the help with pests it’s a win win. Sure beats starting out with chemicals on vegetables you’re going to eat!

Thank you.

That's what I was thinking too, except that I don't know if it's as practical as I think.

Still . . . Nepenthes merrilliana has pitchers that are bigger than footballs. See below:

With 5 or 6 plants with 50 or 60 pitchers each . . . I think it would make a dent in the Florida bug problem.

But maybe I'm wrong.

I like the idea of a garden with these plants mixed in. I also have the idea of using a cotton ball to smear fly sex phereonomes (used for bait for jar traps in horse barns) around the lips of the pitchers.

What does everyone have to say about this idea? I would like pros and cons. Also, any other ideas that can be attached to this concept.

Thank you all in advance.

 

[GaRp58]

Anything which is non-chemical and still works IS GOOD!! Listen to your common sense and learn by doing.
BTW: pro and con are opposites...right??
Then I have a question::: is CONGRESS the opposite of PROGRESS??
LIVE FREE. GP

 

[Kevin L]

Anything which is non-chemical and still works IS GOOD!! Listen to your common sense and learn by doing.
BTW: pro and con are opposites...right??
Then I have a question::: is CONGRESS the opposite of PROGRESS??
LIVE FREE. GP

Thank you. I've decided to plant these things around my house.

As a writer, I like your wordplay.

 

[Kevin L]

Wife loves those plants

I have decided to move forward. I've kept these plants before.

Ask your wife for tips, pitfalls, pests, and so on for me? If it's not a pain in the ass? I've done my research online (and I've had an interest in insect-eating plants since early childhood), but I've always felt that word-of-mouth is better for rounding out what I know . . . or, more accurately, what I think I know.

If it's okay, can you ask your wife about soil mixture? I plan on using perlite, sand, and finely milled sphagnum moss, with maybe some peat moss thrown in.

In Ocala, Florida, there are a few nights of the year that may get into the 30s, but we generally have warm, humid weather year-round.

I plan on planting some in the soil that's on the side of the house, put a trellis there, and have the vines climb up. That's for starters. Later, I plant some more in a garden that I have plans for.

Your wife's opinion (and criticisms) would be very helpful.

Thank you again.

 

[Maverick]

I have decided to move forward. I've kept these plants before.

Ask your wife for tips, pitfalls, pests, and so on for me? If it's not a pain in the ass? I've done my research online (and I've had an interest in insect-eating plants since early childhood), but I've always felt that word-of-mouth is better for rounding out what I know . . . or, more accurately, what I think I know.

If it's okay, can you ask your wife about soil mixture? I plan on using perlite, sand, and finely milled sphagnum moss, with maybe some peat moss thrown in.

In Ocala, Florida, there are a few nights of the year that may get into the 30s, but we generally have warm, humid weather year-round.

I plan on planting some in the soil that's on the side of the house, put a trellis there, and have the vines climb up. That's for starters. Later, I plant some more in a garden that I have plans for.

Your wife's opinion (and criticisms) would be very helpful.

Thank you again.

She don't grow them, she thinks there some of the coolest plants. Those won't grow here.

 

[Kevin L]

She don't grow them, she thinks there some of the coolest plants. Those won't grow here.

My misunderstanding. Thank you anyway.

 

[KateMTx]

These plants are pretty cool but for some reason the idea of plants eating things is a little unnerving. It reminds me of those sci-fi shows where some kind of alien plant-like creature can eat humans. They could make good fly-traps though.

 

[Kevin L]

These plants are pretty cool but for some reason the idea of plants eating things is a little unnerving. It reminds me of those sci-fi shows where some kind of alien plant-like creature can eat humans. They could make good fly-traps though.

Thank you.

I agree with you.

When I was researching pitcher plants, I was surprised to find out that even the common potato plant is, by some criteria, a carnivorous plant. Evidentally, insects get poisoned when they try to eat the leaves, and the plant gets nourishment from the decomposing dead insects.

The same thing is true of petunia.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...AxAB&usg=AOvVaw3gZrCj9rY0t4BX_k0O5BLI&ampcf=1

Some nepenthes pitcher plants eat rats, mice, and bats.

 

[tmttactical]

Kevin, any idea how well these plants would do in a greenhouse to avoid using ANY type of chemical bug killers? I really like the idea of a plant turning the tables on the insects. A person may have to bring them in during the worst of winter but could move them back out for the next spring planting. Just a thought.

 

[Kevin L]

Kevin, any idea how well these plants would do in a greenhouse to avoid using ANY type of chemical bug killers? I really like the idea of a plant turning the tables on the insects. A person may have to bring them in during the worst of winter but could move them back out for the next spring planting. Just a thought.

They do very well in a greenhouse. I know that these plants were utterly fascinating to the Victorians in England during the 1800s. They grew these plants in greenhouses in Northern England, and they took them out during spring and summer.

I've kept a few of them before, and they grow like weeds.

They still get pests like aphids, but my plant routinely collected moths, flying roaches, flying ants, houseflies, greenbottle flies, bluebottle flies, mosquitoes, and beetles. I sometimes placed a light outside at night over the plant, and it would really gorge itself then.

I had the plant as a novelty and curiosity, though, and wasn't using it for pest control . . . so my ideas are experimental at this point.

I do know that an organic restaurant used a different kind of pitcher plant as a table centerpiece in their dining room, and they believed that it helped with flies and other kinds of bugs.

The pitcher plant (another favorite of mine) used in this restaurant was a North American species called Sarracenia purpurea.

See below:

I have also kept this plant. The pitchers can get to be about as big as styrafoam coffee cup.

They are attractive plants, hardy, and very easy to take care of . . . except for a technicality which--while disqualifying the plant for me in Florida--may actually be better for you.

The issue is winter dormacy.

A sugar maple tree loses its leaves in winter, and hibernates. This is neccesary for the tree, as it resets its hormones and biochemistry. If you try to grow a sugar maple in Florida, it will thrive until winter, and then die because it can't hibernate and reset its biochemistry.

It's the same issue with Sarracenia purpurea . . . so I accidentally killed mine by not sticking it in the fridge when I was supposed to.

My point is that in your situation, you might be able to use these pitcher plants instead of tropical Nepenthes, and not need a greenhouse when things get cold late in the year. They will just go dormant and hibernate like they're supposed to, and be healthier in the spring.

These plants are inexpensive, attractive, and hardy. They can be easily propagated from cuttings. Maybe these plants might work better for you.

I do know that S. purpurea grows naturally in Canada, Nova Scotia, and parts of New England, so I believe that they would survive winter in Arizona and thrive with proper care.

 

[tmttactical]

Kevin, Thanks for the reply. The concept running through my pea picking little head was to use them help control insects that may damage crops growing in a greenhouse. Not being the farmer type, I hoped to grow some easy care (very limited weeding) food crops. I did not want or plan to use any commercial pest control products. Also being old and lazy, I planned to use raised planters, so I thought maybe I could just plant these mini carnivores in a bucket and move them around the green house as needed. I understand Lady bugs do a good job on aphids but I don't know how they would do in a small greenhouse. I also don't know if the Lady bugs could resist the temptation produced from the mini-carnivores. Just some wild thoughts, running rampant. Your pictures are outstanding.

 

[Kevin L]

Kevin, Thanks for the reply. The concept running through my pea picking little head was to use them help control insects that may damage crops growing in a greenhouse. Not being the farmer type, I hoped to grow some easy care (very limited weeding) food crops. I did not want or plan to use any commercial pest control products. Also being old and lazy, I planned to use raised planters, so I thought maybe I could just plant these mini carnivores in a bucket and move them around the green house as needed. I understand Lady bugs do a good job on aphids but I don't know how they would do in a small greenhouse. I also don't know if the Lady bugs could resist the temptation produced from the mini-carnivores. Just some wild thoughts, running rampant. Your pictures are outstanding.

It's my understanding that lady bugs can be very good for controlling certian insects. People who grow reefer often use ladybugs to help with the aphids and white flies, as smoking weed tainted with traces of pesticide is not the healthiest thing in the world to do.

As to whether they will fall prey to the pitcher plant? I don't have the foggiest idea.

I do appreciate the compliment on the photos, but I didn't take them myself. They are from the Internet.

 

[Kevin L]

I have done more research, and found fly attractant that's made for fly traps in barns.

I have the idea of using this fly attractant in combination with the pitcher plants.

See below:

This stuff is around $16.00 or so, and won't break the bank.

While I was looking around, I noticed that there are specific attractants for cutworm, weevils, white fly, and other agricultural pests.

Perhaps the combo of the pitcher plant and attractants will work better than just the pitcher plants alone.

 

[tmttactical]

Kevin, don't care you did not take the pictures. You posted them and I liked them, that simple. I do like the idea of using Mother Nature's plants and critters to fight off some of Mother Nature's other critters. Sort of a tit for tat concept. I also like the idea of using bait (attractants) to kill the little unwanted critters. I don't like pesticides or poisons, due to unintended results. Let Nature kill Nature. Thanks for the idea's and info.

 

[Kevin L]

Kevin, don't care you did not take the pictures. You posted them and I liked them, that simple. I do like the idea of using Mother Nature's plants and critters to fight off some of Mother Nature's other critters. Sort of a tit for tat concept. I also like the idea of using bait (attractants) to kill the little unwanted critters. I don't like pesticides or poisons, due to unintended results. Let Nature kill Nature. Thanks for the idea's and info.

Anytime.

When I move forward with my nepenthes pitcher plants, I'll post pics and keep everyone informed.

 

[GaRp58]

I'll post pics and keep everyone informed

Could you make a couple of slowmotion videos of the plants at work and doing their jobs??? I had a couple of Venus Flytraps for my kids and they loved to catch flies and throw them into the plants just to watch them close. GP

 

[KateMTx]

I have a little mini-garden at my apartment now. Just a couple succulents and a mini rose bush right now but I am going to be adding some herbs soon and maybe a few other things. If I have too much trouble with bugs I may have to try this concept.

 

[Kevin L]

I have a little mini-garden at my apartment now. Just a couple succulents and a mini rose bush right now but I am going to be adding some herbs soon and maybe a few other things. If I have too much trouble with bugs I may have to try this concept.

Please let me know how it works, and which kind of plants you use.