Latest / Kendall County News - Shaw Local / Down the Garden Path: Plant a mini-bog to get your feet wet growing carnivores

Transcript

Down the Garden Path: Plant a mini-bog to get your feet wet growing carnivores · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Down the garden path. Plant a minibog to get your
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: feet wet growing carnivores. Written by Audrey Charles, University of
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Illinois Extension. This article is being read by an automated
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: voice brought to you by ever Lit. A mini bog
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: garden offers a way to explore growing carnivorous plants even
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: in northern Illinois, and know a few carnivorous plants on
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: your patio are not going to wipe out your pollinators.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Research shows these plants mainly catch small insects like ants, flies,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: and gnats, rather than bees and butterflies species. It's best
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: to select from three types of carnivorous plants venus flytrap, sundews,
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: and temperate picture plants. Many of these plants are now
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: widely available through plant tissue culture propagation, so never purchase
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: plants collected from the wild venus flytrap. Flytraps stay relatively small,
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: making them ideal for a minibog garden. Charles Darwin extensively
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: studied carnivorous plants and called the venus flytrap one of
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: the most wonderful plants in the world. It is native
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: to a small region of sunny wetlands at the border
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: of North and South Carolina, but it has worldwide fame.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Prey is attracted to the sweet odour and bright coloration
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: of the trap, which is a modified leaf having tiny
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: trigger hairs inside. The hairs must be touched more than
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: once before it snaps shut, helping the plant avoid wasting
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: energy on debris. Sundews. Sundews may be less famous than
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: fly traps, but many gardeners find them even more beautiful.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Their leaves are covered with sparkling, sticky droplets that look
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: like morning dew that, along with a scent that lures prey.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Those droplets are actually a glue like substance used to
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: trap insects. Sundews move more slowly than venus flytraps, gradually
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: curling around captured prey as they digest it. Several temperate
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: sundew species are suitable for a mini bog garden, including
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: thread leafed sundew de philiformis and round leaf sundew d rotie.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: The spoon leaf sundew de intermedia has temperate to tropical forms,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: so overwintering requirements will differ. Temperate pitcher plants North American
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: picture plants are among the easiest carnivorous plants for beginners.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Their tube shaped leaves with a distinctive lid lure insects
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: with necktear and color. Rain Water collects in the tube,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: and insects that are unfortunate enough to be lured in
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: are drowned in the water. The plant can then use
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: the nutrients from these insects for its survival. S Flava
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: and hybrids of it are widely available. Some hybrids can
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: reach three feet tall, and while that creates dramatic height,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: look for smaller hybrids when planting a mixed species bog garden.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: The pitcher plant will be the most aggressive grower in
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: the minibog planter, but it will mix well for a
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: few seasons, creating a minibog planter. All species listed above
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: naturally evolved in nutrient poor wetlands and will thrive in
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: a mixture of four part fertilizer free peat moss to
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: one part per light. A non porous container five inches
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: deep and least twelve inches in diameter will hold several
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: young plants. There should be multiple evenly spaced drainage holes.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Three one half inches holes are suitable. Set the container
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: into a tray that can hold about two inches of water.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: While rain water is ideal, plants can survive with city
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: water if flushed periodically, provide at least six hours of
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: direct sun daily, and never fertilize. All temperate species will
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: require a cold winter dormancy to thrive long term, with
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: the exception of s Perpurea that can tolerate freezing temperatures.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: The other species are best overwintered in a garage, typically
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: from October to March. Flytraps can benefit from the even
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: temperatures of a refrigerator crisper drawer. If wrapped in a
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: moist paper towel and plastic bag, the rhizome remains healthy
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: even when the traps blacken in early spring. Move the
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: container back into full sun as new growth begins, and
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: enjoy your instant conversation piece. For more information, check out
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: The Savage Garden. Cultivating Carnivor Plants Revised ten speed Press,
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Berkeley p Domato Growing Carnivorous Plants, timber Press, berry a Rice,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: University of Illinois Extension Cultivating Carnivores twenty seventeen, Four Seasons
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Gardening Webinar Audrey Charles as a certified Master Gardner volunteer
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: with University of Illinois Extension, serving DuPage, Caine, and Kendall Counties.