Not an appealing sight
In order to control flies in the limery I have been using a combination of carnivorous plants and fly paper. The latter is unsightly, but effective to hang high up. However, now I’m getting to know my insectivores better and discovering what grows well, I have been able to ditch the fly paper in favour of Drosera dichotoma. This astonishing sundew (at least astonishing to those of us used to our tiny native Drosera rotundifolia) produces long trailing leaves, and so is best in a location where these can drape down the side of the pot, unrestricted. Suspending this plant shows it off to its best advantage and gives it the greatest opportunity to trap its prey.
Since the plant needs to sit in water, a reasonably deep suspended dish is required. After a bit of rummaging around, I located a plastic bowl that had been given to me years ago full of pot pourri (pointless stuff, long since composted). A little bit of work with some jute twine and a crochet hook and I had constructed a hammock for my pot.
And now it’s hanging in the limery looking much more attractive than the fly paper, and photosynthesising to boot!
Fingers crossed that it’s happy there and grows lots more fly-catching leaves.
The Snail of Happiness 
shapeofthingstoni
/ July 25, 2016Wonderful!
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katechiconi
/ July 25, 2016Pot pourri must be one of the most pointless substances in the universe. Its name translates to ‘rotten pot’ and with good reason. Much better to grow natural insecticides in its former container. And not only natural, but self-replenishing. Double bonus!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 25, 2016I really do not understand pot pourri at all… still, great bowl that has served a variety of purposes over the years, but had been unused for a little while so I’m delighted with this.
Only issue is whether it’s hanging a bit too low and might catch Mr Snail!!
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katechiconi
/ July 25, 2016Mr Snail will rapidly learn after his first entanglement…
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wscottling
/ July 25, 2016One of my friends from college is studying for his doctorate in Biology, and while I’m not exactly sure what his emphasis is, all of his Facebook posts are about insects and plants. He has a number of carnivorous plants and he says the are notoriously difficult to keep alive outside of their native habitat. I wish you luck with yours!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 25, 2016I’ve had some of mine for over a year now, although a few have died, I seem to have managed to nurture several of them and some are positively thriving… it’s quite a steep learning curve though!
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insearchofitall
/ July 25, 2016I’m with you, potpourri is useless and you don’t see as much of it anymore. I liked how you rigged up the pot to hang. Very nice. I always hate fly paper because whenever you take it down, somehow it sticks to something you don’t want it too. All plants have a learning curve don’t they? At least for some of us. 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 26, 2016I’m very pleased with the pot holder… all made from things lying around the house
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ July 26, 2016Great idea… And that sundew IS impressive! Is it likely to get much bigger?
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 26, 2016The leave can grow longer than 30cm, so it may trail a bit more, but I think it should get more leaves, although they do die back in the winter
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crawcraftsbeasties
/ July 27, 2016Well, with all these pesky bugs around, it should hopefully grow up big and strong 😀
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w1nt3l
/ July 28, 2016I’ve never seen a plant like that before. My daughter has grown flytraps and pitcher plants but we’ve never been able to keep them going through the winter despite following the directions to the letter. Up-cycling is something I do all the time.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ July 28, 2016The sundews, like this one, are easier than either pitchers or flytraps – they die back over the winter, but grow again in the spring. Try the Cape Sundew (Drosera capensis) if you want to have a go.
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