Venus fly traps--While there is only one specie from S. Carolina, Dionaea muscipula, there are many varietal forms with differing red colorations and varying sizes and shapes of the traps. They require some sunlight or rather intense lighting, ventilation, plus very good drainage. Brown shagnum moss with some perlite added can provide this. They also need a cold winter dormancy in order to survive. Some people remove them and put them in the vegetable cooler of the refrigerator for about 6 weeks during the winter. They don't require fertilizer of any sort. In my experience, they don't make very good tropical vivarium subjects.



Some of the pitcher plants such as Nepenthes are more tropical and adaptable. I know of at least one pitcher plant lover who has them in his dart frog tanks with no problem. The thumbnails have been known to deposit tadpoles in them, just like a bromeliad funnel. (Don't ask me why they don't get digested, but there must be some mechanism that prevents this.)



As far as fertilizers, your original organic compost should provide all you need for a very long time. Unless you are growing orchids, which are heavy feeders, most tropical vines and plants are not. If this doesn't work for you, perhaps one of the seaweed fertilizers, diluted more than recommended for houseplants might work. This is a little stinky, however. I don't know if you can still get blood meal, but I used it years ago in our "organic" vegetable and bedding plant nursery. It might release too much nitrogen for a tropical terrarium--I'm not sure. In my dart tanks, I do more trimming back of enthusiastic growth than worrying about enhancing growth. Of course in a frog tank, there are always some nutrients recycled from frog poop.



I kept a totally enclosed and sealed plant terrarium once without renewing water, fertilizing or opening it for 3 years. I finally took it apart when the sphagnum moss, which had "come alive" was overgrowing the sides. It was an interesting experiment in self sustaining small terrariums and observing the biological recycling.
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Patty

Pahsimeroi, Idaho



4 D. auratus blue

5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back

5 D. imitator

6 D. leucomelas

4 D. pumilio Bastimentos

4 D. fantasticus

4 P. terribilis

4 D. reticulatus

4 D. castaneoticus

2 D. azureus

4 P vittatus

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