#but I'm also growing bladderworts

[kihaku-gato]

What's the coolest plant in the world

Coolest plant in the world… god that's tricky cause what do you even choose or what rules do you even go by to put one at the top??? It's a much harder metric than just Favourite Plant, but a fun one to try to explore.

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First thought for me was Ginkgo cause ancient-ass tree that despite nuclear bombs and fires and cityscape hostility REFUSES to die.

but then there is also

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Any carnivorous plant, with them solving nutrient deficiencies with carnivory, but especially Drosera and Bladderwort since the former straight up has evolved TENTACLE LIKE HAIRS to catch its prey, and the latter basically specializes in carnivory UNDERWATER!!!

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Dracaena cinnabari for having BLOOD RED SAP (straight up called the Dragonsblood tree) and just looks funky/ancient af in its adult state.

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Giants among their respective plant groups like Victoria boliviana being an infamous primeval giant among the water lilies.

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And how could I forget the mind-boggling Boquila trifoliolata, the shapeshifter of vines, which will even try to mimic the leaves of FAKE plants its growing on/by, not just real plants.

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There's also plants that actively change their microclimates to their advantage like Noble Rhubarb using pale translucent leaves as minigreenhouses to protect and warm its flowers, or Symplocarpus foetidus which can produce HEAT from its flowerbuds to melt the snow!!

And I'm sure I'm overlooking so many terrifying extremophiles within the plant kingdom for badass/cool factor as well as plants that are just straight-up metal. There's too many awesome ones to select to make just one single plan the coolest of all! Some of these remind me that fantasy/sci fi doesn't go far enough with plants oftentimes cause LOOK at these lads.

#ask #askbox #this ask made me have to mill a bit ngl- and google to job my memory on some funky lads lol #ramblings #long post #plantblr #tyvm for the ask Nate! #now if you had asked me what is the coolest plant in my fantasy world- then we'd have a very similar yet different ramble

[bogleech]

So story goes I've been running a Plant/Insect Yu-gi-oh deck for a while and sometimes it influences what plant or bug I hyper-fixate on next. Well, recently it's inspired me to want to grow bladderworts. Small problem is, I'm not sure if any species would be able to thrive in the Texas climate. Do you have any recommendations? Tips and tricks?

Aquatic bladderworts are happy indoors! I grow my vulgaris in bottles and jars where they receive just a little bit of sunlight or LED light.

I use distilled water, with a little pinch of peat soil to give it tannins that they like.

They don't even really need "prey;" they're just as easily sustained by protozoa and get most of their nourishment from the internal biome of each bladder, which can be a community of hundreds of microorganism species sometimes totally unique to bladderworts! Each is its own tiny self sustaining world, they will just also eat little copepods and things, too. It's like if sometimes Earth opened up and swallowed a smaller planet. All the little guys living in a bladderwort are like if living on Hellstar Remina had worked out for people.

[thenativetank]

Hey! I just found your blog and i think its great

I'm working on a 20 long native Virginia biotope for a while now and was wondering if you had any recommendations for plants or snails I could try, right now I have hornwort and ludwigia repens along with some type of local moss I was able to grow aquatically :) for fish im either thinking fiery red or saffron shiner or bluespotted sunfish

Oh! A person after my own heart. Lots of options depending on what sort of set up you have and how much energy you want to put in.

Let's start with plants. If you have low lights and no C02 set up, then I would most highly recommend our native bladderworts. They grow quickly, require very little fuss, and are pretty interesting. Some of our local potamogeton pondweeds will work as well - we have a number of species so it's all about what you can find. I've had hit or miss luck with vallisneria in low light tanks but have had fantastic luck with good LEDs and do-it-yourself C02. In those kind of tanks, I find anacharis and hydrilla also do great.

As for snails, I think it's worth trying whatever you can find. I've had great luck with Planorbis and Physa species, and okay luck with Bithynia. I really only recommend against Chinese Mystery Snails, which are very destructive towards plants. But even those could be fun in the right hardscape.

We have a lot of smaller fish that would be great choices. I can personally vouch for Tesselated Darters, Banded Killifish, Mummichogs, Eastern Mudminnows, and Bluespotted Sunfish. All are fun, hardy, and peaceful - though a few of those can be shy. I feel like Eastern Mosquitofish get a bad reputation... I've had mine in a 55 for 2 years with no aggression at all. Banded Sunfish are another great choice, but avoid the locally imperiled Black Banded Sunfish. I'm undecided about any of our local minnow species here as they are all either too big or too active to be truly happy in a 20 gallon I think.

If you wanted to try a brackish biotope, we have a few cool Gobiosoma spp. Gobies that I'm tempted to try. Mummichogs, Eastern Mosquitofish, some gobies, and a handful of glass shrimp would be a very fun tank! Rainwater Killifish would also be fun if you can find them. We have some local blennies I don't know much about but could also be fun to investigate.

[tippitiwichet]

I love having a garden where my weeds are carnivorous plants. That's a wee flytrap I just found, growing in some chopped sphagnum that has also given me the bladderwort nearby (looks like a broad leaved moss, eats critters in the substrate with vacuum traps), and several open pollinated pitcher plant hybrids. I've seen people complain about buying "weedy" moss, and their irritation just mystifies me. Then again. My favorite non carnivorous plant is dandelion, I'm sure I mystify a lot of them. That's my pinky, not index finger :).

#venus flytrap #carnivorous plants #the bog life for me

[ghostlyfoliage]

I found a bladderwort in my aquarium (I did not buy/plant this, it probably came off one of the plants I bought though) and I'm concerned it will eat up any baby fish that spawn and any mini crustaceans I try to seed into the tank (to be fair, the fish will also do that)...

but I also don't want to murder it, considering I once considered growing these for fun... so I'm now considering building it it's own scape. 😅

#also I'm gonna get some more stuff for the main tank and it's gonna get a little messing with probably tonight #I'm gonna add more substrate and plant some things better #it would be cool though to get a low profile tank and do carnivores on stones and the aquatic bladderwort in the water

[los-plantalones]

hello! first of all, love this blog lots and lots! second, how do you care for carnivorous plants? I've never had one before, and i'm curious :) Thanks!

Firstly, THANK YOU so much, I’m glad you enjoy my blog! Secondly, what a loaded question! No two carnivorous plants (which i’ll refer to as CPs from here on) are alike — you have venus flytraps, pitcher plants, sundews, butterworts, bladderworts, even some bromeliads. Some of them like to stay lightly moist, other ones are completely aquatic. Some can handle a temperate climate, others are tropical. I’ll go over some of the basics that most of them have in common!

- Water. Almost all CPs like to be kept moist. Because of their sensitivity to dissolved solids, they should only be watered with distilled, reverse osmosis, or rain water. Any other kind of water will eventually kill your plant.

- Media. Most CPs come from areas with nutrient-poor soil. Additional minerals/salts found in fertilizers or basic potting soils will kill them. Peat moss, coco coir, or long-fiber sphagnum is best. Mix with perlite or coarse sand, but make sure these are also free of fertilizers or salts.

- Never fertilize a CP. They get all of the nutrients they need from catching insects and soaking up the sun.

- Make sure the pot your plant is in is either plastic or glazed ceramic. Clay or unglazed ceramic pots will soak up salts, which is bad for your plant. Also make sure it has at least one drainage hole, so excess water doesn’t rot your plant.

- Almost all CPs need about 4-5 hours of direct light. The more sun, the better. Venus flytraps and pitcher plants can handle full sun all day, every day; others need some protection from harsh afternoon sunlight.

- Dormancy. CPs from temperate climates go through a winter dormancy period, and around this time you can expect a lot of the traps to die back and your plant to get smaller. If indoors, they must be kept cold (I keep mine on a chilly windowsill) and watering should be reduced. They start growing again in spring.

I think that’s mostly it! Again, there a BUNCH of carnivorous plants out there and they all differ in terms of specific care. If you get one, let me know what kind and I can provide more info!

#anons #asks #carnivorous plants