I’m from EU and brought mine in this year too, because I got some new additions native to South Africa. I bought cheapo lamps and a timer i set to 2h. The seeds from the summer all sprouted and everything is covered in tiny plants. The drosera are actually flowering a second time now. I don’t know what to do with all the seeds. I will probably put some in a sealed container, in case the aphids find my plants in the summer.
Quick update. I had been q-tipping them off for 2 weeks now. Every day it looked like 5 new adults would show up. I had sphagnum moss as a substrate and perhaps that was acting as an aphids hotel?
Well last night my bottle of cold pressed neem oil came (pre-diluted). I put some in a tiny spray bottle and hit it with about 10 sprays. After 20 minutes about 30 aphids climbed to the highest leaves and we’re dancing around. I wet a q-tip with neem oil and got off as many as I could.
Today I didn’t see a single aphid. Time will tell if got them all, if I’ve done any lasting damage with the neem oil, or if the plant recovers. But I’m hopeful.
Side note: the leaves look so shiny and nice looking. A nice side effect of the neem oil.
I use neem oil on my carnivores, so I’ll give you my two cents:
Apply in the evening when the sun goes down, I’ve burned a couple trumpet pitchers by applying in the afternoon.
Water it down a little more than the instructions call for, then work your way up if it’s not effective at low doses.
I use the “mist” setting on the sprayer first, wait a few minutes, then hit the plants with the “water gun spray” setting. This’ll knock any dead aphids and egg sacks off the plant, and prevent mold or mildew growing on the corpses.
I had the same issue - seems like aphids really like sundews, since none were on the venus flytraps. I just… picked off every aphid, made sure to check under all the leaved and all the nooks and crannies. I managed to eradicate them after a couple passes.
Ooh! Envy! 😊 How did you set up the bog? I’d love to expand from my windowsill to outside. In in NJ, and I know purple pitcher plants and several sundews do fine over wintering in the Pine Barrens.
Thanks! I dug a hole is an ugly weed garden that was growing there. I lined it with pond liner. Filled it in with rocks and plain peat moss (no fertilizer). Then planted them and ignored them for several years. I have a pump down there too for the fountain, but it’s hard to keep it unclogged so I rarely turn it on. Good luck!
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