For the uninitiated, a Beleziana (Drosera x Beleziana) is a carnivorous plant with small spoon-like leaves that secretes globules of sticky substances. Once a bug lands–And subsequently sticks–on the leaf, it curls on to itself and slowly digests the unsuspecting victim.
I had my first Beleziana I think in 2022. I bought it specifically it looks pretty when the leaves turns red in direct sunlight. That and you don’t have to put trellises for it like a Byblis. Belezianas grow as rosettes and stick closer to the ground. It proliferates on its own. Small baby Belezianas sometimes hide below the bigger leaves.
They grow on moist to wet medium so I had to DIY a water reservoir made out of a clear disposable container and cotton yarn running from the bottom of my pot so I just need to refill the container every couple of weeks. Sometimes I don’t even have to refill that much since the rain does it for me. The container has miniscule holes at the level I want the water to fill so it doesn’t accidentally drown my plant.
It turned out that drowning wasn’t the problem I should have been worrying about. The glaring issue to my design was that the container I used was clear. You know what happens to rainwater in a container? It eventually grow algae. And that algae loves clinging to things. Things like a string of yarn.
The algae was doing the long-game. Four long years before I finally noticed that my Belezianas (it had a bunch of babies growing around it) were drying out. The algae had choked out most of the water from going up the yarn and it was a unforgiving summer.
You’d ask me why didn’t I just water the plants everyday like normal people. I sometimes forget to feed myself with the demands of work. Plus the setup was more convenient especially when I have long trips. The system was self-sufficient to an extent until it wasn’t. This was purely a design problem.
I did try saving it. I bought a pint of ice cream and used that as substitute to the clear container. It was too late. My Belezianas dried out. All I have left is its pot still having the reservoir refilled in the hopes that it will miraculously revive same as my mint (resurrected after 2 weeks) but after five months, I don’t think that’ll be happening anymore.
That’s why I contacted my supplier to see if he has some Belezianas available for me. He has a bunch but won’t be ready for another couple of weeks. I can wait, I told him.
I’ve always envisioned my house lined with carnivorous plants of the sundew variety since I’m very prone to mosquitoes. And they are pretty low-maintenance in my experience. You just need to make sure that their soil don’t get dry.
It then got me thinking about how much is too much? Is it too much to buy enough to cover my entire body? Will I dissolve if I lay down on top of them?
Probably not. I’ve seen large dragonflies expiring on top of them and a month later, the dragonfly still looked intact. I’ve also touched the glue-like substance when I did some propagation experiments. It felt somewhat sticky but it didn’t even feel any stinging sensation. Eating fresh pineapples evoked more sensation of pain.
But that was only the mucilage and not necessarily the digestive enzymes it produces once the insects are trapped. What if I stick my finger on the plant for a longer period. Will I finally feel the sting of death?
There might be hope for this experiment.
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