robsorchids
06-23-2008, 04:35 PM
this is for anyone who wants to have a go at growing their own foodplants for phasmid consumption as well as decorative purposes in some cases -
what you will need -
some where to grow them! this may be a problem for people in flats or apartments so i would suggest finding a local allotment and growing there, having a allotment has other benifets too.
if your lucky enough to have a garden then find a section that will not interfere with neighbours or surrounding flower beds.
garden tools-
secatuers
fork
shovel
spade
line
wire or string
gloves
a few bags of either well rotted manure or topsoil, alternatively moss peat can be used but its not enviromentaly freindly.
fertilizers - bonemeal, pelleted products etc..
plants -
of course this will depend on what phasids you are keeping but most commonly these would be
examples-
bramble (rubus fruiticosa)
eucalyptus ( eucalyptus gunii, ssp niphophilla, puaciflora etc..)
hypericum (hypericum sp, ''Hidcote'' etc)
rose (rosa rugosa, mundi, alba etc)
privet (ligustrum vulgare)
lilac (syringa sp)
oak (quercus robur, ilex)
and many more
if you have a glasshouse you can possibly grow some tender foodplants for phasmids, these would need a minimum of 10c during the winter so a methane heater or electric heater would be needed -
examples-
mango (magnifera sp)
guava (psidium sp)
pandanus (pandanus sp)
many more but can be difficult to grow and not usualy needed only for very specialized species
obtaining your plants and propagating from parent plants-
in the case of bramble this is easily propagated by taking underground suckers from the main bush, simply follow a length down to the ground then dig around the shoot exposing a decent amount of roots, then cut of at the base, this should serve as a decent mother plant, best to do this during the winter.
and also cut the stems down by half to consereve the energy in the plant as being removed from the main plant will leave it weakened and not able to support all that top growth for the moment.
you can also grow from seed taken from blackberrys, or you want to go further you can buy spine free plants from nurserys.
rose can be propagated this way, and this is a good thing to do with roses that produce suckers as the suckers are not the plants you want to grow (graft rootstock used to keep the required rose on top alive)
hyperiucm can be grown from seed, or cuttings, take soft wood cutting in spring, removebasal leaves and pich out the tip, push into potting compost and seal in a polythene bag and place on windosill until rooted when you can remove the bag and pot the young plants up, keep moist.
you can use this method to propagate privet.
eu's can be grow from cuttings i heard but not sure how to do this myself, seeds are easier.
oak can be grown from acorns easily chip a small section out of the seed casing and plant into deep pots, first shoots should be seen the year after sowing.
all the above plants can be found at your local garden centre and nursery, but they should not be used for feeding until the pesiticdes within the plant have dimished which takes 6 12 months sometimes more.
the tropical species can be purchased from seed suppliers, often seeds sown from fruit bought in stores isnt mature enough to grow and is picked to early for the seed to be viable.
preparing your site -
work the soil over in winter using a fork, especialy if you are on clay as the frost will help break it down for you over the cold nights.
what you want to end up with is a fine tilth of workable soil, this is ideal for plants.
on clay soils its very difficult to obtain this quality of soil but this is where the bags of topsoil and manure come in, work these into the soil a few weeks after you have prepared the site.
this will ope up the soil ready for the plants roots to get a good start as well as add nutrition, this is importanrt for sandy soils which dry up and leach nutrients quickly.
you may wish to grow your plants in uniform lines this is where string lines come into place, plants planted this way are easier to access and mantian, aim to plant individual bushes a meter apart, young plants propagated should be grown in pots or nursery beds before transplanting to these.
bramble and rose is best kept seperate as they will become large and compete with the other plants.
if you have a limted amount of space dont grow trees if they will be allowed to get large.
bramble can also get out of hand being a weed but can be controlled by planting the bush in a pot then sinking this into the ground.
if you plant trees again these will need room, but they probably wont get to tall as you will be harvesting shoots.
best to plant in spring so the roots have a season to establish before winter, allways water newly planted plants well until established.
some plants such as roses and bramble can be tied into frames to the shoots produced from the side will be easily accsesible.
evergreen plants such as eucalyptus may need some protection over winter, a layer of fleece wrapped around is sufficent but the common gum E.gunii is quite hardy.
never over harvest your plants as they will become weak, unless you can replace them regularly.
when plant are growing well add fertilzers such as bonemeal to the soil in spring when everything is waking up, the plants roots will be hungry at this point.
work it into the soil, avoiding leaves and stems as the stuff can burn the plants, where gloves too.
you may get diesases on some plants such as roses (black spot mildew etc) best to improve culutral conditions than use sprays as you wont be able to use the plants for a while if they have been sprayed.
during the winter you can increase the vigor of bramble but cutting down the stems to basal buds leaving about 15cm of hardwood stem left, in the spring you will get long large leaved stems perfect for using, but you will need to wait a few weeks for them to mature before offering them to your phasmids.
same can be done with roses
usualy you can harvest from the first season with some plants such as bramble, but other will be slow growing and you will have to wait some years before they can be used such as oaks.
if i have missed anything out please let me know and happy growing!
what you will need -
some where to grow them! this may be a problem for people in flats or apartments so i would suggest finding a local allotment and growing there, having a allotment has other benifets too.
if your lucky enough to have a garden then find a section that will not interfere with neighbours or surrounding flower beds.
garden tools-
secatuers
fork
shovel
spade
line
wire or string
gloves
a few bags of either well rotted manure or topsoil, alternatively moss peat can be used but its not enviromentaly freindly.
fertilizers - bonemeal, pelleted products etc..
plants -
of course this will depend on what phasids you are keeping but most commonly these would be
examples-
bramble (rubus fruiticosa)
eucalyptus ( eucalyptus gunii, ssp niphophilla, puaciflora etc..)
hypericum (hypericum sp, ''Hidcote'' etc)
rose (rosa rugosa, mundi, alba etc)
privet (ligustrum vulgare)
lilac (syringa sp)
oak (quercus robur, ilex)
and many more
if you have a glasshouse you can possibly grow some tender foodplants for phasmids, these would need a minimum of 10c during the winter so a methane heater or electric heater would be needed -
examples-
mango (magnifera sp)
guava (psidium sp)
pandanus (pandanus sp)
many more but can be difficult to grow and not usualy needed only for very specialized species
obtaining your plants and propagating from parent plants-
in the case of bramble this is easily propagated by taking underground suckers from the main bush, simply follow a length down to the ground then dig around the shoot exposing a decent amount of roots, then cut of at the base, this should serve as a decent mother plant, best to do this during the winter.
and also cut the stems down by half to consereve the energy in the plant as being removed from the main plant will leave it weakened and not able to support all that top growth for the moment.
you can also grow from seed taken from blackberrys, or you want to go further you can buy spine free plants from nurserys.
rose can be propagated this way, and this is a good thing to do with roses that produce suckers as the suckers are not the plants you want to grow (graft rootstock used to keep the required rose on top alive)
hyperiucm can be grown from seed, or cuttings, take soft wood cutting in spring, removebasal leaves and pich out the tip, push into potting compost and seal in a polythene bag and place on windosill until rooted when you can remove the bag and pot the young plants up, keep moist.
you can use this method to propagate privet.
eu's can be grow from cuttings i heard but not sure how to do this myself, seeds are easier.
oak can be grown from acorns easily chip a small section out of the seed casing and plant into deep pots, first shoots should be seen the year after sowing.
all the above plants can be found at your local garden centre and nursery, but they should not be used for feeding until the pesiticdes within the plant have dimished which takes 6 12 months sometimes more.
the tropical species can be purchased from seed suppliers, often seeds sown from fruit bought in stores isnt mature enough to grow and is picked to early for the seed to be viable.
preparing your site -
work the soil over in winter using a fork, especialy if you are on clay as the frost will help break it down for you over the cold nights.
what you want to end up with is a fine tilth of workable soil, this is ideal for plants.
on clay soils its very difficult to obtain this quality of soil but this is where the bags of topsoil and manure come in, work these into the soil a few weeks after you have prepared the site.
this will ope up the soil ready for the plants roots to get a good start as well as add nutrition, this is importanrt for sandy soils which dry up and leach nutrients quickly.
you may wish to grow your plants in uniform lines this is where string lines come into place, plants planted this way are easier to access and mantian, aim to plant individual bushes a meter apart, young plants propagated should be grown in pots or nursery beds before transplanting to these.
bramble and rose is best kept seperate as they will become large and compete with the other plants.
if you have a limted amount of space dont grow trees if they will be allowed to get large.
bramble can also get out of hand being a weed but can be controlled by planting the bush in a pot then sinking this into the ground.
if you plant trees again these will need room, but they probably wont get to tall as you will be harvesting shoots.
best to plant in spring so the roots have a season to establish before winter, allways water newly planted plants well until established.
some plants such as roses and bramble can be tied into frames to the shoots produced from the side will be easily accsesible.
evergreen plants such as eucalyptus may need some protection over winter, a layer of fleece wrapped around is sufficent but the common gum E.gunii is quite hardy.
never over harvest your plants as they will become weak, unless you can replace them regularly.
when plant are growing well add fertilzers such as bonemeal to the soil in spring when everything is waking up, the plants roots will be hungry at this point.
work it into the soil, avoiding leaves and stems as the stuff can burn the plants, where gloves too.
you may get diesases on some plants such as roses (black spot mildew etc) best to improve culutral conditions than use sprays as you wont be able to use the plants for a while if they have been sprayed.
during the winter you can increase the vigor of bramble but cutting down the stems to basal buds leaving about 15cm of hardwood stem left, in the spring you will get long large leaved stems perfect for using, but you will need to wait a few weeks for them to mature before offering them to your phasmids.
same can be done with roses
usualy you can harvest from the first season with some plants such as bramble, but other will be slow growing and you will have to wait some years before they can be used such as oaks.
if i have missed anything out please let me know and happy growing!