Customer Reviews

DuneCraft Dome Terrariums - Carnivorous Plants

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

Growing CPs from seed is not easy! And growing CPs in a terrarium is even harder (they need full sun, wet soil, and a special soil mix). They grow native from Texas through the Carolinas and do not need the tropical environment of a terrarium where fungus will attack and kill. This terrarium set up is doomed to failure. CPs are actually very easy to grow outdoors with a little proper instruction. Obtain your plants or seeds (takes years to get a decent plant via seeds) from a reputable online nursery (I have bought several excellent plants from Sarracenia Northwest) and then search the web for proper growing instructions. Skip this item and the goofy terrarium domes at Walmart.

We were really excited about this item, but have been very disappointed. We followed the directions EXACTLY, even putting the planted terrarium in the refrigerator for 8 weeks (which was frustrating AND a pain in the neck) -- and still we have nothing growing -- after weeks and weeks of waiting! Rotten thing to do to a kid!

The plastic dome is of decent quality, and we got living carnivorous plants from an online seller -- worked out much better. This is a TOTAL waste of time and money, unfortunately.

April 25, 2006--I bought this for my 4 year on her birthday. Today we planted the seeds. We did have fun putting together everything to start the plant--we had to find water from a nearby stream because tap water just won't do. That was a fun little adventure. Then we put the stickers on the outside of our terrarium (sp?), we made a path of pretty blue rocks, and put in our plastic bog buddies. I almost couldn't find the seeds--they were small and few in a pink plastic bag stapled inside to a traditional seed packet. THE BIG SURPRISE THOUGH IS THAT YOU MUST KEEP ALL THIS IN THE REFIGERATOR FOR 8 WEEKS!

June 21--Finally got to take it out of the refrigerator. It was a small celebrate for the first day of Summer. Eastern or Southern light works best. I pretty much have just Western light coming into my apartment. Will this be the plants downfall?

July 7--Nothing happening yet except condensation on the dome but the instructions say it takes 3-6 weeks for germination and some varieties may take months to sprout. I'm not quite clear based on the info they sent how often to water this thing. Rain water or distilled water is needed.

August 27--Well it's been about 9 Weeks now and no signs of life. It's really disappointing and I wish I could go back and change the number of stars I orginally gave it when I had anticipation that I'd get my meat eating plants. I wonder if anyone has had success?

We followed the directions EXACTLY and nothing is growing. They tell you to "be patient". Well, we started this process 4 1/2 months ago and the only green thing in there is the tiny plastic lizard. The "educational value" of this is: "Let the Buyer Beware".

I bought one for myself in NY and one for my grandson in CA. Directions were followed exactly and NOTHING grew in either. After numerous emails, new packages of seeds were sent. And we both started over AGAIN.

This meant another 2 months in the frig. And what happens? Nothing grew again. Being slow to learn, I decided to get more seeds and try it yet again. Guess what.....nothing grew this time either.

So after 5 attempts with new seeds by two different people on opposite sides of the US, still nothing. A complete waste of money!

I only just bought this product. It was the seeds that I was looking for, not the cheap-o, yet functional terrarium. I've grown CPs for years, but never from seeds. I'm looking forward to hatching them and raising them from pups. They'll need great care and especially patience, which is something most people don't have, especially children, which really angers me that this is classed as a "toy".

The included instructions state repeatedly that CPs are slow, both to germinate and grow. As a kid in elementary school I was taught how to grow marigolds or beans. Cucumbers also pop out of the ground before you can turn around twice. These dudes aren't. They shouldn't be marketed for educational for kids... seeds, especially these ones, take too a long a time and more attentiveness than most folks have. Kids want everything yesterday, not in a few years.

So many reviews of this product complain of no instant result, or failure to follow the meticulous instructions given. Some seeds need stratification, others are temperate enough not to need it. Some seeds are duds by nature. There's no way to tell which is who. CPs live in very special environments. You have to try to simulate their environment. It takes work to create that for them.

If you want to get a toy for kids that will pay out immediately, don't buy this. If you want to teach them patience and caretaking, this is golden.

i got this as a surprise present from my mom. maybe i didn't long enough but still i waited for six weeks and nothing i think you would have gotten something by then. it would have been so cool if it had done anything.

P.S.
don't give this as a gift in cold weather

I would give this kit zero stars if I could. The instructions say that it takes 6-8 weeks for the seeds to sprout. I kept them in moist peat and warm temperatures for over three months after the recommended period of refrigeration. Not a single seed sprouted. I finally had to throw out the whole kit when mold took over. Complete waste of time and money.

But if you're feeling lucky, you should know that most of the seeds in this kit aren't much bigger than pinheads, and they all come packaged together in the same tiny plastic bag. So if you want to have each type of plant growing in a different section of the plastic tray provided in the kit - like that shown on the box cover - you need to separate out each seed under a strong magnifying glass. And even then you won't be successful, as most of these seeds look just like ground pepper. I accidentally spilled a few on the floor, and after sweeping them all up I literally couldn't tell them from the other debris in the dustpan.

By the way, it takes a minimum of 6-8 years living in ideal growing conditions for any of the plants in this kit to reach the sizes shown on the box cover. These are NOT plants that can simply be put on a windowsill. They need an environment that is not easily provided in the average home - LOTS of very bright light (about 15 hours a day) and very wet acidic growth medium (such as sphagnum moss). These plants need to have their feet kept wet but the rest of them kept dry. And even then, these are VERY slow-growing plants. If you use incandescent bulbs to provide the necessary level of light, the amount of heat they produce can easily raise the temperature to lethal levels. For this reason I recommend a combination of fluorescent bulbs and a moist/dry heating pad at the bottom. Be sure that whatever heating pad you use isn't the type that shuts off automatically after one hour of use.

Some warnings...
These plants flourish only in a very limited range of environments and nourishment. The care you would normally give a houseplant will - in all likelihood - kill these plants:
NEVER feed them animal protein (like hamburger). The fats in meat aren't digestible and can kill them.
NEVER use tap water to water them. The mineral build-up can kill them so use distilled water only.
NEVER feed them insects that have been killed by insecticides, like RAID. Carnivorous plants should be fed soft-bodies insects like small slugs, ants, termites, etc., rather than hard-shelled insects such as beetles. Well-stocked pet stores will carry dried mealworms, but even these will need to be cut into very small pieces. Just as a baby needs tiny mouthfuls of food, so too do Venus flytraps.
NEVER fertilize them. These are very slow-growing plants and any attempt to force them to grow will kill them.

My daughter eyed this in the store for weeks and I surprised her with it for her birthday. We followed all of the instructions and, like the other reviewers, nothing happened. The seeds do no germinate. Even one star is far too generous for this product.

Like my title its true.It would have been fun but sadly its not turning out as I plan.I have to at least give it more time though.But I'm already on summer vaction and I don't want to ruin it by waiting for the next.Be careful just becouse there seeds it doesn't mean they can't die.