The Bluebird is very territorial, male protecting his food supplies from other male Bluebirds’ trespassing. The nesting site must have sufficient food for them to raise their young and exist themselves for them to be tempted to set up housekeeping. Only female builds nest in chosen shelter, while male accompanies her solely by singing his encouragement while she works.

Nest building starts in mid-May in Michigan and 3 to 5 clear blue eggs are laid in clutch. The baby birds grow alarmingly fast, ready to leave next in 15 to 20 days after hatching. By that time they are strong enough to fly fifty to one hundred feet their first attempt at flight to nearest perch.

By early September most Bluebirds have finished up their family responsibilities for season. A fortunate pair will have raised two or even three broods by that time. During fall, families of Bluebirds roam leisurely through countryside on a quest for insects and berries in great abundance.

Over these travels, different families join together in a loose flock, as they get ready for migrating. The date of their heading south is timed more by weather and food supply than by calendar. They migrate in search for food and congregate in more southern parts of their regions.

It is not that Bluebird cannot spend winter in northern areas like Michigan, quite to contrary they will stay as long as food supply lasts. Planting trees, shrubs and vines with berries that last through winter will provide much needed foor for wintering birds. Bittersweet, flowering Dogwood, Cotoneasters, Washington Hawthorns, Privet, Sumac, Pyracantha, flowering Crabapples, Virginia Creeper, multiflora Roses (rose hips), and Mountain Ash are all favorite food sources in cold season for birds that thrive in northern climates. They can sometimes be tempted to feeding stations with raisins, other fruits and berries and chopped unsalted peanuts, but they are not seed eaters so you will never find them eating from normal bird feeders. Should small fruits and berries they depend on become crusted with ice and snow, effort of providing food will keep them from starving to death. If they are forced to go to roost hungry, bitter cold will cause many of them to die.

Properly built winter houses are enough protection from severe weather for them to live year round even in north. To accommodate them for winter roosting, box should be large enough to shelter a number of birds. Floor dimensions should be 10” x 10”, with a depth of 18” and a width of 24”. The hole must be 1 1/2” or Starlings will move in on them, and needs to be at bottom of box with a perch placed beneath it. Several horizontal perches should be positioned inside at various levels at staggered intervals up one sidewall using 1/2” doweling The side of box should be hinged to allow cleaning in spring. The box must be at least 6 feet of ground to protect them from predators while they sleep, using a smooth metal pole that is greased so that nothing can climb it to reach box. Place winter roosts facing south for most warmth from sun.

For nesting boxes, again hole should measure only 1 1/2” and be situated about 5 foot off ground for observance of young in nest. But for nesting hole should be toward top of box to protect young from cold drafts. The nesting box must face due east. Nesting boxes cannot be any closer than 100 foot apart. Too many boxes will result in no Bluebirds—remember they are territorial and will only reside where they know there is enough food for themselves and their young.

Small air holes should be put next to roof board, and drainage should be provided in floor so it will not fill up with water. The roof should be slanted downward in front to stop rain from blowing into nest.

What a delightful preserve to add to your yard, create your own Bluebird Reserve. Stop spraying cutworms and grasshoppers, plant oodles of berry-bearing plants, and erect proper housing for both seasons in a suburban to rural setting and trust me, they will inspect site and set to building a nest.

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For more great Gardening articles, visit: http://www.LostInTheFlowers.com

Secret #4: Season your plants.

One day while I was at Farmers’ Market selling my carnivorous plants, a customer stopped by and said that she had good fortune to see a type of carnivorous plant growing in wild while visiting friends in Canada.

I immediately knew which plant she had seen, so I held up a Purple Pitcher Plant and she exclaimed, “Yes, that is plant I saw!”

I then told her how easy it was to grow that plant outdoors all year round, to which she replied, “But during winter, you have to bring them indoors, right?”

“Why would you need to do that?”

“Because it will get too cold for them,” she stated with authority.

At that point, I was very puzzled. So, I said to her, “If you saw them growing in wild in Canada, surely they can live outdoors in Oregon. It gets much colder in Canada than it does in Oregon.”

It amazes me how often some people assume that just because a plant is carnivorous it is: 1) tropical, 2) delicate, and 3) difficult to grow. This is precisely why people kill their carnivorous plants. They treat them as a tropical, delicate carnivorous plant that is difficult to grow without knowing if they actually have a tropical, delicate carnivorous plant that is difficult to grow. This is definitely a recipe for disaster.

All carnivorous plants native to United States and Canada are considered temperate plants, meaning they go dormant during winter months, and come right back to life in spring and summer. Other non-carnivorous plants that do this are roses, daisies, daffodils and thousands upon thousands of other types of plants grown all around world.

This is why Secret #1 is a very important secret. You need to know what type of plant you have to determine whether it requires winter dormancy or if it needs to be indoors during those cold winter months.

Temperate plants need to rest up for spring. Without their winter rest, they get very cranky and may fail to grow in spring. Think of how you feel when you do not get enough sleep. So, if you want healthy vibrant plants in spring, give them a winter rest. They might even reward you with flowers!

Secret #5: Hold fertilizer, please.

If you want gorgeous looking carnivorous plants during growing season, repot your plants right before they come out of dormancy. In most cases, this would be in March. Repotting your plants serves two purposes.

Firstly, carnivorous plants need room to grow. Depending on species, some rhizomes can get quite large. Other species have long deep taproots. So, it is important that you give these guys enough root space.

Secondly, changing soil yearly aerates roots. With fresh oxygen, roots will grow more robustly, producing healthier plants.

Springtime is also a time when you should cut off dead leaves or any leaves that have turned brown. This will prevent fungal infections and increase sunlight to base of plant.

When repotting your plants, a standard soil mix to use is 1 part peat moss and 1 part perlite. Peat moss adds acidity and retains moisture, while perlite provides drainage.

This soil recipe is sufficient for 80% of all carnivorous plants. You can adjust recipe by adding more perlite or other inert matter to increase drainage. Just make sure soil is void of nutrients and fertilizer.

Fertilizer is toxic to carnivorous plants and will burn their roots. (Very painful.) Carnivorous plants will get all of their nutrients from insects caught in their leaves.

There you have it! You have just read TOP 5 SECRETS TO KEEPING YOUR CARNIVOROUS PLANTS ALIVE, HEALTHY AND BEAUTIFUL.

You learned:

Secret #1: Correctly identify type of carnivorous plant you have. Remember, not all carnivorous plants are created equal. Some grow in temperate bogs, while others grow in hot humid jungles.

Secret #2: Brighten their days with full sun.

Secret #3: Soak their feet.

Secret #4: Season your plants.

Secret #5: Repot yearly and hold fertilizer.

Each secret is an important part of foundation on which you can grow beautiful carnivorous plants all year round.

Believe it or not, you now know more about growing carnivorous plants than you local nursery. Really, when was last time you saw Venus Flytraps being sold in outdoor plant section? In nearly all cases, you will find them in indoor plant section, amongst tropical plants.

When you follow these simple steps, your carnivorous plants will have no choice but grow into healthy and beautiful plants that you can be proud of!

BONUS SECRET! Always start with healthy and beautiful carnivorous plants. Make sure seller is growing them correctly; otherwise you will have an uphill battle trying to keep your plants alive.

For healthy and beautiful carnivorous plants direct from experienced growers, visit Sarracenia Northwest at http://www.cobraplant.com.