Question
I have recently acquired a water testing kit to test my tap water.  It tests for pH, total alkalinity, total Chlorine, total hardness, hydrogen sulfide, iron, copper, nitrates, nitrites, iron, and bacteria in ppm.  Which ones of these should I look for in testing for my plants?

Also, when my clamshell flytrap has flowers can I use the seed (I thought hybrids can only be propagated by means of vegatative propagation)?

Answer
Hi Taylor,

The main thing to look at is total hardness.  That's the only one that matters for now.  It should be 50 parts per million or less.  

The clamshell flytrap is actually sterile, which means it doesn't produce any seeds.  However, it is not a hybrid or selective breeding.  It is actually a natural mutation that was cloned in laboratory conditions.

It's also not true that hybrids can only be propagated by vegetative means.  While sundew hybrids tend to be sterile, Sarracenia hybrids will produce seeds.  So it's really species by species.

At risk of confusing the matter, cultivar hybrids should be propagated by vegetative means ONLY IF you desire plants of the same genetic make up as the mother plant.  Otherwise, cultivar hybrids will produce seeds, but the seedlings will not have the same genetic make up as the mother plant.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin