Page 1 - The Friday Flyer ● NOVEMBER 01, 2019

CANYON LAKE’S NEWSPAPER • NOVEMBER 1, 2019

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Local magician

amazes fellow

horticulturists

BY PAT VAN DYKE where they at-
COLUMNIST, THE FRIDAY FLYER tracted, trapped
Canyon Lake’s resident magician Dan Birch, will be and digested insects
appearing at the exclusive Magic Castle in Hollywood for their nutrients.
on New Year’s Eve and the entire New Year’s week. Basically, the plants
However, what the elite Hollywood crowd will not were top feeders
witness that week is Dan’s creative magic of changing as their root system
the climate so that his beloved carnivorous plants can could not utilize any
thrive. nutrients from the
Dan is currently creating magic with the plants that soil or water.
he is growing in his living room in his Canyon Lake Dan observed
home. As a magician, Dan is very creative with his pre- that in their natu-
sentations and goes beyond the anticipated. As a horti- ral habitat, the soil
culturist, one who grows ornamental plants, Dan also was not soggy but
goes beyond the expected. was rather soggy
At the age of 12, Dan picked up a magazine that moist. Dan also
spurred him to look for more information and led him noted that the soil
in the bogs was
to becoming an expert on carnivorous (insect and flesh- insulated above
eating) plants. The magazine, “Boy’s Life,” had a pic- with weeds.
ture of a Venus flytrap with a human finger just above This natural in-
it. Dan was instantly intrigued and began to study and sulation along
grow these elusive plants. with the aqui-
In 2002, Dan’s love of waterskiing brought him fers that were
to Canyon Lake and he soon relocated his blind and present in the
shutter business to the area along with his desire to soil beneath the
grow various carnivorous plants successfully. Canyon plants allowed
Lake’s climate would soon present a challenge to his the plants to re-
family of plants and Dan was determined to solve any main moist and
issues that may appear. cool at approxi-
At first, his plants seemed to grow fairly well; but as mately 67 degrees
the heat of the summer months approached, the plants Fahrenheit.
began to struggle. It was apparent that no matter what The accepted Dan Birch will
he did, the Canyon Lake climate was not conducive to method of growing Ve- be appearing
the growth of carnivorous plants. Dan began to seek nus flytraps was to place
answers to his dilemma. the plants in pots con- at the Magic
Through his research, Dan discovered that the only taining the Venus flytraps Castle on
place in the world that Venus flytraps grow naturally into a pan filled with one to New Year’s
was in a 100-mile radius of Wilmington, North Caro- two inches of water. One Eve.
lina. This fact intrigued him. was then advised to place
In 2007, Dan had an opportunity to fulfill his life- the plants out into the sun.
long dream of witnessing these plants in their natural Each time Dan would at-
habitat. When asked by his sister, Cheryl, to travel with tempt this method it result-
her to Virginia Beach, North Carolina, Dan immedi- ed in less than favorable
ately planned a side trip to Wilmington and soon found results.
himself surrounded by the plants that fascinated him. Dan surmised that the
That year and the following year, Dan visited the accepted method created
bogs in which the Venus flytraps and pitcher plants an environment that was
grew in abundance, each time asking, “Why do they very different from the nat- PHOTO PROVIDED BY DAN BIRCH
only live here and nowhere else?” That question
proved to be the catalyst that spurred Dan to dig deeper. uuCONTINUED
Dan noted that the plants lived in nutrient-poor soil PAGE A13