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VFT advice and tips

CP_dude

future nursury owner...i hope
hey if ne one ever needs help with VFT's, ask me, i am a very experienced grower and know all the myths about VFTs and know the absolute true way to grow ur VFT to it's full potential...
 
OK! Me, I don't know nothing.
 
This is fun :) Thanks for brightening up my day :)

Would you happen to play the Piano?
 
This is fun? hahaha I guess it's just me, but I never claim to be an "expert" on anything. I can grow some pretty nice plants though :) You need to remember, different things work for different people. Check with Joseph, he'll teach ya that one. The day you think you know it all is the day you stop learning. And that my friend is not the best choice in life. Welcome to the forums, and I hope you learn a few things. :)
Andrew
 
know the absolute true way to grow ur VFT

Cultivation of VFTS, or any CP, is to be determined by the grower. There are many factors to consider and location is one of them. What works for a grower in CA may not work for a grower in MI or KS or FL. So there are no hard and fast rules that apply to every single grower.

Trying to imitate their native habitat and adjust for local conditions is a good way to start.

But feel free to share how YOU grow YOUR plants successfully. :)
 
actually, i live in a zone 5 and i grow all of my north-american species outdoors. the only precaution i take during thw winter is heavy mulching and wraping in black tarp to prevent frost burns from artic winds.
 
Tell us more. What do you grow in, where do you keep them, do you have photos, how many do you have?
 
during the summer i keep then in full sun in about 2 inches of water. i grow them in a mix of 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite (i use perlite over sand...cheaper and easy on the back problems). i have about 15-20 VFTs. i will have photos when i get a digital camera...

lol, i can't play an insterment for the life of me
 
  • #10
No lol. His name is Bruce Vogt, which is the name of a Canadian pianist so I thought it was funny lol.)
 
  • #11
lol, really! that's pretty wild.:-))

hey do ne of u know the pebble trick to supersize ur VFT (you may call it something else...but i call it the pebble trick)
 
  • #12
What?
 
  • #13
I grow mine in a working bog and they thrive like NO tomorrow. Get quite large too. The oldest plant (VFT) is 34 years old.
 
  • #14
al you do is put small pebbles on the surface of the soil. the pebbles will gather the heat from the sun. this is a good thing to do if i live in a colder climate. there is another way to make ur VFT bigger. VFT traps are time senitive. two hairs must be triggered to close the trap, but when one hair is triggered, it prims the trap. that means the cells in the trap swell with water. touch one hair, and walk away. the extra water will stay in the cells. do this everyday and u will see a noticable difference in the size of the trap.
 
  • #15
i wish i could grow a bog garden...but i don't think my mom would let me dig up her back yard...:-(
 
  • #16
How will that help a trap grow? I though that was a waste of energy.???
 
  • #17
it will only close if u poke it twice...poke a hair once and the cells swell with water, touch it twice, and the water is realeased and the trap closes. so only touch 1 hair once.
 
  • #18
I was under the impressed electric impulses are more important than water in the cells to spring the trap. But shows what I know, you're the expert.
 
  • #19
topic title changed by request of topic starter.
 
  • #20
So, the old water theory, huh? I have heard that one for years. The way the VFT closes has been shown by one group to be instantaneous cell growth. When the trigger hairs are stimulated twice (you got that part right) the outer cells have been shown to grow instantly by 25%. The inside cells do not expand so this sudden growth forces the traps jaws to "grow together" in 1/25th of a second. In essence, it warps the trap shut. When it is finished digesting prey, the opposite happens. The outside cells do not grow, but the inside ones now expand, at a much slower rate. Again, it warps open. Touching the triggers once sends an electrical impulse causing the cell to set itself, waiting for the second impulse. The "set" causes the cell to expand 5 to 10%. Instant cell growth. That is how the VFT closes.

Having heard these two ideas kicked around for years makes me realize one thing. AIN'T NOBODY SURE OF WHAT REALLY MAKES THE PLANT CLOSE!!!!!!!! However, I love the theories and say either one could be right, or wrong. I favor the instant cell growth idea. Makes sense to me.
If you want super duper size VFT's, and all it takes is heat, then put your plants and tray on a heat mat, set it for 85 degrees, and see what shakes. Pretty old stuff I am hearing here. Nothing new. So, what makes a VFT red? And how do they get red? What are the triggers that cause it?
 
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