If I give my VFT all day sun And a floresent lamp will that be better than just sun?

[theweedking24]

nt

 

[rice_smuggler]

Your traps may get redder faster but I think any plant would appreciate a normal nocturnal/diurnal cycle and would be better off in the long run.

 

[ChronoKiento]

I agree. I can't imagine that the effects of doing that would be very good. That's what I call "overdoing it". It's unnecessary.

 

[Wesley]

It's kinda like with humans. If we just stayed awake all the time, we would wear out and eventually overdo it and become unhealthy. The same for a plant that only gets light and no dark.

If you mean to have the under fluorescents w/ the sun shining on them at the same time, then they'd probably just get red faster and nothing else. That would definitely be overkill.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

I agree with the others, save yourself some money and let the sun do the work. What little benefit the flourescent light would give is outweighed by the cost of the fixture and the electricity to run it. Now, if you get into CPs that grow during the winter, a flourescent light or three would help compensate for the shorter winter days, especially if you don't have a south window to place them in.

 

[xvart]

And mother nature does not provide supplemental lighting in their natural habitat and vft seem to be doing fine that way. You would also have to worry about rain on your lamp. Unless you mean you are growing them inside by a window and getting sun filtered through the glass and adding a light to that...

xvart.

 

[NeciFiX]

Lol, we had a topic like this the other day.

Just leave it outside in full sun. A tray of DISTILLED or REVERSE OSMOSIS water under it, refilled when dry and in a good spot, and it's set! No extra fluorescent lighting or moving it in and outside at night. They grow in one spot in the wild, they aren't carried off by humans y'know! (Unless those cursed poachers come along).

Just leave it be.

 

[likeAstone76]

Is it better for them to grow inside or outside?

 

[rice_smuggler]

Outside would give the plant the best growing conditions - they'll thrive in full sun (acclimatize them if they're new to the outdoors), will appreciate the air flow (less chance of mold) and will receive natural rain water (no salts) as they do in the wild. If you're growing in pots just set them in a tray/reservoir with about 1" of water. Remember, generally do not use tapwater - use distilled, reverse osmosis, de-ionized, or rain water as these will contain no harmful salts. Also, just remember to use the standard sphagnum peat mixed with either silica sand or perlite and your plant will reward you with beautiful traps all summer long.

 

[likeAstone76]

I am doing all that you listed, only growing them inside with good lights, and filtered sunlight. I live in Kansas, and it gets fairly cold in the winter, the wind blows on an average of 15 to 30 mph everyday (gusting up to 55 on Tuesday), and right now my traps are small so the wind would blow them out of the soil. lol So them being outside is just not an option at this point in time. Do you get better results growing them outside?

I appologize if these questions have been answered somewhere on the forum already.

 

[jiana54]

yep. better results when grown outside. however, if you're really worried about the unpredictable elements outside, you can grow your plants on the windowsill. I grew one of my first vfts on a windowsill facing south. i didnt have to worry about wind or rain. the plant was getting all the sun it needed.

 

[rice_smuggler]

I just got back into the hobby after a short absence but in the past I've always gotten better results outside - bigger and redder traps and plants that were generally more robust. Plus the only thing I really needed to worry about was making sure there was always water in the trays, other than that they would take care of feeding themselves.

 

[likeAstone76]

Thanks for all the help.