Strange growtpoints

[celox]

hey all,
After I transplanted three dioneae's almost three weeks ago now, two are doing very well.
But the third plant had a huge shock, leaves turning black (I had to cut them off eventually), very small traps compared to the old ones and no new growth (so I thought) but after looking closer today I noticed that there are now 2 new growthpoints, one very close to the old one (you can still see the old growt point, it is where the brown flowerstalk leftover is) and the other is, and I find this very strange, behind a leaf.

Some pictures:
first and for all my set up, my plants get (well not every day since its cloudy sometimes) alot of direct light here (all day actually) and it is always warmer there than outside (I'm talking about 25-35° celcius while outside its 15-21° celcius )

Close ups

My very healthy typical dioneae, this one is quite vigorious. It didn't show a sign of root shock after transplanting

My baby bigmouth, I love this one. It is still small but the traps are as big as my healthy typicals traps

And last but not least, the one with the strange growthpoints.

look closer?

Closeup (you can see the brown flowerstalk leftover here, and a new small leaf next to it)

And this one is behind a leaf (the left leaf in the previous picture)

As you can see there are atleast 4 new leafs comming from behind the mature leaf, my question is: Why on earth would it do that and why did the old growthpoint stop functioning??

~C

 

[Ridetsu]

its my belief that the root shock makes the plant think that something is wrong with its traps. Take a look at this first picture and you'll understand what i mean. This is one i'v posted here before when i first got it after shipment. None of the traps were really open and able to feed, and all my new growths were stunted and dead (burnt tips/ aphid damage). So, directly after the transplant, this CP was definitely not a happy camper.

but, after reading your post today, i decided to go out and snap a quick picture of that very same CP after a month or so of growing and care.

As you can see, its got very healthy red traps, but the stalks are MUCH shorter. The traps also are slightly smaller than the older traps. Personally, i think that the root shock sends a message to the plant that its in a dire position, and it needs to cut off energy from its stalks to promote growth in the roots so it can stabilize itself. Once its fully stabilized it will once again give the energy needed to its traps.

Only now has the traps began to open that were there initially (the ones with the long stem). Since I've gotten them, only one trap has opened and captured prey - the others have remained closed, but are beginning to open now. It has been pushing up new growths, which end up dead (my fault), but after about a month or so it is looking really good.

Oh, and clean out those traps! i use a misting bottle and direct the mist directly at the areas i want to clean - the misting won't trigger the trap, btw - CPs are smarter than that! Just don't try to brush them away with an object - use water.

 

[celox]

Oh, and clean out those traps!

I quite like the look of dead flies and yeh I know there is some dirt in some of the older traps.

But my plant that got the shock has stabilized its root system and is producing new leaves, however they are not comming out the original growthpoint but from different positions (look at the last pictures)

 

[Ridetsu]

That could mean one of two things in my opinion (not exactly the correct opinion mind you )
1. it had babies with itself! a new bulb developed and is putting up its offspring. When you transplanted, did you dig it up and look at the tap roots? were there one or two of them? When you saw the bulb, was it a conformed singular bulb, or did it appear to have a large tumor appearing object attached to it? You may have a second CP now that is attached to the first one (i have 3 plants like this).
2. The root shock caused it to perform cellular suicide (its actually more common than you think, and has a scientific name.. cytokinesis i think..? blah, 3 years since adv. biology courses), and what its doing right now is starting over. Basically, you'll have a fresh new plant with an established root system. It should grow quickly, but will appear small and weak for some time.

bah, dead flies are one thing - i leave those in too. But you have dirt in your traps XD

 

[celox]

When I transplanted it it was one single bulb, your second theory sounds quite interesting though however if that is true. I'm quite certain it started over and has an offspring (or atleast I hope so), because the new traps are comming from 2 points at the moment (behind the leaf and the one close to the old growing point)

Regarding the dirt, I'll clean it out later. However it can be quite a challenge sometimes I dont want to trigger the traps
~c

 

[Ridetsu]

trust me, you won't trigger the traps using water. I have a small spraybottle used for hair styling that i have devoted to misting my plants. just set it to mist and hold it about 3-5 inches away. I do it every day to my traps (several times a day) to keep them nice and wet. I haven't triggered any of them yet.
CPs are incredibly smart.. they can tell the difference between a bead of water rolling through their trap, and the touch of a bug.

Cellular suicide is common in both plants and animals. Cancer and cellular suicide are both directly linked. With plants, it is mostly done due to shock... you have to understand that plants have been evolving and adapting since the dawn of time basically - their genetic code predates the dinosaurs and us humans - they know exactly what they are doing. While humans can't control cellular suicide, plants can. Do you notice them turning black around certain spots on the stem? a plant can kill off a part of itself if it wants - but usually their stems also provide energy.. so as long as the stem is providing more energy than it is taking, then it won't kill it - however it will 'suspend' its energy - meaning it won't give it enough energy to do anything other than what it is doing currently: photosynthesis. Once the stem requires more energy than it produces, the plant will kill off that stem.

 

[jm82792]

Min1e make a strange growing point then die I can grow drosera,sarracenia,nepenthes,urtics and pings but not VFTs!!!

 

[Not a Number]

It's not unusual for VFTs to divide after producing a flower stalk. It's one of the many ways they propagate. My 'Cupped Trap' has three growing points after flowering.

 

[rockstarcobain]

NAN is right. My VFT's almost always start a new growing point after flowering. The plants will be fine, and more plentiful. They all look like they need more light, though. Give them that, and they will give you gorgeous reds, pinks, greens. But yea, don't worry about that new growing point. It just means you have a new plant.

 

[PlantAKiss]

The plants in the above picture look just fine.

 

[vraev]

lol! water can trigger traps. My red dragon has all its traps trying to digest something which isn't in there. i realised that sometimes when I top water...I water over the traps and it triggers it and since water slowly crawls inside the trap, it sometimes triggers the plant to go all the way. All my plant's traps are empty when they just opened and the traps look bad becos of it.

 

[Ridetsu]

lol! water can trigger traps. My red dragon has all its traps trying to digest something which isn't in there. i realised that sometimes when I top water...I water over the traps and it triggers it and since water slowly crawls inside the trap, it sometimes triggers the plant to go all the way. All my plant's traps are empty when they just opened and the traps look bad becos of it.

Maybe try not pouring water directly over the trap? Logic would have it that something like that doesn't happen naturally in the wild. Rain-style watering will not close them, because i have tested the theory not only on smaller traps, but also big-mouth and ryu - none of them snap closed when water is sprayed at them. However, through simple reasoning, i wouldn't ever pour waterfall-style water over the traps, because it will erode the ground formation, and be akin to a finger slithering across the trap.

Avoid top-watering. Go ahead and mist the heck out of it from the top, but don't top-water unless you plan on flushing something out.

 

[rockstarcobain]

Maybe try not pouring water directly over the trap? Logic would have it that something like that doesn't happen naturally in the wild. Rain-style watering will not close them, because i have tested the theory not only on smaller traps, but also big-mouth and ryu - none of them snap closed when water is sprayed at them. However, through simple reasoning, i wouldn't ever pour waterfall-style water over the traps, because it will erode the ground formation, and be akin to a finger slithering across the trap.

Avoid top-watering. Go ahead and mist the heck out of it from the top, but don't top-water unless you plan on flushing something out.

Ok, so, not to disagree, with you, but your theory is wrong. In the wild, Flytraps get rained on. And rain CAN trigger traps. Being from the Pacific Northwest, the rain up here isn't as brutal as it can be in N. Carolina. The plant doesn't care if it's your finger, a bug, or rain, if the hairs are triggered twice within 10 seconds, it will shut. Heavier rainfall equals higher chance of rain-triggered trap. I don't top water my flytraps, but it is really a matter of preference. I would never water directly onto the plant, but in the wild, the plants have no choice. Anytime you have a theory, or a problem, think about the plant in it's natural habitat, and that will enlighten you. :grin:

 

[flytraplady5]

I agree with what NAN said about dividing after the plant blooms.
Take gr8 care since you planted you babies in clay pots to keep them moist. if you see deposits starting tobuild up on the outside of the pots or your plants start to fail. I'll ditch these pots for somethign ceramic or plastic.
jest my 2 cents.
Lois