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possom

Hey, I just recently (about 2 hours ago) bought a little set that came with seeds, the soil stuff, and some rocks, (along with a plastic gecko...). I was reading the instructions, and it sayed to "stritisfy" or something, in the fridge for about 8 weeks. But I read in other places its not neccisary.

Was just wondering if stratisfication (sp.) is neccissary?'

Thanks
 
Stratification? haha... Um.. depending on how old the seeds are they may not do anything to begin with... The rocks are a bad idea as they may leech minerals into the soil *I could be over reacting there* but I'm not sure about the stratification... They are best if just sown fresh I believe...

-J.P.
 
hmm

it came with tehse blue rocks, so i shouldnt use theM??/


and what part of va u from, im from va too
 
possom - don't use rocks unless they are artificial rocks - real rocks have minerals in them that will get leeched into the soil and will harm the plant.

Make sure the soil they sent you is good - if they sent you a real rock to put with your VFT, then i wouldn't trust it simply because i think they may be looking for your repeat business. The soil you should aim for is peat (Canadian sphagnum peat preferred), and sand (horticultural sand that is washed - make sure it has no extra minerals!) I personally use black-gold brand gardening sand (you can get it at wal-mart, or any hard-ware shop with a garden department).

Stratification is the process of putting the seed through an artificial winter. Keep them cool and dry for a couple months, then put them out so they think its spring and will start to germinate. The problem with that, is your current timing - in a couple months it will be time for everything to go dormant for the winter - and if a VFT doesn't get its dormancy, it will be very weak.

In my honest opinion, what i would do if i were you, is sow the seeds now so they can have a couple months of growing before going into dormancy.
 
thanks

The rocks that it came with were those little blue pebble type things, that you find at the bottom of aquariums. The little set it came with is all set up, and in the fridge, but should i take it out, and leave it in my room to grow? or should i keep them doing the psuedo-dormanting thing?

and this is just an experiment im doing, not for school or anything, but for summer boredom,
 
Oh, you bought one of the Dunecraft kits. You probably would have been better off spending your money on plants from Lowes, Home Depot or Wal-Mart. Growing CPs from seeds is the slowest way to start your collection. It can be rewarding but the freshness of the seeds in those kits is suspect. There's so few rocks in there that they won't matter - purely decorative. Which kit did you get?

See these threads:
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107319&highlight=dunecraft
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105968&highlight=dunecraft
 
Dunecraft is a robbery and a mockery to CPs. You should try the search button on the forums to find out some basic cultivation information, Venus Flytraps are a lot different when it comes to cultivating them than say a little houseplant. Most people with Dunecraft kits report failure and severe disgust with the company. In 6 years you'll have a full grown Venus Flytrap. You should like I said try the search feature, get tons of knowledge on the basic cultivation of Dionaea muscipula (scientific name) and then order one from Andrew who is the owner of this forum at www.Flytrapshop.com , this way you get already healthy plants (not half dead from Wal-Mart or something) and you don't have to wait 6 years!

~NeciFiX
 
Ive always found it kinda shady to order stuff online, so im going with this junk in a box. Ill check those threads and tell you which i got, than ill edit


EDIT- The pack sounds like neither =/. It just came with about 8 seeds, some soil, blue rocks, and a little lizard.

So far I have put the soil stuff in, put a cup of rain water in, and put seads in, and the blue rocks on. Ive read the rocks arent neccisary. Oh and Ive got the whole thing in the fridge. TELL ME ME ERRORS AHEAD OF TIME PLEASE.
 
I wouldn't consider me shady! lol (does this look like the family of a shady operation? http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=834377&postcount=98 haha)
seriously though,

There are so many unknowns... ASSUMING the media is correct, and the rocks are fake rocks or aquarium rocks (generally coated to not leach into the water) it sounds about right... Some things you didn't specify... Did you place the seeds on top the media or plant them? and the blue rocks are on top the media? Generally, cps seeds you just put on the media surface and put nothing on top of them.
 
  • #10
ok i take that comment back, haha wasnt expecting you to actually read posts, but guess so. But yea i just kinda randomly put them in over the rocks.
 
  • #11
Oh yah, I'm here! every day. And have been since Jul 2001 (almost 6 years to the day!!!)

Well, if you put in the media, then the rocks, then the seeds, I guess you need to leave the rocks as to not remove the seeds. but you'll notice no one around here (that I can think of) put rocks on their media. I can't think of a reason to.
 
  • #12
Do they help with anything, or just get ADD kids excited? (Nothing against them)***
 
  • #13
Okay, you must have bought the smaller "FlyTrap Fiends" kit. I think the instructions say not to cover it, but I would cover it with some plastic wrap if the dome is too big for the fridge. Keep it in the fridge for four - five weeks and then take it out. If the instructions says you can pour boiling water on it after taking it out of the fridge don't bother. After you take it out make sure it gets good light but not direct sunlight as it could cook the seeds with the dome on. If the seeds are still fresh you should see some sprouts any where from two weeks to two months. If you don't see anything after two months probably the seeds were old.

The instructions also say to just sprinkle the seeds on top of the mix and not to cover them. That is correct. When you add water later on, add it carefully to sides of the container so you don't flood and cover the seeds.

The concept of these kits are good, as a fun educational tool. If they would have a coupon you send in to get the seeds that would be better if they could insure the freshness and viability of the seeds that way. Hardly a mockery at all.

Flytrapshop.com is a very good source for CPs. You can buy with confidence from them.
 
  • #14
The rocks? I guess just to make you feel like the kit is more complete?? I would think once they're plants (if they grow), the rocks will make it look kinda silly... To be honest.


Imagine blue rocks in this pot and how it'd look...


bigmouth.JPG

(that's long fiber sphagnum)

or
storedente.jpg

that's the "typical" peat and perlite mix.


Not good IMHO
 
  • #15
yea i met andrew as you can see. ha, but yea ill keep in the fridge, on your advice, and hopefully ill see results
 
  • #16
my dome isnt quite that big, and i heard that you can basicly kill your plants if you take the top off to fast? how long after i take them out of the fridge, should i remove the top
 
  • #17
Leave the dome on until they sprout. You can leave it on until you have 3 or 4 leaves on the plants. Then just lift it up and move it a bit so there's a slight opening and just make the opening bigger and bigger over a week or two. After that you want to put the plants so they get a lot of sunlight. The more the better.

Many people sprout them without stratifying their VFT seeds in the fridge. It's up to you.
 
  • #18
well if i dont stratify them, will i have puny plants or anything
 
  • #19
In nature the plants have a cool period where the plants go dormant. During that time, the seeds lie and wait (stratification) for the warm season to come back so they know it is time to sprout. If they sprouted as soon as they fell, they would not have time to grow up and store energy for the winter, so they would likely die. So this is you, giving the seeds the signal that it is winter, when you take them out of the fridge that is you telling the seeds it is spring, so they'll sprout.
 
  • #20
Its not winter tho hah, its spring, so should i leave them uncoverd, because by the time they are done stratisfying, they will go dormant any way wont they>
 
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