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Vft tips

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum.

I just bought myself a venus flytrap. My question is do I need to cover it with a plastic cup with holes if I want to plant it indoor ?

I have already got a tray for my plant with half an inch of water and some pebbles. And my humidity level is always around 45 ~ 55%.

This is my fifth flytrap ! And I want to keep it alive forever
smile.gif
 
Nope, you don't need it. I would take it off.
 
Thx for your reply Grim.

And for the water in my tray. Can I use house water instead of distilled water ?
 
No, you must use either distilled water or rainwater. The minerals in tap water can slowly kill your VFT or make it unhealthy. Which could mean smaller traps. It would take a while to do a lot of damage so you CAN use it but only in emergencys like if you run out of distilled water and the soil is dry.
 
Oh ic.  I thought the water in my tray is to make my plant more humid.  

Should I just put my plant into a tray with 1/2" of water? Won't that destroy the root?
 
Yep, throw it in with 'da water. Nope it won't.
 
ok thx alot.

In the winter time, I still need 1/2" of water in the tray right?
 
People have varying levels of water to keep them. you can have an inch of water in the tray, too. For winter dormancy the idea is to make sure there is enough water to keep the plant from drying out. So under a half inch is appropriate.
 
ic.  My pot is only like 2.5 inches tall, so i think 1/2" of water is good enough eh?
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (KayWhy @ Sep. 05 2004,12:09)]This is my fifth flytrap ! And I want to keep it alive forever.
Can I use house water instead of distilled water ?
If you are careful, it is possible to keep it alive forever. I still have the same flytraps that I bought in 1955.

If you are lucky and live in an area with a low concentration of dissolved minerals in your house water, you can use it. You can get a chemical analysis report from the water company. I have used nothing but house water for my plants for 40 years. I fortunately live in an area where the town's water has very low mineralization. I just let the water sit in an open container for a day so that the chlorine can gas-off. If you have only a couple of plants, it is not a big deal to buy distilled or deionized water. However, I use about 10 gallons of water a day and that could become expensve.
 
  • #11
Bobz, i'm growing the offspring of one of those 50 year old vft's that i got from tuyen, who got it from you. it's HUGE!
 
  • #12
Hey guys, i have another question.

I have a trap opened today after a week with an ant inside. The ant is like 0.7cm long. It seems like my vft didn't digest the ant, is it possible ?

Also, can i put 2 or more small insects into one trap at the same time ?
 
  • #13
I also put an ant in one fo my traps and 10 days later, it opens and didn't look like it got digested much, And I think it's possible to put two very small insects in one trap as long as it doesn't exceed the 1/3 or 2/3 limit, forget which one was it
confused.gif
 
  • #14
A bug will never be totally digested, the hard exoskeleton will always remain..so it might not *look* like the plant digested much, but it sucked out all the good stuff! ;)

also, sorry to tell you this, but you picked just about the worst time of year to buy a new VFT..(Spring is much better)
because your plant should be just going into dormancy *right now*...and it should stay dormant until about March next year...

where do you live? what are your winters like?
if you are lucky, your plant can simply stay outside all year..but depending on where you live, you might have to force dormancy upon your plant, for its own good..

IMO, keeping a VFT outside, if you can, is WAY WAY WAY better than keeping it indoors..
they need as much direct sunlight as you can give them..most VFTs indoors get far too little light.

let us know where you live, and we can help with dormancy..
meanwhile, check this out!
smile.gif


http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2040.html
 
  • #15
Hey scottychaos, thx for your reply.

I live in Toronto, Canada.  Right now the weather is still good, the weather today is 25 celsius.  So i don't think my plant is in dormant yet ?
 
  • #16
Toronto! excellent..im across the lake from you!
Rochester, NY. your climate is essentially identical to mine..
Can you put your plant outdoors?
if so, I would put it outside right now..
temps are just beginning to fall, and it will have a good month to begin to go dormant on its own..
then in mid or late October, when it starts to fall below freezing, you can either put it in the refrigrator, (lots of threads here about that) or..if you have a cool spot, like a basement that stays around 5 to 10 degrees C, that would work too..
if its on the warm side, say 13, it will still need some light..
but if the location is just above freezing, say 2 to 7, then light inst as important..
(opps! you are in Canada! I just changed all those fahrenheit numbers to celsius! ;)

ideal dormancy temps are 2-8, 10 is a bit too warm IMO..

Scot
 
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