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Is it ok to grow a VFT with other plants?

I have a 10 gallion aquarium turned terrarium. I have an African violet, and two Oxalis shamrock plants along with my VFT. Will the plants grow together well, especially the VFT?
 
Welcome to the forums and no.

The violet is tropical for sure, maybe the shamrock. Both of those require nutrient laden media. The Dionaea is a temperate plant and while some of us fertilize ours lightly it's not recommended to newbies.

Put your Dionaea outside in full sun with pure water and it will flourish. It will go dormant then return next spring. Grow some Sarracenia and temperate Drosera with it.
 
The VFT will need dormancy this winter in order to stay healthy. Also, VFTs need nutrient poor soil in order to grow well. Fertilizers will damage their roots and eventually kill them. So I would plant it seperately from them.
 
i bought an oxalis shamrock from lowes for st pattys day and was passing them out at the bar for good luck but thats because they like 60-70 degree weather any hotter and they will die they are specifically a early spring plant so i dunno if you could keep it with the VFTs my shamrock is still alive but i am expecting it to die within a few weeks it just gets to hot here in bama to have them year round. good luck with yours!!!!!!!!!!
 
You can easily grow a Venus Flytrap with other Carnivorous plants... but not other plants... due to the fact the soil they grow in has no nutrients... thus, the Shamrock would 'starve' to death...
 
Oxalis keep popping up in my Drosera aliciae pot which is just sand/perlite/peat. I never fertilize and they just keep growing until I get around to pulling them out, which isn't often.
 
Thanks for the advice!

However, I have read that in terrariums you rarely, if ever, have to fertilize your plants.
Also, isn't winter over so they won't be going through dormancy any time soon.
Also, my plants are inside where the temperature stays right around 70*. And I live in the suburbs of Chicago. I think putting the VFT outside would be risky. Thanks for any more advice!
 
Hey Zig

Im from the area too!! Northern suburbs actually.

CPs never have to be fertilized - the fertilizer would kill it.

If you think its too risky to put the plants because of the animals in the area, dont worry about it. You can make a little chicken wire cage/fence/box....

Now, if you're worried about the gusty wind (like the icky gustiness from two days ago), you can keep the plants inside for the meantime or put something to hold them down.
 
  • #10
I don't mean to contradict you (well yes I do but not in a disrespectful way :) ) Yes it is true that they don't NEED fertilizer, but you can safely foliar feed (and even root feed) once you get some experience under your belt. Fertilizing is very beneficial for most things, especially with Nepenthes. I fertilize everything. Yes, Everything.
 
  • #12
Why do you think it could be risky?

Chicago's weather is very unpredictable and can vary a lot: wind, temperature, rain, sunlight, etc. That is my main concern.
 
  • #13
So let’s see here… Rain, sunlight, temperature should not be an issue. It’s almost spring, and if it rains your plant will enjoy the shower, and if it rains too much just empty their water tray and let them dry a bit till the next watering. VFT’s can handle temps up to 100F and temps down into the 20’s when dormant. As for sunlight… well VFT’s are sun lovers so…

The wind could be a problem, but it is easily handled. I live in a windy area, and sometimes the wind dries out my VFT’s growing medium (just the top). The wind gusts are sometimes powerful, so I just make sure that the pots are secure and won’t get moved by the wind. On windy days I just keep an extra eye on them and water them when they start drying out.

As for the unpredictable factor, well that’s why you have the weather channel and local forecasts on various news broadcasts. If you see something bad coming up, just put them inside until it passes… easy!

Try growing them outside, they’ll love it!

Good luck!
 
  • #14
Thanks!

I'm pretty new, so I am still trying to figure things out. What is all this stuff about a water tray.

From what I understand, you get a big plastic container. Fill it with the right soil and plant your VFTs. Then water them. With the water tray the water will sit, and keep the soil very moist, which VFTs like.

Can you have a water tray inside?
How far do you submerge the tray in the soil?
Do you just keep little pots in the big water tray?
 
  • #15
A water tray is nothing more than a dish of water that the pot sits in. It can be made of anything really (one of my personal favorites is the bottom of a 2 liter plastic soda bottle). They have a rigidity and weather resistance that I like.

Yes you can certainly keep water trays indoors.

How deep you fill the tray is partly dependant on how fast the water evaporates and is consumed by the plants. An indoor grown VFT is not as likely to go through copious ammounts of water in a short time so it would 'probably' be best not to fill it too deep. My plants (which are all grown outdoors) go through water very quickly so I tend to fill my trays a little deeper than most people.

You can stuff as many pots into the tray as will fit. Many growers with larger collections use large trays with many many pots in them.

Good luck,
Steve
 
  • #16
I believe Ziggy has a "classic" terrarium, with a layer of soil and mosses on the bottom of the tank and the plants are planted into this. Thus the tray method would not work. You could consider it a mini-bog though.
 
  • #17
Can you just plant a VFT in the soil. No tray. Just let nature take over?
 
  • #18
OK are we still talking about planting in the terrarium? I was under the impression that it had been decided that outdoors is the best place to grow the VFT.

If you are talking about planting the VFT directly into the same media as the African Violet and other plants mentioned, then no I would STRONGLY advise against it. Av's do NOT like to be kept wet. VFTs prefer an acidic media which I dont know if the violet would appreciate, and then of course, come fall, there is the dormancy issue.

Can you just plant a VFT in the soil. No tray. Just let nature take over?

Yes, and no. VFTs can be directly planted into bogs and terraria, but you would need to use a CP friendly media such as Sphagnum peat, with sand, pummice, perlite ect ect (everyone has their favorite "recipe" you will have to do some trials and find what suits you best). You can't just plunk em in the tomato garden and expect them to grow.. it just doesn't work that way, sorry.

Steve
 
  • #19
Depends on the nature of the soil. VFTs evolved to live in boggy conditions - wet slightly acidic soil with very little nutrients in it (water circulation washes the nutrients away).

Few other plants live in these conditions - usually other CPs.

If you approximate those conditions then nature will take it's course.
 
  • #20
Here's a pictoral example:

IMG_0104.jpg


IMG_0105.jpg
 
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