Please help a newbie not kill his first VFT

[Veronis]

Edit: I'm not going to attempt growing from seeds since you all say not to start that way - I don't want to wait another 3 years for my first functional VFT. I'm going to buy a couple from "adnedarn" later on instead. Post below is otherwise unedited.
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I've wanted a venus flytrap for years, and I'm finally getting one. I've read all the info I can find in this forum and elsewhere, and I've put together a plan.

Before I put it into action, I have a few questions:

1. Will this setup make a healthy environment for it?
Terrarium (14" diameter)
Lamp
Bulb
Flytrap seeds (can't find anywhere else to get seeds)
Soil: Mix of 70% peat or sphagnum moss and 30% perlite or coarse pumis
Water: Distilled or rain water only, will not use any fertilizer etc.
Temp: Will have a thermometer inside and ensure 75-90 degrees (ideal is 83ish I hear).

2. How much water do you give the seeds, and how do you know when to add more?

3. I assume Spring Water would be OK to use?

4. Will ~Jan 1 be too early to buy/plant the seeds?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

[Not a Number]

Where do you live? The best place to grow VFTs is outdoors, but again it depends on where you live and what space you have available.

A terrarium would be fine for this winter but if possible move the plants outdoors in the spring.

Growing from seeds is probably the slowest way to get started and extremely frustrating for a beginner. It will probably take 3-4 years or so with a lot luck and hard work for you to get plants big enough that you can get any satisfaction from feeding them.

Why not buy some VFTs from Andrew (the proprietor of this board) at flytrapshop.com?

He sells healthy beautiful plants that will probably be of flowering size within a year or two and you can harvest your own seeds. That way you can enjoy the plants now instead of three year hence.

Soil: 70/30 mix is ok. 50/50 peat/perlite or silica sand is typical.
Water: spring water does not equal distilled water. Spring water can mean anything and have a high mineral content. Stick with distilled water or water purified by Reverse Osmosis (aka RO water).

Some suggested reading:

http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81026
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2000.html
water

 

[Veronis]

I live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - it's humid enough in the spring-summer months, but the weather is unpredictable here and changes every ten minutes - I'm not sure if they would do well outside in this particular valley.

Growing the plant outdoors is a consideration though - I have a corner rise on my backyard deck that sees plenty of sun. I would not plant them in the ground as there's nowhere outside my house that I could consider a "safe" place to grow them (trampling).

I could move the terrarium outside in the spring and take the lid off - I'll just need to be sure to keep it watered enough (but not too much...I'll have to get more info on that) if it doesn't rain for long periods.

I didn't know growing from seeds would take years, thanks for the advice. I will probably buy from Andrew when I'm all set up / finalized, and ready to take care of them properly.

I'm reading your suggested readings now.

 

[adnedarn]

I agree outside would be best, perhaps in the winter, a window sill would be a good place for it to go dormant. Also you mention planting them in the ground... Since the ground typically has lots of minerals, your plant wouldn't last.

Thanks for the plug Not a Number But as a side note... The vast majority of my traps are of flowering size! I cut so many flowers off..... lol I have set some aside to let flower this coming spring to have a few for those wanting to try it, but for the most part I just chop them.

I'm adding media to my store too within the next week (likely today or tomorrow) so you could pick up the correct media to put in that terrarium thing. It seems it's getting harder and harder to find appropriate media locally for people. (Most contain fertilizer and that's bad....)

Andrew
Andrew

 

[jimscott]

In my opinion, a better mix is sand and peat, with LFS on top. You can sprout seeds right now and keep them in growth mode for the next calendar year, under great lighting.

You can transfer the seedlings to a bucket or whiskey barrel or anything large and keep it outside, mulched well for the winter. A friend (JBL), who comes from near Philly has his outside all year long, lining his driveway. But it is warmer in Philly than Harrisburg. It was a little too cold for me to have them oustide all year long, without insulating them - and I was in Reading, PA.

 

[Veronis]

Yes, putting a VFT outside year-long in Harrisburg, naked, would end badly. Once I know more about caring for them, I may get more of them and other types of plants, and be able to find safe ways of keeping them outside year-round (e.g. insulation as you suggest).

With my first VFT's I'll determine if this is something I want to do as a full-time hobby.

Mainly I'm trying to find out if my lighting is sufficient for it's initial run indoors. Until I get the equipment and the VFT, I'm in reading/learning mode.

 

[adnedarn]

Just a comment on media (since I missed that part my first time though) I started off using peat : sand Thought there was nothing better. Then I went to peat : perlite and while it looks worse, I notice the plants go much longer without needing to be transplanted. But media is probably the one thing you'll notice alot of people doing differently, but all working just fine. From the complicated mixtures, to the simple ones. I don't know about a topping of LFS for seed though... Seems to me if it happens to sprout (and likely would given the long term VFT seeds take to grow up) it may over come the plant. So you'll find yourself having to trim that back often.
Andrew

 

[DrWurm]

I would highly recommend not growing from seed. It takes quite a long time, and getting flytraps to germinate can be difficult.

 

[celox]

I agree with the above that growing from seed is not that great and you don't need to spend alot of money on it just yet (terrarium, lights, etc..)

Just buy a plant somewhere and try growing it on a windowsill or outside. And then decide if you like growing cp's or not

 

[SirKristoff]

i started out with a VFT as well
i just kept mine sitting in the little pot in a small dish of water on the windowsill.
it grew great until we got UV filter windows xD
i still have it, but it is a bit of an odd plant, me and some others came up with the idea of it being a TC Nightmare lol.
trust me, its hard NOT to get into CPs
have fun, youll enjoy it!

-Kris

 

[jimscott]

Better than seeds is taking leaf cuttings from a mature plant and placing on live LFS. This way you get a cluster of new plants that are way ahead of anything that starts from seeds.

 

[Veronis]

I don't know what you mean by this. Would "Cultivating Carnivorous Plants" or "Growing Carnivorous Plants" tell me how to do this?

In the meantime,
What's "LFS"?
When you say "leaf cuttings", do you mean cutting off a leaf from the flower that grows and planting a leaf that will turn into a new plant? Or so you cut off part of the trap itself?

 

[SirKristoff]

LFS is long-fiber sphagnum, its great for CPs

 

[scottychaos]

I've wanted a venus flytrap for years, and I'm finally getting one. I've read all the info I can find in this forum and elsewhere, and I've put together a plan.

Before I put it into action, I have a few questions:

1. Will this setup make a healthy environment for it?
Terrarium (14" diameter)
Lamp
Bulb
Flytrap seeds (can't find anywhere else to get seeds)
Soil: Mix of 70% peat or sphagnum moss and 30% perlite or coarse pumis
Water: Distilled or rain water only, will not use any fertilizer etc.
Temp: Will have a thermometer inside and ensure 75-90 degrees (ideal is 83ish I hear).

2. How much water do you give the seeds, and how do you know when to add more?

3. I assume Spring Water would be OK to use?

4. Will ~Jan 1 be too early to buy/plant the seeds?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

IMO, you should remove a few items from your plan:

Terrarium.
Lamp.
Seeds.

get rid of those completely..
keep "bulb"..but change its meaning to "VFT bulb" instead of "light bulb"!

IMO seeds are very disappointing, especially for a first-time CP grower..
I tried it once...BORING...and they die really easily.
seedlings are MUCH harder to grow and keep alive than an adult VFT..
and they stay very very tiny for many years..

And this is the worst possible time of the year to start a new CP collection..
because its winter..everything should be dormant.

If you want to try seeds, go for it! just be aware there are MUCH easier ways to get into the hobby! IMO seeds are not a great way to start..not worth the effort.
seeds are the kind of thing you can try after growing CPs for awhile..you can try it, experience teeny seedlings that do nothing at all for a few years, think "wow..that was SO not worth it" and just go back to enjoying your adult plants.

I would suggest this instead:

Forget the terrarium alltogether.
get no CPs right now.
use the next few winter months to read tons about CPs while you wait!
ask for This book for Christmas.
knowledge is your friend.
then..in April, order a few adult VFTs from any of the repuatable CP nurserys.
pot them up correctly (you will know how by then!
give them the correct water and light. (you will know all about that by then.)
grow then outdoors in full sunlight.
you will have beautiful and happy and healthy flytraps to enjoy all Summer.
a very satisfying and sucessful introduction to this great hobby!


then next October you can prepare them for winter dormancy. (you will know all about that by then.)
and your VFTs will remain happy and healthy for many years to come..

Scot

 

[jimscott]

Leaf cutting is simply pulling a leaf/ trap from the center of the plant, where you can see the white part (base).

 

[DrWurm]

Scotty's advice is spot on. Although, if you REALLY REALLY want a plant, you could pick up a mexican butterwort or a cape sundew. They don't require dormancy and, especially the sundew, are very easy to care for. However, you should do this in addition to Scotty's advice. No self respecting CP grower should ever be without a copy of the Savage Garden.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

A sure fire way to get 100% germination of any seed, is to spill it into a pot of other CPs. They really take off if it is in a pot of CPs that have different cultivation requirements

 

[Veronis]

Thanks Scotty. I already have Savage Garden on my Amazon wish list (I'll also probably get Growing Carnivorous Plants at some point later) I wasn't planning on doing anything until I knew enough to be able to take care of a VFT properly, which I currently don't.

Edit: Scratch that amazon wish list comment, Scotty, I just ordered it.

 

[SirKristoff]

i got my first VFT from my mother at random
my first that started the collection anyway
i didnt know anything about them but i somehow got by on instinct and a little reading
they arent hard to take care of as long as you dont feed em hamburger or any other raw meat or processed meat, only live insects like flys or even spiders work.
and of course you know the strict NO TAP WATER rule
if you know to keep the soil moist, full sun, and allow it to go dormant in late fall
youll be fine with your VFT.

 

[jimscott]

A sure fire way to get 100% germination of any seed, is to spill it into a pot of other CPs. They really take off if it is in a pot of CPs that have different cultivation requirements

Hence the many capensis in various pots... not to mention the subulata!