Increasing Humidity

[italo.america]

Now that Spring is here I intend to leave my VFTS outside during the day.
Currently, I'm placing them next to a fountain in my yard full of rocks. My VFTS are right above the water full of rocks and not touching anything. My questions is, is this a good idea for increasing humidity outside and is this safe for my VFTS because the water inside the fountain is regular tap water? I only use distilled water to water my VFTS.

Thank you in advance for any useful information!

 

[Clint]

Well, I was going to say don't worry about it, until I saw that you live in AZ. As long as the water doesn't touch them, I'd say it's fine.

 

[bianchi914]

Well, I was going to say don't worry about it, until I saw that you live in AZ. As long as the water doesn't touch them, I'd say it's fine.

You could move to portalnd Or. Than you wouldnt have to worry bout the tap water ;D. Yeah i definetly agree just dont let the water touch em and you be fine

-Flash

 

[joossa]

Placing them near the water is fine.

You really don't need to worry about humidity. As long as you acclimate your VFTs and water when needed, they will do fine in low ambient humidity, even if you're growing in the desert (like me). In addition, you can also add a layer of live sphagnum at the top of your pots/containers. It will hold water well and increase humidty.

Good luck!

 

[xscd]

I agree with Joossa-- Venus Flytraps can easily be acclimated to very low humidity. At least so long as they are protected from very strong, hot, dry wind.

The two things I worried about in your post is any ground or tap water that the wind may blow from the fountain onto your plants, and the idea that your plants may be exposed to strong wind to begin with, outside near the fountain, depending on whether there are any windbreaks nearby.

The reason I think so much about wind is that here on the grassy eastern plains of New Mexico there are almost no natural topographical features nor trees to act as windbreaks, so the wind can be very strong. Regarding water splashing on the leaves, the ground water I have to deal with here is so "rich" in minerals that if sprayed on the leaves of trees and shrubs, it burns those leaves, which then sometimes turn brown, die and fall from the plants in a week or two.

Anyway, although there may be some real problems to keep in mind, trying to ensure high humidity for Venus Flytraps is not one of them. Careful acclimation to the environment they are growing in, as much as possible, is more important, in my opinion.

Steve

 

[joossa]

Hey Steve. Nice to seeing you here!


Good luck with your flytraps this year!

 

[antechron]

I have successfully grown VFTs in humidity that gets as low as ... say 5% during the day and they have been just fine. Mostly you need to make sure that your soil doesn't rise too high in temps, if that happens the whole plant can (only occasionally) turn to mush. Good luck growing them!

Isaac

 

[xvart]

Humidity is overrated with respect to vfts.

xvart.

 

[xscd]

I have successfully grown VFTs in humidity that gets as low as ... say 5% during the day and they have been just fine. Mostly you need to make sure that your soil doesn't rise too high in temps, if that happens the whole plant can (only occasionally) turn to mush. Good luck growing them!
Isaac

Keep those roots cool!

If you live at a higher altitude where the sun is more intense because of less atmospheric buffer, or in places where the skies are often cloudless and the sun shines brightly for many hours at a time, overheating the growing container can be a real problem and can result in the death of the plants.

Planted in the ground, the surrounding soil or planting medium keeps the plants' roots cool enough. But planted in pots above ground, with direct sun hitting the sides of the pots, the root zone of the plants and especially the roots near the sides of the planting container can literally cook and die, a matter made worse by the common thin-sided, dark plastic pots which gather, concentrate and transmit heat to the planting medium and root zone.

Here where I live, at 4.000 feet above sea level in extremely sunny eastern New Mexico, US, I grow my plants in insulating polyurethane foam planters for this reason. I am embarrassed to say that I have lost quite a few plants in the past to cooked roots before I sought and eventually found one solution. This is a matter that is not often mentioned nor considered, but it can be very important in my opinion.

best wishes everyone, and thanks Joossa (Joel) for the greeting! :grin:

Steve

 

[antechron]

Exactly! Thanks for explaining, I was in a bit of a hurry when I submitted that. Mind sharing what you do to keep the soil temperatures down? I am still kind of experimenting, this year I am thinking to try circulating the water with a container that will always be in the shade.

-Isaac