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New to CP's, need advice

Hello,

I am new to CP's and to plants in general. I run a custom shop and build custom cars and trucks, so this is a stretch for me, but something that I am eager to learn about. I have read and researched these plants extensively, but I still have a few questions.

I ordered an Akai Ryu red dragon vft and a Scarlet Belle pitcher plant online on the recommendation of a friend who grows exotic peppers and has had good experiences with this vendor in the past. Being new to this, I figured I would have a better chance of success with an established plant than starting from seeds. I plan to plant both plants in a large rectangular pot and grow them in a window in my home. I have the means to keep them very humid, so I don't think a terrarium is necessary (correct me if I'm wrong). My questions are:

Does the pitcher require a dark period every year like the vft, or will I have to separate them?

All the research I have done indicates that these two plants should coexist happily, is there anything about keeping them together I should look out for? Or should I just leave them in seperate pots?

I want to eventually allow to vft to flower so that I can harvest some seeds and start some new plants, but I have read that letting them flower can use up valuable energy and be detrimental to the plant, is there any way around this?

When I receive the plants, is there any way to tell whether they've been through their dormant stage for the year, or should I assume they need to be dormant over the winter?

Sorry for the long post, but I'm a bit excited after months of research and finally choosing and ordering my plants. I plan to add another pitcher plant, and a few different varieties of vft in the future, depending on how this first attempt goes. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide for an eager newbie, and please be patient, as I'm sure I'll have many more newb questions.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hiya, welcome to TF!

First, I recommend growing them outside in full sun.

1. Yes, it does, must have reduced photoperiod and lower temps.
2. Yes, they can, but I would recommend that you have them seperate just in case, and the only thing you should look out for when VFTs and Sarrs are in the same pot is that the Sarr block's the VFT sunlight, but scarlet belle is a short one.
3. No, but if you have very well grown VFT, it won't be too costly.
4. To tell if they are is if they look dead.

Hopes this helps!
 
Your Scarlet Belle will require a dormancy. Seeing that Hirt's is located in Ohio, I'd guess that they haven't received their dormancy yet and were grown in a greenhouse or outdoors. The only way to be sure is to ask the grower.

My pitcher plants (mostly flava crosses) enjoy a higher water table while my VFT's like a lower water table getting their feet barely wet. They'll grow happily together just make sure the media doesn't get dry.

Established plants don't really need that high of humidity as long as the media is kept moist but remember when introducing plants to a new environment they may go into shock for a while. I place a plastic dome (from Starbucks) or baggie over some plants to keep the local humidity higher and gradually cut the opening bigger over the course of a few weeks so it slowly gets acclimatized to it's new environment.

Nothing wrong with letting your VFT flower but trap growth might generally slow down since most of the energy will be spent into flower production. If you're looking to propogate, let the flower stalk grow a bit then chop it down to 1-2" pieces and place on wet LFSM and keep it's environment humid. You'll see little nubs appear along the stalk producing new VFT's for you.
 
cannot name vendors
and you made a mistake ordering from them IMO, the people send crappy plants...ive had bad experiance with them each time i ordered.
 
Looks like your questions are answered but I did remove the vendor names per the rules... Please read those over... General forum rules

And :welcome: to TerraForums! It's not that far of a stretch... I'm a huge fan of working on vehicles specifically the performance side of it :) Although maintenance /repair is more common.
Andrew
 
Thanks for the quick responses and warm welcome! Sorry about posting the vendor name, I realized that was improper etiquette soon after the post. I wish I had known about the forum's sponsor before making my purchase!

SirKristoff- I'm sorry about your bad experiences in the past, I hope mine is better, but I must admit that you've got me a little anxious now!

Since I am in south carolina, and very near to several areas where these plants are found naturally (though I've never seen one in the wild), I am planning on growing them in an open window, and letting them go dormant naturally outside. They are supposed to be delivered some time next week, so I'll post again when I get them, and maybe include a pic or two. I'll keep an eye on this thread, and any info or advice in the meantime would be greatly appreciated!
 
If you're looking to propogate, let the flower stalk grow a bit then chop it down to 1-2" pieces and place on wet LFSM and keep it's environment humid. You'll see little nubs appear along the stalk producing new VFT's for you.

You'll have to forgive me, but I have no idea what LFSM is :)
 
Long Fibered Sphagum Moss.
 
LFSM is long fibered sphagnum moss.

When you get your new plants, they should be already going into dormancy. If not, they will once you put them somewhere that they'll get natural sunlight (which you should do).

If you grow your plants outside (which you should also do), you shouldn't have anything to worry about as far as letting your Venus Fly Trap flower. It will definitely slow down its growth, but it shouldn't kill it unless your plant is already ill.

As others have stated there are many ways to propagate your Venus Fly Trap other than collecting seed. You can read about all of the ways on my website here:
Venus Fly Trap Propagation
 
  • #10
Ok, one more question. I got some pots and moss in anticipation of repotting the plants once they arrive and are acclimated to their new home. I was planning on using a 50/50 blend of sphagnum moss and perlite. I'm a bit wary of the perlite that I purchased because it says it is "enriched with miracle-gro plant food" and I know the VFT's don't like chemicals and fertilizer. Should I be ok with this, or shop around for another type of perlite? I'm not even entirely sure what perlite IS so if it all contains plant food, please excuse my newbness.
 
  • #11
I wouldn't. Stay away from Miracle-Gro. Did you get sphagnum moss or peat moss? Either one is fine, but just wondering. Make sure they don't have a trace of fertilizer.
 
  • #12
The Miracle-Gro perlite will kill your plants. If you can't find any perlite that isn't Miracle-Gro, you can just plant them in pure peat moss. I've been using mostly pure peat moss lately, or peat moss with just a bit of perlite mixed in.
 
  • #13
I got sphagnum moss, I went to 3 different places, and the only peat I could find was in small tablet form. The miracle-gro perlite was also the only perlite I could find.

So... should I just plant them in the sphagnum moss, and not worry about the perlite until I repot them next spring? Or is this not ideal? I will order in some perlite and peat if that's what's necessary to ensure their well-being...
 
  • #14
I'd plant them in pure peat if you don't have perlite, with a sphagnum top-dressing if you so desire.
 
  • #15
No need to worry about the perlite, but I would recommend that you find some peat moss. You should be able to find it at virtually any hardware store or nursery.

If you don't have any luck finding it, they should be ok in the sphagnum.
 
  • #16
The plants showed up this morning :) They don't look great, but they're alive, and not yet dormant. The medium they are in appears to be peat / perlite, so I think I'm going to let them go dormant as-is and repot in the spring. I'm just going to order some mix online, as I've been to numerous big name home centers and hardware stores, and everything they sell is "enriched" or "fortified" with some type of food or fertilizer. I told an employee at one of the stores what I was looking for, and he recommended that I plant my VFT in normal potting soil!
 
  • #17
I told an employee at one of the stores what I was looking for, and he recommended that I plant my VFT in normal potting soil!
Hah, yeah that doesn't surprise me. Most people aren't knowledgeable about how to care for them.

Your plants should be fine until spring. You should definitely be able to find peat moss in the spring time at any hardware store. It's usually outside and it comes in big bales that are 2.2 cu. ft. or 3 cu. ft.
 
  • #18
Ok, I'm a perfectionist and couldn't stand that the plants were not in the center of the pots, so I repotted both of them in the sphagnum. They are in a window in my sun room, and receive sunlight all day, with about 5-6 hours of full, unobstructed sunlight. The scarlett belle has a few new pitchers that have started to grow, and the flytrap shows no signs of dormancy. It has 7 perfect little traps, 3 of which have fully opened since repotting (3 of the others appear to be digesting something, and the last one is starting to open). During repotting, the rhizomes were nice and white and appeared very healthy. As soon as I can find a new battery for my nikon, I'll post some pics. I'm not going to waste your time with cell phone pics :)

Since I am in sc, I am just going to leave them alone and let them go dormant on their own. We have about another month here before the days start to shorten noticeably, so I'm hoping I'll get to see the trap in action before it goes dormant. There was a little gnat crawling all over it yesterday morning, but none of the traps were fully open yet. I hope he's back today!
 
  • #19
Also, this spring I hope to acquire a nepenthes to add to my collection. Any recommendations on a good nep species for a beginner? From what I have read, I believe I can grow a lowlands or intermediate nep in my sunroom... I really like the hamata, though I realize it is a highland plant, and I probably can't grow it successfully. I'm looking for something with longish vines that I can grow in a hanging basket... I apologize for getting off topic, but you guys seem knowledgeable about most cps, so I figured I'd ask here before posting in the nep forum...
 
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