Two small death cube VFTs

[grumpus]

These were rescued from Lowe's yesterday for $4.97 each. They are in two-inch pots.

All of Lowe's CPs come from Botanical Wonders, and these two seem to be planted in the same peat-with-LFS-topping they use as the media for all their deathbox CPs. There were quite a few others, most looking very bad - combinations of stretched, rotten, and obviously dead.

Some idiot had even opened one of the boxes and put a big ball of pocket lint into the traps of one of the plants, no doubt mindboggled when it remained open.

These two were the healthiest of the bunch (or seemed so to my untrained eye). None of the traps look functional anymore; they all seem to be changing to plain leaves, except the small yellowing trap which is closed on nothing visible. Both seem vital to me - especially the larger of the two, which has really big traps - and are putting up (Summer?) leaves.

I pulled off the loose dead leaves from underneath and pushed down the LFS, which is packed very tightly and was threatening to swallow the plants. I have them hardening up, loosely domed under fluorescents for now, to go outside soon. They don't seem to have any bugs (the lone benefit of the airtight death cube?), but there is a slightly... off... smell to the pots. I'm hoping they don't need repotting for awhile.

Observations?

 

[BigBella]

They appear to be light-starved as usual, judging by the spindly characteristics of the leaves. My advice would be to soon change the compost to a 1:1 mix of peat moss and horticultural sand, considering its "off" odor and the probability of it being mineral-laden; also, most garden stores will water them with anything on hand, without taking the plants into consideration.

Putting them outside soon would be the best thing for these plants. You won't even recognize them by Summer . . ..

 

[Halt]

IS the leaf forming like that; to put out the leaf then to start the trap normal? Mine normally comes out from the crown with the trap bending over from the leaf and is intact. Or is it just the hormones of TC?

Pst. i could have just sent you a vft. :/

 

[Indigo]

man i saw those little unwanted guy everytime i go to lowes if they were 2,5$ ea imma rescue them all but sigh. they looks like too weak to get sunlight at this moment try to adjust it outdoor slowly

 

[jimscott]

Actually, considering they came from the neglected, light-starved cubes, they look pretty good. You'll need to get them outside, as has been suggested above, gradually acclimated. Here's one I got this winter:

And the plant lives on after flowering!

 

[grumpus]

I repotted them out of the cram-packed, smelly LFS into 4-inch pots in 1:1 peat/pool filter sand. The smaller of the two had no roots at all; the bulb seemed healthy enough, about half the size of the tip of a cotton swab, but I'm not going to be surprised if it croaks. The two iffy traps from the first pictures had blackened completely and pulled off with no effort.

The larger plant had three conjoined bulbs. One had no growth coming out of it and was half brown, so I broke it off. Each of the two remaining had a nice long root attached. I'm much more optimistic about this plant. The trap closed during all the jostling, but I didn't see it. I'll start giving them more sunlight now, working them from fluorescents to outside by next week, I suppose.

 

[Jefforever]

Congrats on your find.

But those do look light starved. But they'll come back.

 

[mmlr38]

Yep, congrats on your find. They should respond nicely with a little more light.

 

[grumpus]

Two weeks later, one is recovering and one is looking bad.

Here's a new trap growing in on the healthier plant:

Not sure about this one:

 

[cmm889]

that photo with that... ITSY BITSY trap on the end of it, is a pretty standard cue for not getting enough light... it takes a couple of leafs usually before its completely acclimated... the leafs should be firm, not floppy. the trap should be WAY bigger in relation to the leaf size there... but its okay I've had rescues look like that for a bit until they adjusted...

they'll be fine

oh and that last photo it looks like you may have... buried the growth point a bit... while a leaf should be able to work its way out of there... you dont really want the growth point covered by peat

 

[grumpus]

Ok, I cleared the peat back a bit from the growth point on both plants.

The leaves on the "good" plant are firm now; they were just as floppy as the other plant at first. That tiny light-starved trap was curled under when I got it, so at least it's good to see it deploying, even if it does look kind of strange out at the end of that loooooong leaf.

 

[PeaceCarny]

Nice plants! Although I gotta say, I bet the second one might not make it

Here are some pics of a VFT I got about a month ago from Lowe's. I was lucky though...the plants were in pretty good condition when I got it' All of the larger traps died due to transplant shock but the rest of them are well. Right now I grow it 4 and a half inches under two 100w standard fluorescent bulbs and it seems really happy!
It looks small and that's how I got it, but I'm hoping come summer it'll grow larger
<a href="http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/faraphx234/?action=view&current=Picture014.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/faraphx234/Picture014.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
A new trap emerges about every week
<a href="http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/faraphx234/?action=view&current=Picture015.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/faraphx234/Picture015.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
After about one-two weeks the traps get this nice dark pink coloration
<a href="http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/faraphx234/?action=view&current=Picture016.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee112/faraphx234/Picture016.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Good Luck growing!

 

[grumpus]

The plant is definitely recovering, happy in the North Carolina sun. The long-leaf pinhead trap is growing, opening, and turning pink. The leaves are now nice and firm. Its deathcube sibling is still uncertain; it's either dying back or dying. It had no roots on its rhizome, though, so I assume it will take longer to recover, and will use the dying leaves to grow roots.

Anyway, here's the no-longer-such-a-pinhead trap, nine days later:

 

[petmantis]

Hmmm, i remember i bought a vft with traps that small, and they weren't functional. Then i light starved a vft (as an experiment) and it made a horribly spindly leaf, with a trap the same size as that. that one was also disfunctional. Just give yours lots of light and it will come back and make nice traps

 

[mcantrell]

Yeah, plants can tell if they're not getting enough light and will adjust in a desperate attempt to keep themselves alive. I had a Purple Pitcher Plant that grew huge "elephant ears" instead of traps when I was first experimenting with a grow light.

 

[grumpus]

When I checked my plants today I suddeny realized the little pinhead trap was closed. I saw a dark shape inside and with way too much geekish glee I ran for the camera. I even had to hold it up to a fluorescent for a second pic with better contrast of the victim. Heh...

I'd say this plant is officially recovered from the Death Cube. It might still look like crap, but it finally has a working trap and some nutrients.

 

[Veronis]

I've read the replies and it sounds like you've got this under control. The weaker plant may yet make it - if it was dying it would start turning brown. It may have just been in worse shape than the other and will take longer to recover (it may be in shock from the repotting too). Here's hoping!

Some idiot had even opened one of the boxes and put a big ball of pocket lint into the traps of one of the plants, no doubt mindboggled when it remained open.

I laughed hard at that comment. I think it was the way you said it, and what went through my head as I did - "Hmmm..." *Idiot scratches his lopsided head* "Trap no spring like ninja. What matter?"

Anyway, keep us posted with pics.

 

[grumpus]

Heh... thanks.

I think you're right about the weaker plant, as I see it has a new leaf coming in. Its roots were definitely in worse shape; in fact, it only had a bare rhizome. It took a month to settle in, but I feel confident it's going to make it now.