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Ridetsu

Gamer
Ridi is back! **pictures working!!**

well all, sorry for being gone during the winter. I poked around here and there when I could, but thanks to computer problems, financial problems, and work I basically took a break from the interwebs. Buuuut now I am back, and back with stories to tell, and pictures to show!

This winter in Eugene, Oregon, we had a good bit of snow, a good bit of wind, and the usual damp and soggy cold that us Oregonians are known for. This year, like last, I was determined to see my VFT make it through the window outside with no shelter. They seemed to do well enough, and so when it came time to winter dormancy, I let nature take the wheel and I took a step back.
Everything was going very well... up until december. The forecast called for snow and freezing temperatures, So i thought to myself that I would put my VFT under an overhang I had outside at least until the morning. Well, it turns out that the wind wasn't factored into my equation, and it dumped at least 4 inches of snow on each of my pots.
IF that was all that happened that night, I could be happy cuz I know my plants are tough as nails. But unfortunately, a Racoon (in its infinite wisdom) decided to come to the overhang at about 3 in the morning, and knock over all my plants.
I of course woke up to the sound of a racoon squaking away as he knocked them all off, So i grabbed the nearest weapon I had (A combat knife) and went trouncing outside in my boxers, a shirt, and a pair of unlaced shoes.
He had managed to root through the pots and uproot/damage all my VFT by the time i got outside and scared him off. To make matters worse, it was still snowing as I was doing this. Not about to leave my uprooted VFT out in the snow, I immediately grabbed whatever leftover perlite and Sphangum I had from that last spring, haphazardly mixed them together, and planted each one as best as I could, under a 50 watt light, in the snow, and dressed like I was about to go to sleep in a 60 degree room with a heating blanket.

The very next day I went out and bought a green house to stick them in. It was cheap, but after an attack like that, I was worried they wouldn't have the strength to make it through the winter.
Of course, I also received frost bite on some of my fingers from the event, since I was stupid enough to stay outside while transplanting cuz I didn't want to make my roommates. Not my brightest moment ever, but it was worth it. I didn't lose a SINGLE plant, and they were strong enough to put up offshoots (I didn't let any of them flower).
A couple weeks ago, when it was wonderfully warm and spring-like outside, I sat down in the sun and transplanted my VFT from the rushed perlite mixture to a fresh, hopefully balanced mix of fresh perlite and Sphagnum. I took the time to separate all the youngins from the old ones, but thats when it dawned on me.. I had no idea which cultivar was which when it came to my bushy, low-hanging big mouth traps. They all pretty much looked the same! Curses! Before-hand everything was separated based on age and cultivar - but because I just wanted to get everything planted, i didn't bother with segregating and classifying them. So I might need your help, you guys - if you can help me ID which plants a which, I would be really appreciative.

Oh.. and last year I went into winter with around 20 or so plants... and now, after separating all the bud divisions that popped up, I have 62. The pictures I'm posting were taken about 2 weeks ago (march 12th) which is a day after i transplanted and separated. As of this day, Only 2-3 look like they won't make it, and they are the youngest of them. I imagine it is because the soil mix wasn't good enough, but with all that happened over the winter, I'm surprised (and confused) as to how I managed to get all of these. Some traps put out 2 separate root divisions, and to my shock, the original mother "Big mouth" plant (a tissue clone) put out a whopping THREE bulb divisions. So, enjoy, and tell me what you think, and what I could do better for these plants!

Okay, so, after spending 15 minutes or so trying to figure out why the pictures won't show up, I'm giving up. Here are the links to the pictures that show up on my geocities page.

RyuSawtooth.JPG


BigmouthVigorousbaby.JPG


BigmouthVigorousbasby2.JPG


BigmouthVigorous.JPG


BigmouthVigorous2.JPG


Bigmouthvigorous3.JPG



I would have liked to have more planters and give them more space in each one, but with my current financial situation I couldn't afford a second/bigger table (35 bucks at home depot.. grrr), and these are all the ones I can fit on the table I have.
 
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Of course, I also received frost bite on some of my fingers

Maybe I'm just ignorant (Houston), but isn't frostbite kinda serious?

A couple weeks ago, when it was wonderfully warm and spring-like outside, I sat down in the sun and transplanted my VFT

See, now this is how I do it right here.

Sorry the sight's down, look forward to seein' your pics.
 
yah, frostbite is very serious. I had to get treatment, and lost some sensation in some of my fingers, but otherwise everything is okay except for a small bit of scar tissue.
 
frostbite can be anywhere from a nuisance to potentially deadly if the tissue dies and causes an infection, depends on how bad you get it.....i managed to "lightly" frostbite the tips of my fingers in high school doing something stupid.....not enough to cause any tissue death or even do any visible damage.....but it did hurt the nerves to some extent.....im actually quite cold hardy, i walk around in a t-shirt at 10-20 degrees if the wind aint blowing and the humidity is low......however my finger tips cant take any cold at all....they go from just cool to "holy hell that hurts" in about one second....i can not work outside without gloves in the winter and i have yet to find any gloves that will actually keep my hands warm even at temps the rest of me is fine in.....once they get cold and start hurting they will hurt for hours even after they warm up.......
 
I didn't lose a SINGLE plant, and they were strong enough to put up offshoots (I didn't let any of them flower).
A couple weeks ago, when it was wonderfully warm and spring-like outside, I sat down in the sun and transplanted my VFT from the rushed perlite mixture to a fresh, hopefully balanced mix of fresh perlite and Sphagnum. I took the time to separate all the youngins from the old ones, but thats when it dawned on me.. I had no idea which cultivar was which when it came to my bushy, low-hanging big mouth traps. They all pretty much looked the same! Curses! Before-hand everything was separated based on age and cultivar - but because I just wanted to get everything planted, i didn't bother with segregating and classifying them. So I might need your help, you guys - if you can help me ID which plants a which, I would be really appreciative.

Lotsa luck, even side by side most of the trap size cultivars (registered or otherwise) look the same and may not even be distinguishable from a "typical". Depends a lot on the age of the plant, growing conditions, season, etc.

As far as you images go, you need to use the IMG tag, not the URL tag.

Great to have you back. Quite a tale of dedication risking your ears, nose, toes and fingers to frostbite like that.
 
Wow, some of those little guys are small. I agree with Not a Number, those will be incredibly hard to distinguish until they put on some size. At least you saved them, right? I would have at least put some clothes on first ;-)
 
but because I just wanted to get everything planted, i didn't bother with segregating and classifying them. So I might need your help, you guys - if you can help me ID which plants a which, I would be really appreciative.
I would REALLY discourage you from trying to identify your mixed up clones. As others have said, many clones are very hard to distinguish from one another. This is a classic example of how and why cultivars have become such a mess. People mix up their plants or lose their labels and then guess what is what. They then give their plant to someone else with the guessed name -- let us call it Dionaea 'Wonderful". The plant may or may not be the original Dionaea 'Wonderful" (we really do not know). The next person sends the plant to someone else. Even though the originator is conscientious and cautions the first recipient that the plant may not be correctly named, this information becomes lost somewhere along the line and eventually the guessed Dionaea 'Wonderful" plant becomes the name that is attached to the plant without qualification. Now, no one knows whether their Dionaea 'Wonderful" is the original or the plant with the guessed name.
 
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