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Troublesome tiny VFT's

ok. so i have been searching the forums nonstop for about a week now and nothing found, i cant remember where i got my trap from but it was just coming out of dormancy... and its been about 2 months now and its grown about about an inch or so. im giving it distilled water. its under a light because of very cloudy conditions... . any ideas??
 
i think your problem is because its under a light....
What kind of light is it?
even if its cloudy, chances are its better than most light you can give inside....
Do you have any pics of the plant?
 
and its been about 2 months now and its grown about about an inch or so. im giving it distilled water. its under a light because of very cloudy conditions... . any ideas??

In my opinion I agree with Scot and SirKristoff. Think about this, VTF in nature live in a place where it is remote and no one takes care of them. In those places they also experience cloudy conditions. (It rains a lot to keep those bogs wet which creates clouds). Based on your profile description you and me have almost the same outdoor conditions.

This are about a year and months old Dingley Giant VFT pictures just taken last week:

DSC06819.jpg


If I can grow them like this, so can you.

Another possible factor could be, you might have fertilizer on your media and that could also be why your VFT are not growing.
 
sorry for the quality. but I live in the dorms and its hard to get full sun with out leaving it where people can mess with it.

IMG00019-20100425-1431-1.jpg
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Yup!
Showing definite signs of lack of light!
So....now what?
Your plant wants more light!
 
Yup!
Showing definite signs of lack of light!
So....now what?
Your plant wants more light!
Agreed. Those babies are light starved! Get them more light if possible. If you don't, they'll likely survive, but grow very slowly and potentially die if they encounter any pests, mold, etc. Get them more light if you can.
 
You have poor light quality and that is why you have long lanky leaves with REALLY small traps.
Like Growing Old said "now what?" Sometimes you have to do your homework before buying something.
If you dorm, I would suggest you put that plants in a window with some strong articial lighting. Hopefully that will work for you.
Also, do you have it in a terrarium? because it looks foggy in the picture. (hopefully you say its just the camera.
 
If all you have is the one pot then lighting it will be a snap and should cost you under $25 for parts. Despite what these others will have you believe you do not need insane levels of light such as you'd find in a movie studio during the early days of slow color film. Just go out and buy a compact fluorescent light in say the 40-85 watt range (equal to 150-350 watt) around 4100K color temp is fine. Get a fixture sturdy enough to support the weight of the bulb - one of those clamp on shop lights with reflector might do. Rig up a support that's sturdy enough that it won't collapse on you with the light overhead the pot. Distance is the tricky part. You want the light as close and as bright as possible without being so close that the heat will fry/bake the plants.

If your digital camera easily shows you the shutter speed, aperture and "film" speed you can use it as a light meter to measure your light levels and adjust the distance accordingly.

See Barry Rice's FAQ for details
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq3400.html

The last time the "you gotta grow 'em outdoors" crowd bullied somebody into putting their plants outdoors the plants were stolen - the whole reason why the grower didn't want to put them outdoors in the first place. Whether or not any apologies or offers to replace plants were made privately I don't know. It was not done in public.

Below are a couple clones of a Hosford Bog, FL Dionaea that is being grown under lights. They have been grown under lights since around 1997. It came out of dormancy, about a 2 months ago. I don't cut flower stalks unless I know the plant is under three years old. Amazing how clones of the same plant will color differently when only a few inches a part. I wish my outdoor VFTs looked this good. Most of them are only now starting to show some life.
P4300130.jpg

P4300131.jpg
 
  • #10
Also, you may want to check the medium they are growing in. If I don't replace the medium every couple of years, my VFTs will begin to grow smaller and smaller. They will cluster up and make a lot of small plantlets, but their size will remain mostly small.
 
  • #11
I would put them outside but put them under something for a a couple weeks, first. The change will undoubtedly shock and kill the existing leaves and it will take a good month before it looks okay again.
 
  • #12
While I agree w/Not a #, in that you can certainly grow them indoors and under normally available lighting, but I do not see where anyone here suggested needing "insane levels of light" this time!

I know that in other posts it has been suggested that you can't successfully grow thriving VFT's indoors under lights. In years back, as a kid, I myself always grew under lights, and more preferred, in a south facing window, so I know for a fact it can be done. Especially with the CFL's and all the better lighting choices available today. But indeed do get yourself better lighting.

I guess perhaps some people have not had the success that others of us have had. Also, perhaps we all have different ideas of what "thriving" is for a plant, and what we are willing to accept as "growing". Keep in mind, there are varying degrees of "success" in growing plants. I think we can all agree that your plants are showing a need for more/better light. Anything you can do to improve that situation will help... and the better you do at giving them more light....between where you are now and "insane levels of light"... will ultimately help! :-D

Also, it seems they are seedlings, which if they are, makes growth a bit funky now anyway. You may want to transplant some into other containers down the line, (if you then have more lighting anyway). As someone mentioned about replacing your planting medium, the plants you have look quite crammed in together, and that will also make for poor growth! When you get better lighting, divide them up to give them more room for their roots!
It looks like straight peat you have them in. (It is hard to tell what planting medium someone planted their plants in from a picture.) If so, when transplanting and dividing, I would be sure to use the proper planting mixture.
(If you don't know what mixture to use, read the posts about that or look it up on a site... the info is all over, and it is not for me to do your work of reading up about the basics and this sort of thing.)
[I don't point the finger at you directly concerning this, but so many people here, depend on learning the basics by simply asking a handful of questions and assuming foolishly that they can learn everything they need that way!They forget that you are only going to get "opinions" here, and that everyone has an opinion, even fools! And indeed we watch the blind leading the blind every day!] Again, I am NOT assuming you fit into this category.
(I only mention it because as N.A.# is obviously tired of hearing people say you can't grow VFT's under normal artificial lighting, I myself am tired of lazy people thinking they can learn about a subject by simply asking strangers a few questions.) :crazy:

Concerning your plants...I would also get other plants to put around them and to share the "excess" light with, as having some plants "around" them will help your VFT's to hold more humidity and make for better growing conditions. (A "full" greenhouse holds humidity and good conditions better than a near empty one.) Just be sure to keep the prime lighting spots reserved for your VFT's! :bigthumpup:

Good luck! Do the best you can! Your plants are living organisms, and they are counting on you for their lives! :water:
 
  • #13
alright cool. appreciate it guys. and number thanks for all the help. im going to go work on my light problem
 
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