New To VTF Care... Questions and pictures :)

[theamazingphi]

Ok! Hello everyone! I'm brand new to owning VTFs and I need some help .

Ive been reading and i understand the basics of care for VTF but one thing that evades me is how to clip them in order to grow new plants(clones?). Is there a video or picture tutorial showing how to properly extract whatever is needed to grow a new plant?

Also how often should I supplement the plants "diet" with fresh insects?

And finallywhats the best way to re-pot a VTF? Its in a very small pot now(as you"ll see with the pictures) and i want to move it to something bigger so i can keep it communally with a few other VTFs.

Pics!

Hope you enjoy the pics. Any and all comments and tips are welcomed

Cheers
-Phil.

---------- Post added at 07:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:12 PM ----------

Sorry for sideways pics :S

Cheers
-Phil.

 

[Ngantnier]

Looks like you have a fwe plants there, you could always divide it to propagate the plant. Alternatively you can pull a few leaves from the plant, making sure to get atleast some of the white rhizome at the base of the plant. Then put the leaves in some moist LFS in a pot under a plastic baggie and in a few weeks to a month there should be plantlets starting to form at the base.

 

[BigBella]

I would encourage you to give it the most amount of light as possible and perhaps a larger pot. The plants are fully capable of catching prey on their own; alternatively, you can capture some crawling insects from time to time and feed the creepy plant . . .

 

[theamazingphi]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I intend to keep the plants outside ina 5"=6" pot so they can spread out a bit. Its Summer and the temps are low to mid 80s daily and down to 70s at night.

As for pulling leaves to replant... You'll have to forgive my newbisms, what is "LFS" i assume Long Fibre Sphagnum, and what is considered the "Leaf"?

Thanks for your patience and your help

Cheers
-Phil.

 

[Wolfn]

My suggestion is to give it as much light as possible. I killed multiple Venus Fly Traps by not giving them enough light. With plenty of light, they will produce traps with red interiors (very nice look).

Also, don't keep the soil waterlogged or too wet because they have a tendency to rot if kept too wet.

 

[Timmy]

What the heck is a VTF? Venus Trap Fly? That sounds a little odd.

They are easy to medium.

Keep the soil moist (not wet)with rain,ro, snow or distilled water.
Feeding is optional, you don't have to do it
No fertilizer
They should be grown outside
They should get around 8-14 hours of direct sunlight
They need a dormancy of cold weather, in order to live for a while
They ARE NOT tropical plants. They don't belong in a terrarium.
Give them Peat Moss and Perlite as a "soil"

 

[Ownage Plants]

Hi
You dont need to supplement fly traps by feeding them insects!
Your plants should get most of its energy from lots of sunlight and water.

Cp nurseries like triffid park have thousands of tissue cultured fly traps and most of them get to sale size without ever eating anything!
They will occasionally catching a few wild flies as a bonus if your growing them outdoors.

Pot them in peat moss or mix of peat and sand, find an open location that gets lots of sunlight and maintain a 1 inch water level in summer, in winter remove saucer or make sure they are not sitting in water but dont let them dry out.

Also research if your tap water is safe on cps , some places around the world dont have suitable water while others do.

 

[theamazingphi]

Thanks for all the great replies!

As soon as i repot it Im going to keep it outside so it can get natural watering and sun. I also have a rain bucket on my balcony to keep a reserve supply for dry times and I only use distilled water in my store for my reptile tanks, and i keep peat moss, sand, pearlite and sphagnum.... So i think im covered.

Thanks again for all the help

Cheers
-Phil.

 

[jimscott]

Put it outside but first put it under something for a couple weeks.

 

[theamazingphi]

I was going to keep it under half of a clear 2l pop bottle. Is that ok?

Cheers
-Phil.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

I was going to keep it under half of a clear 2l pop bottle. Is that ok?

Cheers
-Phil.

No... if you put it in the sun under a clear dome you will cook the plant. I think what Jimscott was trying to say was to put it in a sheltered location with partial sun for a few days and gradually increase the light. Or you can just go ballistic and toss it in full sun. All the old leaves will fry but the new leaves will be adjusted soon as they pop out!

 

[Halt]

What the heck is a VTF? Venus Trap Fly? That sounds a little odd.

Everyone makes mistakes.. For example:

They need a dormancy of cold weather, in order to live for a while

Don't hate.

Just BLAST EM IN FULL SUN.
Adequate aqua & they should be fine. If they are waterlogged then that's fine, because the sun will change that.

 

[Timmy]

No. It Is not a tropical plant!

I'm sure he wants best for his plant. Are you trying to make him kill it. Dormancy is best for this plant. Cold weather is not the only way to trigger dormancy, but is the most important. Reduced water and light is also a factor of dormancy.
~Timmy