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Indoor-grown specimens?

Just because I'm sort of trying to gauge how well they do strictly indoors, does anyone have any pictures of Dionaea plants grown entirely indoors with nothing but artificial light?

Thanks to anyone that does!
 
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=962361&postcount=3

And below (clockwise from top left): Hosford Bog, FL typical, 'B-52' cuttings, 'Cupped Trap'. All grown under lights but placed outdoors in partial shade in late fall for dormancy. The had been outdoors for maybe a couple weeks prior to when this photo was taken:
PB230025.jpg
 
Looks like I'll be attempting some more of them, then, in my rack. ^.~

Thanks!
 
These are a few VFTs that I grew under artificial lighting from the day I received them...


indoor03a.JPG

FTS Crimson Sawtooth

indoor04a.JPG

Dentate

(The B52 in the right of the lower picture was a much later addition that didn't make it past its first month under my care. The other green VFT with the Crimson Sawtooth was a typical that I managed to kill by cutting off a flower stalk with unsterilized scissors, too close to the base. The center got fuzzy, and even sulfur treatments couldn't save it...)

These two, which I left alone for the most part, thrived indoors throughout the season... I did eventually bring them outdoors in early October to get them dormant...

Cheers!
 
This is all very encouraging since i have 3 VFTs that I'm attempting to grow indoors under lights. Thanks for posting the pics... Great looking plants, y'all.
 
These have been growing under artificial lighting since the day they were born!
122010VFTs.jpg

(These were grown under one common T-8, 2-lamp shop-light fixture.)

People have been growing plants under artificial lighting for years, it is nothing new!
Even sun-loving plants can be grown quite well indoors. While the sun itself might be the best choice, it is not the only choice. Especially with the improved lighting fixtures and bulbs available today.
(I thought people knew that?) ??? Fixtures and indoor lighting today is nothing like the feeble equipment on the market years ago.

I think the key would be to give them as much light (artificial or otherwise) as you can, as your results will certainly vary from those you see in the pictures people have posted here.

I have seen many light starved plants grown indoors, and there is no excuse for it now-a-days. The expense of one decent fixture and the cost of electricity to run it are near nothing with today's high efficiency bulbs.

Try it for yourself! :-D
 
Some of my most vibrant and healthy flytraps I've had were grown under lights. As NAN mentioned, however, keep in mind that you need to account for a dormancy period. I won't go into details since a simple search will yield many, many results.

Phil
 
This is one that I grew solely under artificial lighting a couple of years ago, it was only moved to take these picture.

pic1.JPG


pic3.JPG


I currently have a 'Petite Dragon' under artificial lighting.
 
  • #10
I'll be growing a few indoors... need to play around with my lighting fixtures and bulbs to see what works best for me.
 
  • #11
how long of a dormancy is good enough ? I had grown one in my terrarium and about idk a month and a half ago to 2 months ago i took it out and put it in a cold window for dormancy. Is this long enough? can i put it in my grow rack or should i wait more?
 
  • #12
how long of a dormancy is good enough ? I had grown one in my terrarium and about idk a month and a half ago to 2 months ago i took it out and put it in a cold window for dormancy. Is this long enough? can i put it in my grow rack or should i wait more?


Two months is barely long enough..I would go 3 months minimum...
but..Two months is long enough only if its *actually* two months of dormancy!
which it probably isnt in your case..

the plant does not instantly go dormant the moment you take it from the grow lights and put it in the cool window! ;) you need to account for at least a month for the plant to go through its "going dormant" process..then it has had only a month of actually *being* dormant..so two months in the window isnt necessarily "two months of dormancy"

going in and out of dormany is a slow and gradual process..outdoors, and in the wild, plants begin "going dormant" in July! when daylight length begins to shorten..then august and september is still part of the long gradual "going dormant" process, and then the plants are fully dormant by October and November..

If you are growing indoors under lights, IMO you should put your plants in a cool windowsill in early November, let them get acclimated to decreasing daylight and decreasing temps (both are important to trigger dormancy) then leave the plant there until late February..(four months total in the window..4 to 6 weeks for "going dormant"..then 2.5 to 3 months for "being dormant") (I would just use November 1st and MArch 1st as the moving dates..makes thing easy to remember)..then in late February "Spring" can arrive again, you can put it back under the grow lights, and it should begin growing again..

In rball0406's case, I would say it hasnt been long enough yet.
I would leave your plants alone for another month at least..two months would be better..
at this point, its probably *just begun* to go dormant..its just starting being dormant after 6 weeks in the window..

and..you need to make sure the windowsill really is cool enough..
you want 35 to 55 degrees for the plant to be truely dormant..at indoor room temperature, the plant wont really go dormant at all..

For all these resons, its just SO much easier and better to grow the plants outdoors! ;)
(come on..you know I had to at least say it! ;)

Scot
 
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  • #13
thanks scot, my window is less than 50, the room stays around 60 and there is ice all the way around the window as its below zero outside. I plan on trying a bog come spring but i have to be able to bring it in during winter as it gets colder than -20 for weeks at a time here in the adirondacks. Thanks for the tips

Ryan
 
  • #14
Is there any evidence that VFT need dormancy? I know that they get it in their natural habitat but that is not evidence that it's actually needed, it just demonstrates a survival technique during adverse conditions. It could be that it is needed but I'd be interested to see evidence.
 
  • #15
Thanks for all the examples, everyone. Prompted me to add traps to my want list. ^.^

I'd also be interested to see evidence. I assume, at this point, it's nothing more than peoples' experience with them, seeing them decline after an extended growing period.
 
  • #16
I assume, at this point, it's nothing more than peoples' experience with them, seeing them decline after an extended growing period.
I read plenty of anecdotal evidence, just never seen anything conclusive.
 
  • #17
I've grown VFT's for many decades. I've never been too concerned with providing any particular dormancy. My usual difficulty is simply keeping spider mite infestations from doing them in. My best success with control of the ubiquitous (here in the desert southwest) and deadly spider mite, was when I grew the plants in undrained plastic containers, the kind that have snap-on lids. Whenever I suspected mites, I simply added enough water to submerge the plants, then let the water level subside naturally. The tray below is beginning to dry out and expose the leaves. I've also given this tray periods, in the refrigerator, a month or two at a time - with the lid on.
VFT_group_planting.jpg
 
  • #18
Joseph, so you've had plants survive indoors without providing dormancy?
 
  • #19
Joseph, so you've had plants survive indoors without providing dormancy?
Yes, for decades and without any obvious degradation. Unless I let pest insects affect them. I've seen problems with spider mites, aphid, thrips, mealy bugs, and when I was growing in a greenhouse in Albuquerque, NM, slugs (though the plants eventually caught and ate the slugs).

Indoors or in a greenhouse, pest insects were the only serious problem.
 
  • #20
Hmmm, Joseph, that's encouraging. I'm definitely going to try growing them without a dormancy.
 
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