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Do these VFTs look healthy?

  • #21
That's good to hear. I just hope my dog didn't destroy too many of the plant's roots when he pulled it up. I'm thinking in the winter I might just move them closer to the house under the overhang, sitting in a small tray of water so they don't dry out completely. I really hope they aren't going dormant soon! We usually have 80+ degree days into October and generally don't get frost till late December.
 
  • #22
Venus flytraps take transplanting very well. I'm of the opinion that it can be done any time if there is great need to do so. I personally wouldn't leave them in exhausted or compacted medium to go through the winter. This year I actually had to transplant my VFTs again in midsummer (June) because when I put them into new medium in March I used bad sand, which I didn't realize wasn't pure quartz sand until it was too late, and the plants were getting sick. They responded immediately with robust growth and grew the rest of the summer just fine. (see: http://www.terraforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-128153.html)

As for dormancy, the plants take most of their cues from the length of the day. When the day length slips below 12 hours in September, they will begin to revert to producing the shorter rosette-type leaves to get ready for dormancy. They will look terrible in the winter, but with sufficient rest they will reward you greatly next year.

I keep mine in water trays all year, even in dormancy. I let the water go up and down in the trays, but never let the trays dry out completely. I keep the water level a bit lower in the winter when I place the plants in insulated picnic coolers to protect them against the harsh Pennsylvania winters. They go in the coolers when the night temperatures threaten to go below freezing, usually by late October or early November. They come out in the spring as soon as the night temperatures are no longer falling below freezing in late March or early April, and that's when I put them into new medium for the growing season.

I've fitted my coolers with stiff plastic sheets on top that I can adjust to give the plants some sun while keeping the daytime temps inside generally in the 40-55º range. I also put large flat containers of water in the coolers under the plants to regulate the temperature during the night and keep them from freezing when the coolers are closed. The extra water absorbs heat during the day and releases it slowly at night. This method works great, and I have never had my plants freeze on me. You almost certainly will not need to go to such lengths where you live. An outside position in a protected southern exposure such as you describe will probably work just fine.

In my experience, deeps pots (at least 5" deep) work better because it seems to be important to keep the water level in the trays below the level of the bottom of the bulbs, and a deep pot makes that easier to regulate. If you do that you shouldn't have problems with tray-watering. (Be sure to keep the water clean, too.)
 
  • #23
They look great!

I'm sure they will grow very well now, and probably come back really healthy next year.
 
  • #24
Thanks guys. :) Nepguy, yours look incredible! I hope mine will look as good as that someday. A few days ago I saw a mature B52 in the same size of pot as your plants, and WOW! The traps seriously looked like they could have eaten the mice I feed my snakes, they must have been 3" long.
 
  • #25
Thanks guys. :) Nepguy, yours look incredible! I hope mine will look as good as that someday. A few days ago I saw a mature B52 in the same size of pot as your plants, and WOW! The traps seriously looked like they could have eaten the mice I feed my snakes, they must have been 3" long.

I wouldn't mind getting some of those B52s sometime. I tend to like bigger varieties that hold their traps close to the soil, and I think B52s do that. I had a nice large-trapped "Walmart" variety for a while, growing similarly to the ones I posted, but the plants held their traps up high on long leaves and petioles, and I realized I didn't like that.
 
  • #26
That goes against decades of experience from..well..everyone! ;)

No, keeping them is a tray of water at all times is NOT keeping them too wet..in fact, its perfect, and exactly what you want to do..especially during the growing season, Spring-Summer-Autumn..I would also not let the top layer dry out..that could be bad.

It's not bad, I do it all the time..

basically, that is all very bad advice that no one should ever follow..
Scot
I've gotten this advice from someone who has part ownership of one of the best places I've ever ordered flytraps from. Best quality I have ever seen, hands down. I'm going to quote him:

Soggy conditions promote the growth of the kind of bacteria that thrives without air and that would in fact not grow much or at all in conditions with plenty of air. These anaerobic bacteria love to eat vegetative matter including Venus Flytraps. When the soil is kept too wet too often, these bacteria can easily begin to rot the "bulb" of the Venus Flytrap.

Venus Flytraps are not aquatic plants, nor do they prefer conditions as wet as many Sarracenia and Darlingtonia frequently experience. Venus Flytraps live in sandy savannahs, nutrient poor grasslands and barrens that have a relatively high water table, but are not swamps, lakesides or bogs, although Venus Flytraps can survive in some of those conditions under certain circumstances.

In cultivation, it is much better to aim for "moist, not wet" with Venus Flytraps. Of course you need to get them wet to water them thoroughly, but then the medium should be allowed to dry to just moist before watering again, or if using the tray of water method, allow the water to completely dry from the tray before filling it again, for example.

During dormancy with cooler temperatures and less light, never allow the plants to stay too wet for too long. I personally water thoroughly in the morning (only every 8-15 days or more) so that the medium can begin to dry out before nightfall and lower temperatures.

Moist, not wet; never soggy for long, nor completely dry.

Following this guy's advice, my venus flytraps look better than they have ever looked.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's bad advice to follow, this guy DOES help run a successful business. ;)

and my venus flytraps look pretty darn good following his advice I'd say:

IMG_4340.jpg

IMG_4605.jpg


Edit: I just want to say that I am NOT some expert.. but I completely understand that this method doesn't work for everyone, like I said, I rarely get days over 80 degrees. When I do I have to water much more frequently, so I understand not watering can cause a complete dry-out and kill the plants where people have "normal" weather.
 
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  • #27
I've never seen VFTs vein like that, Croft.
 
  • #28
I've never seen VFTs vein like that, Croft.

Yeah.. part of the reason I like that one so much. It's called Maroon Monster.

edit: just clicked your deviantart link... :drool:

amazing photographs!
 
  • #29
I want one.... they look so pretty!
Thanks! I have more photos in the Meadowview thread in general discussions.

I have noticed that flytraps will grow very quickly in a majority sand mix, let's say 75% sand, 25% peat. It matches their natural habitat more accurately. If you can get away with it, pure sand seems to work very well too.
 
  • #30
I want one.... they look so pretty!
Thanks! I have more photos in the Meadowview thread in general discussions.

I have noticed that flytraps will grow very quickly in a majority sand mix, let's say 75% sand, 25% peat. It matches their natural habitat more accurately. If you can get away with it, pure sand seems to work very well too.

I have read on another forum where somebody is currently growing their VFT in all silica sand.. sounds awesome and seems to work really well! Something I must try.. someday.

I buy a pre-mixed de-salinated silicia sand/coir mix. If I have none of that I have experimented with orchid bark/perlite/peat mixtures and the VFT I have it in LOVE it. Other than that I just use peat/perlite.


.. too much prettiness in that thread to comprehend... I will have a bunch of fun looking through that thread of yours :) Thanks!
 
  • #31
I have read on another forum where somebody is currently growing their VFT in all silica sand.. sounds awesome and seems to work really well! Something I must try.. someday.

I buy a pre-mixed de-salinated silicia sand/coir mix. If I have none of that I have experimented with orchid bark/perlite/peat mixtures and the VFT I have it in LOVE it. Other than that I just use peat/perlite.

Where do you get that premade mix, Croft? Locally?
 
  • #32
natalie, you had that self-watering system for your Darlingtonia, didn't you? I'm sure your plants would be absolutely thrilled if you expanded that system to a big grow tray with a reservoir and a pond pump :D

Tons of aeration, much less worrying over root rot during dormancy, and having your plants on a raised bed will keep your curious pooch from trying to repot your plants hehe (works for my dog)...

just tryin to spur the DIYer in ya
 
  • #33
Haha yeah, they might look a bit better in something like that, but that would require a much larger (and much more expensive) solar water pump! I was considering maybe rigging up a similar system for when I finally decide to get a ceph, since they grow on hillsides and prefer moving water as well. Someday...

I was looking at my VFTs earlier today and I noticed that another one of the new leaves on the Red Dragon has started turning black. Not sure if this is just a reaction to being transplanted or continued manifestation of whatever was bothering the plant before, but it's pretty frustrating. Ugh, only in California can you have a Drosophyllum thrive with the most minimal of care while struggling just to keep your Dionaea alive.
 
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