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Do i need to repot?????

J

Jennafer

Guest
i recently got a VFT in one of the small brown pots with the plastic lid and i cant even get the lid on anymore.....the plant is growing everywhere and the traps seem too crowded for the pot they are in
so far i've called every gardening/nursery store and even called an agricultural center to find out what to do and so far i have got noooo help in what i should do!

if anyone has any info pleeease help make my plant happy, we will both appreciate it
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ok , first of all VFTs do not need lids, so i would throw it away.
they do alright with humidity ranging from 40-60%. and since it is in its growing season it would be best to want till next spring to replant. then next spring just as the new growth begins growing, then you can plant it in a 4 inch pot if you want to.

Joe
 
First off WELCOME !!!
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your first problem is you bought them from somewhere that doesn't know how to take care of them
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The lids are not important for the plants.  I would actually leave them off if you are exposing the plant to lots of light ( that it needs )

Humidity isn't a big deal, but around 50% is good and that is average around the US.  If it is less than that you can always mist them ( though optional ).

The two important things are:

1) good lighting.  These plants love light and you really can't give them too much.  Direct light in parts of the South and Southwest is too strong, so partial shading is best.  If you keep them indoors, putting them in a North or South facing window will do the trick.

2) ALways keep them moist.  you can leave them standing in a dish of water 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water is good, but not more than that.

3) NEVER Fertilize or feed people/pet food.

4) Distilled, rain, or REverse Osmosis water ONLY.  NO Tap, Drinking, mineral, bottled.

5) The plants do not mind the cramped condtions. DO NOT REPOT!!! The plants will go through great shock and possible death if the roots get damaged.



Let us know how your plants do.  
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thanks for the welcome and so far everything you've listed i have done..my only concern is that theres soooo many traps in this little pot and theyre starting to go into the already opened traps...will the trap not sense its not a bug and try to kill another trap on accident ? also one of my traps has blackened, should i remove it?
geez louise i wanted one of these things for years now and i finally have one and the schmoo's around here (nj) have not a freaking clue how to care for it..i even called the place i got it from and they dont know! and of course the place where this was supposedly grown has no contact information...figures!
well i greatly appreciate your help on this
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hopefully my plant will too
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Welcome newcomer!
VFT have no way of sensing what is a bug and what is not.

In this photo there are traps that closed because of another trap triggering the hairs.
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And yes, unwanted blackened parts should be trimmed off.
 
so if my traps are getting "eaten" by the older traps...isnt that a bad thing? i cant even count how many traps are in this little bit of space..and new ones keep growing weekly, but if i had to guess theres probably at LEAST 20 traps already in this little pot
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sounds like my biggest red dragon,i have been finding these really big black ants lately and my flytraps really love them.so when i see one i get my tweezers and pick him up and sacrifice him to the god of the vft
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It sounds like a very healthy plant especially since the people you got it from haven't a clue how to take care of it.
Personally I would leave it alone and leave the traps there if they do end up getting eaten by the other traps just keep an eye on the trap if it turns color snip it off right here >P not the whole leaf just where the trap meets the leaf.
Also follow Jaie's advice he's the pro here since he grows them for a living and does such a great job.
Take it easy and welcome to the forums!!!  
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thank you all sooo much for your info on my plant..hopefully it'll turn out to be a happy lil thing
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  • #10
If you really do want to repot it, it is possible. Repot in a 2:1 mixture of sphagnum peat moss and washed horticultural sharp or silver sand.
Pour distilled water into a bucket, put in the peat moss and sand and swoosh it round so that it is saturated. Then put it in a pot. You can dig the plant out with a spoon and repot it, although it is very fiddly!
BUT - it isn't recommended during growth, although I personally have never lost a flytrap through repotting.
Try visiting www.sarracenia.com/faq.html too.
 
  • #11
it just looks so blahhh in that ugly brown pot it came in ya know? i was reading through this site and saw the plastic bowls that they sell to repot them in....and it looks alot nicer in there but i dont want to put my plant in danger or hurt it
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who knows i guess im still confused on whether or not i should try?? also..where do you find the sand it would need?
thanks so much, again
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  • #12
I agree with Alvin, I have never lost a VFT when repotting during the growing season. I have even made leaf cutting last summer and they are doing well this year.

If your VFTs are doing as well as you say, simply transferring the entire content out of the small pot into a larger pot, without too much disturbance of the roots and supplementing with additional medium (1 part peat: 1 part sand), should not trouble your VFT much.

As for the sand, I have used playground sand (washed several times until water is clear) or you could buy sand from any plant/hardware store.

Again, RECOMMENDATION is not to repot during growing period, but if you are obsessed with your VFT being neat looking, like me
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, I say go and do it
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