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Buying VFT in winter

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flyboy12

Guest
I am wanting to get a VFT from this site, but I'm not sure if I should order in the winter or if I should wait till spring. I live in east Tennessee so the plant will probably think it is in NC anyways. Will it need to go into dormancy right away? Also, would it be better if I bought the VFT locally, or will the shipping be ok for the plant. Thanks for the help.
 
I forgot to ask, there is an option on this site to double up on the plants for $3.00 but they are in the same pot. Would they be too crowded in there. And would it be easy to just transplant one of them to another pot? Thanks again.
 
Well, i just ordered 3 VFT's from the site last sunday, and they came in today. They are in wonderful condition, so i wouldnt worry about shipping too much. Im no expert on dormancy, but i dont think that they would need to go right into. Maybe you could grow them through winter, and put them into an early dormancy next year. Just a thought though, dont quote me! And about the double plant. I got that feature on all 3 of the VFTs, they seem to have plenty of room. Once they start to get really big, you could always repot them, but they should be fine for a while like that.
 
Thanks for the info. I think I'll just go ahead and order them then. In the summer is it better to grow them outdoors in full sun, or to grow them inside by a window with flourescent lights?
 
Full Sun!!! They LOVE light! Be careful and acclimate them slowly to the higher temps, lower humidity and higher light levels.

SF
 
And for the love of God, DON"T USE TAP WATER!!!! Water them with distilled or rainwater. Also, don't feed them hamburger or any people food. Contrary to popular myth, burger will only succeed in rotting the traps and attracting mold and bacteria.

Other than that, good luck with the plant!
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Thanks for all the help! I remember when I was maybe 8 years old (I'm 15 now) that I had a venus flytrap and would water it with tap. I would also feed it hamburger meat, and without need of saying, it died after about 2 weeks.
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Does anyone know if they are grown outdoors at this site, or if they are grown inside? If its outdoors theyll probably be trying to go dormant when I get them right? Thanks for answering all my newbie questions.
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It should be ok to order a vft from this site right now. I don't know what state the plant will be in almost dormant or just out of tc. You could ask one of the admin, they should know.
As for the plant thinking it's in it's natural envoirment. I don't think it will. The part of NC that they grow in is 400 miles from Tenn. The weather is way different. But with a few precautions you could grow vft's outside all year long in Tenn.
 
I live in the extreme western half of N.C. and it is hardly the same as in Eastern N.C.  I just returned from the beach (it is about 60-70 miles from Wimington) and that was 60-70 degree weather.  When I returned to Boone(where I live) it was in the 30's at night and high 40's-low fifties in the day.  So from that data it is quite easy to see a huge difference in weather.  As for growing my vfts outdoors year round, I am actually going to try that when I can get my hands on a vft that is cheap enough to where if I lose it it won't matter.
*** To himself "I talk too much"
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  ***
 
  • #10
The plants are recently out of tissue culture so shouldn't need to go dormant this year. Ordering now should be fine just so the plants don't sit in the mailbox for very long in very cold weather. Daytime temps should be fine for now for delivery.
 
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