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Bare root plants

i was all set on getting the terrarium kit from PFT, but it is kinda expensive for a student budget, so i've been looking at the sale on bare root VFT's.

exactly how difficult is it to get bare root plants to survive? i was planning on 4-5 plants in individual pots with PFT's soil mix, under a 60w compact flourescent bulb (brightness equal to a typical 60w lightbulb that is, really a 15w flourescent). 4-5 since i assume not all of them are going to survive.

is there another reasonably priced way to grow vft's? do you think i would be better off with that plan, or with maybe 2 "normal" potted plants that have better chances of surviving?

also, with either option, what's the deal with domes on the pots? i live in new york, and it's always humid in the summer but we do run the air conditioner quite frequently, even though my room (where the plants would be) never seems to get much of it. better to have domes for more humidity or just open air with a tray of water?
 
You can give the bare root plants a try...they are not that difficult to grow.
High humidity is not a huge requirement for venus flytraps just so they are kept in damp soil and not allowed to dry out. The soil mix, lighting, and air circulation are important though as is distilled water or rain water...no tap water please.
If you order bare root plants just be sure to be gentle with the roots when potting them and give them time to "bounce back" after the initial shock.

And welcome to Terraforums! You'll find lots of help here
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I ordered some bare root plants a few months ago and they haven't fully recovered but they're doing fine and none have died. You might even get some extras... PFT is very generous.

VFT's don't need as much humidity as many CP's do... the domes you see in stores are more to hold moisture in during shipping and time on the store shelf.

Use the tray and all should be well. Although that light may be a little on the dim side if that's all you're using. Make sure it's less than a foot away from the plants if you can.
 
Hi moonflower,

Your post says you live in "New York", but doesn't say if its NY City. There was a member here a couple of yrs ago in NYC that had been growing CP's for yrs on NYC tap water. Apparently the quality of NYC water is very good. Also, the tap water where I am located is high enough quailty for CPs. Just depends on what comes out of your faucet. But You may want to stick with the rain or distilled water until you get further down the road.

Anyway, bare root VFTs are not difficult to start and stabilize. And wouldn't be anymore difficult than a potted plant that had been shipped to you. They are both going to go through some degree of shock. Just have your media on hand when the plant arrives. Many others, including myself, use peat/perlite mix. Others use peat/sand. Others use just peat. The choice is yours. Note: many "sands" will kill CPs, so be careful if You go that route.

I usually let mine sit and cool to room temp for a few hours before I plant them up, but that's just me. You want to keep them good and moist, but not sitting in water for the first couple of wks. They should be doing very well in +/-30 days.

Also, you shouldn't lose ANY just because you bought them bare root. There's nothing wrong with buying or difficult about starting bare root VFT. Once you feel secure with it---You won't buy any other way.
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HTH
 
Alot of people use superthrive on bare roots when planting or transplanting to reduce the amount of shock the plant goes through. I have ordered my last few venus fly traps bare root, and have soaked the roots in superthrive for a half hour and they have seemed to recover quite quickly. A week or two and they seem to be near fully recovered.
 
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