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Vft seedling care

I have sucessfully germinated two VFT seeds, the seedlings look very delicate and are laying over in the damp peat.
Will they eventually grow upright or do I have to transplant the seedlings into another potting mix , there were no growing instructions on the packet.
 
It sounds like everything's going well if you have got germination. They are very slow growing, so will look quite delicate for some time to come. Leave them where they are and they'll be fine. Remember to make sure they get some air circulation to prevent damping off.
 
Hi christo and welcome to the forums! Where they have germinated is the best place to continue cultivating them. "If it aint broke, don't fix it".
 
Many thanks Alvin and Jim , I live in Townsville North Queensland Australia.
It is the start of spring here and our climate can be best described as either 'too hot or too good to go to work'.
I have purchased another packet of seeds so I will have a go at germinating these , this is all new to me.
At the moment they are doing well in semi shade out under the bottle brush tree.
Once again thanks fellas and i will keep you posted.
christo.
 
hi christo:

how are your seedlings doing? i'm interested in your experience as you are, probably, the only other guy who raises his vft's from seed. btw, i don't know why you would want to do that as there are tons of places in australia that sell established plants, unlike here in costa rica.
smile_l_32.gif
anyway, i have tried raising them from seed as well and they do ok until they turn 3 weeks or so when they start turning black and die. all that is left resembles a burned matchstick
smile_h_32.gif
i have no idea what i'm doing wrong as the rest of seeds i've planted are doing great. sarracenia, drosera, even a nep is alive and well (so far). anybody else have any recommendations?

carlos
 
If a very young plant has the soil dry out they turn black and die really fast (I just learned that with one of my seedlings).

I'll be posting some pictures soon of some 25 or so young seed-grown VFT's I've got growing so watch for those.
 
thanks for answering, curlingguy!

however, that possibility has to be ruled out. all my plants are watered by the tray method and always have at least 2-3 cm (1 in) of water on the saucer. the soil feels wet but not waterlogged. they also receive a good 3-4 hours of morning sun. all water used is rain water and the soil is a 50-50 mix of lps and silica sand. what i hadn't tried before was stratifying vft seeds, which i'm doing with my last order from the icps. in 2 weeks they will be moved out of the fridge and into the sunlight so i'll let you all know in a month or so if i keep getting burned matchsticks instead of vft seedlings.

carlos
 
Here's what I do.

I use long fiber sphagnum that I have chopped very fine as a growing medium. I use a Chinese food take-out container to start them in. It's around 2 inches deep, undrained, and has a clear snap on lid. I used to use a shallower dish, but Schloaty and I once did some at the same time and his grew larger faster - in a deeper container. I get the sphagnum wet and press it down gently. Then I drop the seeds on top of the sphagnum about every half inch or so. Finally, using a soldering iron I melt about six 1/4 inch size holes in the lid which allows for some air to get in.

This has worked pretty well for me. I have one right now that has over 20 small seedlings in it. Once they get large enough, feed them fruitflies. You might have to sort of mash the fly in there. This helps the young plants get going faster.

Good Luck!!

WildBill
 
Here's some pics of my recently germinated VFT's....

1)  South West Giant
South%20West%20Giant.JPG


2) Dingleys Giant
Dingleys%20Giant.JPG


3) XL
 
xl.jpg


4)  Sharks Tooth
Sharks%20Tooth.JPG

5)  Giant All Red
Giant%20All%20Red.JPG
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (WildBill @ Oct. 14 2005,12:41)]Here's what I do.

I use long fiber sphagnum that I have chopped very fine as a growing medium.  I use a Chinese food take-out container to start them in.  It's around 2 inches deep, undrained,  and has a clear snap on lid.  I used to use a shallower dish, but Schloaty and I once did some at the same time and his grew larger faster - in a deeper container.  I get the sphagnum wet and press it down gently.  Then I drop the seeds on top of the sphagnum about every half inch or so.  Finally, using a soldering iron I melt about six 1/4 inch size holes in the lid which allows for some air to get in.

This has worked pretty well for me.  I have one right now that has over 20 small seedlings in it.  Once they get large enough, feed them fruitflies.  You might have to sort of mash the fly in there.  This helps the young plants get going faster.

Good Luck!!

WildBill
Bill: where's that post and picture of your winter set up? I can't find it and would like to add it to favorites, since I make mention of it for those asking how to do dormancy in cooler climates?
 
  • #12
Damping-off refers to sudden plant death in the seedling stage due to the attack of fungi which are soilborne. The fungi is stimulated to grow and infect the seed or seedling by nutrients released from the germinating seed.
 
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