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Discussions about anything related to Venus Flytraps, cultivars and named clones

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By mlrtime99
Posts:  8
Joined:  Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:19 am
#10257
I'm doing this more to document these plants progress than anything else. I've got 5 traps, 2 from Home Depot and 3 from Hortus Octanicus - http://www.hortusb.com/ (was unaware of the fly trap ranch or I would have supported the fellow members). The home depot traps were as you would expect, the HO plants (1 red dragon and 2 normals) showed up in great condition with 3" flower stems but no flowers. All 5 are planted in a 50/50 mix of Premier Sphagnum Peat Moss and Gro-Well Perlite (both from AceHardware). The plastic pot sits in 2" of contiunually fed RO/DI water (Petmate LeBistro waterer and Spectrapure Maxcap system) with the bulbs about 4" above the water line. I will be raising the soil level gradually as there was more soil compaction than I expected. I did not gradually introduce these plants to the sun, I know but I'm lazy :) they are on a southeast facing wall however and only receive sun in the morning, I'll pay attention and get some exact times. With the obvious sunburn these plants don't look as great as they did a couple days ago but I expect them to pop back soon. I also have a LED growing light setup coming that I'm curious to play with and will let you know how that goes. Unflattering pictures attached for documentation.

*edit* holy god those pictures were huge
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By kevinqwe
Posts:  1840
Joined:  Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:04 am
#10260
those plants dont look that well. they will survive in arizona!~ it has a lot of bright sun and the plant likes that, just dont let the water run out. :ugeek:

also, how did you get those grassy things? do they automatically grow?
By Budukai
Posts:  290
Joined:  Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:30 am
#10266
kevinqwe wrote: also, how did you get those grassy things? do they automatically grow?
I think thats moss, not sure which type. You can see the little setas growing out of them where the spores come from.
By NZL
Posts:  489
Joined:  Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:28 am
#10270
I hope they'll recover.
Normally it's not advised to do any repotting when the VFT has a flower stem, because the combination of having your plant flower and giving him a "repotting-shock" is quite risky.

I see on the picture that one of the flower stems isn't growing straight up either.. I'm a bit worried...
By mlrtime99
Posts:  8
Joined:  Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:19 am
#10292
That is a moss that shipped with the HO red dragon, I'm really hoping it establishes itself. This is my first time "potting" anything and let's just say I don't have the most delicate hands as far as placing the plants vertical. I thought it safest to place the bulb a little lower to keep it from drying out and letting nature decide where to place it. They've definitely been on a downhill slope for the last 4 days, they were being watered with tap water so previously so the repotting was necessary. We'll see how she does.
By mlrtime99
Posts:  8
Joined:  Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:19 am
#10293
Just went and had a look, goods news is 4 of them all have new traps on them, bad news is none of them are the red dragon. The red dragon is the only one that hasn't become sunburned though so it might just be carrying on business as usual.
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By Matt
Location: 
Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#10295
Hello and welcome to flytrapcare!

That's good that 4 of them are putting out new traps. None of them look very healthy right now, so I would recommend snipping off the flower stalks from any that have them. That should help them not struggle so bad. Since you didn't acclimate them to the sun, they're probably just badly sunburned and should recover. If you have them in direct sunlight all day, you might want to consider putting them under a shade cloth during the hottest part of the day. I've not heard of anyone growing them outside in full sun in southern Arizona, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. I lived in Tucson for 8 years, so I know the weather in that area and between now and September, the sun can be grueling. I just don't want to see you cook your flytraps.

Good luck!
By Budukai
Posts:  290
Joined:  Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:30 am
#10301
So you buried the traps on purpose? On the far right is that a trap sticking out or is that just a snipped trap? I don't think that would be the best thing to do since the dionaeas need as much light as possible and really need their petioles exposed to light in order survive, not to mention their trying to grow flower stems, Matt already mentioned it so I don't have to say anymore about that. So try and dig out the dirt around the bases of the plants, the dragon is fine since it's base out and about.
By mlrtime99
Posts:  8
Joined:  Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:19 am
#10310
Well they had to be repotted because of the 2 weeks of tap water, they actually have looked better every day since they've gone into this pot. We talked about this before Matt in a desert thread so that's why I'm curious on how they'll do in the AZ sun, they get sun from the morning until about 1pm so nothing too intense. I'm not too concerned about the buried traps, this is a plant and will grow against gravity and towards the sun, they've been doing it for millions of years before we were here to caress them :lol: I'll snap progress pics in about a week, thanks for the advice guys.
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By Steve_D
Location: 
Posts:  3913
Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm
#10319
mlrtime99 wrote:That is a moss that shipped with the HO red dragon, I'm really hoping it establishes itself.
Don't worry; it will. And then a couple years from now you'll regret you ever felt this way. It looks so pretty in the beginning. :lol:
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By Steve_D
Location: 
Posts:  3913
Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm
#10350
mlrtime99 wrote:Does it get that bad? It won't go over the sides of the pot will it? No competition with vft?
There are many species of these "carpet mosses," but in general they form a very dense and crowding mat that sucks up all the water of the first couple inches of growing medium and strangle any seedlings both by crowding them from the sides and squeezing them, and by growing much faster and taller than the slow-growing Venus Flytrap or Darlintonia californica seedlings, for instance.

Carpet moss propagates very quickly. You will notice after a while, if you look closely while you are watering from above, that dozens or hundreds of tiny little green specks float on the water and are deposited all over the surface of the planting medium when you water. These all grow into new moss colonies.

Once it catches hold in a few pots, it seems to become an ineradicable problem in the greenhouse. I have even begun to sterilize growing medium in a pressure cooker to use as a top dressing (about an inch or 2.5 centimeters thick) when I transplant, to try to suppress the moss growth as much and as long as possible.

Yes, it's pretty. But it is a demon weed! :evil: :lol:
By mlrtime99
Posts:  8
Joined:  Tue Apr 14, 2009 3:19 am
#10364
Well I have way too much moss and perlite so if it gets outta control I'll replant. I've read that the moss can only handle "partial sun" at the most, maybe Phoenix will get the best of it? But thanks for the warning Steve. What are you talking about Kevin??? They are just like male beta fish, I asked that all of my vft were males so when they get large enough they will fight with eachother. :D
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