Well, the time had come to repot my first vft! As its my first ever vft it made me a little scared, as the plant means alot more to me than any other cp's I own. When I repotted I feel I did a good job, and got its rhizome to sit into the peat really well. Im just misting it over right now, to help its root shock. Here is what I found out:

So of you may know I had some small central growth, this looks like a division thats just bent its way into the centre. Its not yet divided so I will have to keep waiting.

I found a leaf with some green on it, shall I plant it on top of a germination tray in germination conditions?

A few roots fell into my hand, from a dead bit of rhizome (Im hoping thats not killed the plant, they still have plenty more roots and the rhizome looks big and very healthy. Shall I plant this on top of a germination container too? Can they be chopped up? Do they need to be slightly under?

Thankyou

Hayden wrote:I found a leaf with some green on it, shall I plant it on top of a germination tray in germination conditions?

That would probably work.

Hayden wrote:A few roots fell into my hand, from a dead bit of rhizome (Im hoping thats not killed the plant, they still have plenty more roots and the rhizome looks big and very healthy. Shall I plant this on top of a germination container too? Can they be chopped up? Do they need to be slightly under?

When repotting, if you pull off the "older" part of the bulb that's turning brown and dying, you can almost always get another plant to start growing from it, especially if it has a nice root system already. Just plant it like the regular plant with the rhizome just below the soil surface and you should see new growth coming from the nearly-dead rhizome.

Ok, so ill take a pencil. Then slide it down and leave the part of dead rhizome sticking out?

Thankyou Matt, ill keep you updated on how I get on!

Sorry, a bit off topic.. When ive repotted should the peat be compressed or with lots of air gaps? Its pouring with rain now so im letting the roots settle.

Hayden wrote:Then slide it down and leave the part of dead rhizome sticking out?

The rhizome should always be covered. When potting up older pieces of rhizome, you shouldn't be able to see any part of it after it's planted. Also, if it's completely brown, it won't grow. There has to be a bit of white or yellow on it.

Hayden wrote:When ive repotted should the peat be compressed or with lots of air gaps? Its pouring with rain now so im letting the roots settle.

I usually compress it a bit, but not too tightly.

Thankyou, it was raining out there so much. That should have compressed it enough.

Do you think im being stupid buying an ro unit? I just think instead of using the bucket outdoor method and collecting mosquitos I should do a one off payment for life.

Hayden wrote:Do you think im being stupid buying an ro unit?

I'd say that if you plan to have carnivorous plants for a long time, and RO unit is a good investment, particularly if you have trouble collecting enough rain water to last through the entire year.

Ok, thankyou. I guess the longer I own one the better =D

Thats a weeks questions over with for now lol! Im hoping my seeds will germinate soon, but im going on holiday so will be leaving a neighbour in charge! Really though I dont think theyl need to do much other than top the water up half way through and maybe a spray.

She likes plant so im sure she'll take good care of them!