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Ask questions about how to grow and care for Venus Flytraps

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By kratzaus
Posts:  31
Joined:  Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:25 am
#328356
Hello Everyone,

I grow my vft outdoors in a 6 inch pot in 55' North in Scotland, where during the growing season the temperature is almost always very much at the cooler end of what vfts prefer- even in the hottest month of July the average max being 19C/66F and average min being 10C/50F. On top of this, being relatively far North, the UV of the sunlight is pretty low too.

So, I was wondering if anyone thinks it would be beneficial for me to use a black pot which would warm up iin the sun in order to keep my plant overall warmer??

Best regards,
Ben
By Huntsmanshorn
Posts:  947
Joined:  Wed Sep 03, 2014 6:32 am
#328405
Yes, I would imagine that it would help but how much would depend on things like how many days of sun you get during the growing season and the size of your pots and such. Black pots, placed on a surface that would warm up as well, next to something that would reflect the light/heat (like a garden wall), and out of the wind, would all be things I would consider.
Huntsmanshorn liked this
By edina
Posts:  24
Joined:  Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:39 pm
#328427
I think that's a great idea! You could maybe even put one pot in another one just to provide them some extra warmth around their roots.
edina liked this
By twitcher
Posts:  656
Joined:  Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:56 am
#328438
You might want to consider jugs of water painted black, partially exposed to the sun and partially embedded in the soil in close proximity. The water will retain heat and buffer temperatures, better than just the thin plastic of a darker pot. I would experiment with how much of the jug to keep clear as opposed to painted for optimal thermal heating and effect. In practice, if you use clear plastic or glass, you can get some solar heating by "greenhouse" effect and painted areas can help too. The surface retained above the soil will determine how much of an effect you would get from the sun. Its simple in principle, but I imagine harder to get it right in practice.
By kratzaus
Posts:  31
Joined:  Wed Jan 03, 2018 6:25 am
#328440
Huntsmanshorn wrote:Yes, I would imagine that it would help but how much would depend on things like how many days of sun you get during the growing season and the size of your pots and such. Black pots, placed on a surface that would warm up as well, next to something that would reflect the light/heat (like a garden wall), and out of the wind, would all be things I would consider.
Thanks for your advice.

I already use a homemade aluminum foil reflector thing attached to the (see pictured below as of evening 23/01/2019- still totally dormant here of course) to increase the UV intensity and warmth. I've not tried yet to quantify how much it increases the temperature of the plant, but I have used a light meter to measure the lumens striking the plant with and without the reflector, and irrespective of how sunny/cloudy it is, the reflector always seems to increase the light intensity by a very significant 50%.
IMG_20190123_160643022.jpg
IMG_20190123_160643022.jpg (3.03 MiB) Viewed 1440 times

As far as keeping it out of the wind, that's out of my hands as the only spot is the outside portion of my window ledge on the outside face of my apartment block/block of flat.

cheers,
Ben
By Doublebass1985
Posts:  293
Joined:  Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:36 pm
#328456
I tend to believe you would want black pots because that will help the evaporation rate in the media slightly more. The quicker the evaporation rate will provide increased levels of oxygen to the roots. I would like to see if someone would test this theory and see if black pots are more beneficial or are they more of a harm to the plants? Honestly I don't think it makes too much of a difference using white or black until the temperatures start getting up to 95-100℉+ when it's that hot I could see using white pots just so you don't wind up overheating the rhizome, but it also depends on how wide the pot is and if the rhizome is in the exact center of the pot so it has to most insulation surrounding it. In the climate of Scotland where you at I would think using black pots or white pots is just fine. It doesn't get super hot there and the risk of overheating your plants is very low.

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