FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Getting my first B 52 soon and bought a brand new unglazed terra cotta pot but recently read on california carnivores that these pots are too porous and allow water to leave the pot too quickly. I live in south texas so water loss is not an option. Is this true or can i stick with my current pot.

Nuuuuuu!!! Get rid of the terra cotta! This type of container will leach minerals into the soil and as you mentioned, not too great in maintaining moisture levels. If Home Depot is an option, get this:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ ... ogId=10053

or

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ ... ogId=10053

I use fiberglass planters for my vfts. I find that they are extremely durable, easy on the eyes and provide great insulation! There's several colors to choose from, but lighter colors are better. If you cannot get a hold of fiberglass planters, I recommend one of these instead:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-F ... t/16940522

16 oz foam cups will protect your plant's roots from overheating in that unrelenting Texas sun.

Cheers!

Out of the 3 above, I would suggest the styrofoam cups!

If you don't have any pots when you are making an order, FTS sells FTS Brand Pots

If you really like your pot there are products you can buy to seal the inside making is safe for your CP's.

There is a post from a few years ago where Steve_D used sealer on a pot and was going to try and grow some VFT's in it. You may want to PM him and find out the results. Unless he happens to see this post ans wants to update us here.

I apologize in advance if he already provided results somewhere else and I missed them.

I'm still trying to decide which container to transplant my 2 venus flytraps into. I have a large 3.6L white plastic container that I've been thinking of using. It has a handle which is nice for moving it, and is about 8" deep. I notice that a lot of people use white styrofoam beverage cups for their plants as well. I'm thinking I would like to keep the two plants together in the same container, this is why I was thinking the large white container that I have might be nice. Any thoughts? Does anyone want to share some pictures of their VFT containers?

parker679 wrote:There is a post from a few years ago where Steve_D used sealer on a pot and was going to try and grow some VFT's in it. You may want to PM him and find out the results. Unless he happens to see this post ans wants to update us here.

Yes, as I've mentioned many times on the FlytrapCare Forum (but most people seem to forget), red earthenware (terracotta) clay pots, if they are real clay and not an artificial lookalike, are fine for growing Venus Flytraps or other carnivorous plants, so long as they are soaked once or twice in distilled or rain water to dissolve any soluble material that might have accumulated in the pores of the pot from previous use or from manufacturing.

The Venus Flytraps that I planted in both the red clay pot that was sealed inside with acrylic (I used clear acrylic artists medium) and the red clay pot that was unsealed (left natural just as it came from the kiln) have since been transplanted, but they grew fine in those two red clay pots.

Clay, whether porous low-fired red clay or higher-fired stoneware or porcelain, is almost entirely pure silica and is inert. Real, natural clay will not harm Venus Flytraps or other carnivorous plants. Clay is not soluble, and it does not "leach minerals into the soil," which is a persistent but untrue myth. It should be soaked though for a day or two before use.