FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I'm just thinking about where to grow my VFTs...
They are inside right now in a south sided windowsill (4 tipical and 1 big mouth) and they get 6-7 hours direct sunlight. If I put them out they would get about 10-12 hours direct sunlight. But the weather here is quite variable (rain and heavy wind) and I don't want to kill them. And I can't be here any time to bring them in when the weather is not ok. Maybe I put 1-2 VFTs out.

So I just wondering whether it's worth to put them out for an additional 3-5 hours direct sunlight.

What do You think about it?

If they were my plants, I'd put them outside somewhere that is slightly protected from strong winds or heavy rain, such as under a tree or patio, especially if there is a chance of a thunderstorm. On nice days with no chance of severe weather, you could move them out away from the shelter so that they could get more sun.

tomcat wrote:But the weather here is quite variable (rain and heavy wind) and I don't want to kill them.

I can almost guarantee you that wind nor rain has ever killed a Venus fly trap They may not look so good after getting pounded by heavy rain or hail (I've had it happen before), but they won't die.

I have just a balcony so I can't really protect them but I think it's better as if it were in the yard. So I think I'll put 2 VFT's out when the weather will be good. But the nights are frosty a little bit right now so maybe two weeks later I'll do it.

Thanks for the reply...

Matt wrote:If they were my plants, I'd put them outside somewhere that is slightly protected from strong winds or heavy rain, such as under a tree or patio, especially if there is a chance of a thunderstorm.

The problem I've been having with putting them under or near a tree is I think birds sit in the tree and watch them for bugs. I keep finding traps or full leaves cleanly severed, some with what looks like beak bites out of them. I haven't seen a bird do it, but I'm not sure what else could make such clean cuts while leaving the pieces behind. I forgot I had this trouble last year before moving them inside. I moved my planter farther from the tree and it hadn't happened again until today, but I moved it a couple feet closer to the tree a couple days ago trying to get some mid-day shade. Is this a normal problem? To the point of the thread, we had a big thunderstorm overnight and I found these severed leaves when I went out to check on them. They were all fine from the heavy rain & wind.

xr280xr wrote:Is this a normal problem?

In some places it seems to be a fairly regular and serious problem. When we lived in Boulder I couldn't keep the squirrels away from my plants. I've never had much of a problem with birds, but quite a few other growers have. My solution to the squirrel problem was to build a cage to cover all of the plants. It worked very well for both protection from the squirrels and, when adding a shade cloth to the top of the cage, it protected them from heavy rain as well.

Don't let the squirrels see 'em.

Matt wrote:

xr280xr wrote:Is this a normal problem?

to build a cage to cover all of the plants.

I was thinking about this too and You gave me an idea. What if I build a wire cage? The insects can go in but the birds can't.

I've only ever had 1 squirrel attack. They were more interested in what was under the soil than the plants themselves. I think they know I have dogs so they keep out of the back yard most of the time.

tomcat wrote:

Matt wrote:

xr280xr wrote:Is this a normal problem?

to build a cage to cover all of the plants.

I was thinking about this too and You gave me an idea. What if I build a wire cage? The insects can go in but the birds can't.

Chicken wire?

Bill McEnaney wrote:
Chicken wire?

something like that. maybe I'll build a roof on the top.

I built a frame out of 1" x 2" boards and then wrapped it in chicken wire. It worked great!

Ya, but we don't have chickens around here. I think it's some sort of Jay pecking at them...


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xr280xr wrote:I've only ever had 1 squirrel attack. They were more interested in what was under the soil than the plants themselves. I think they know I have dogs so they keep out of the back yard most of the time.

Same here. I sometimes find a pot that's clearly been dug in by a squirrel. Not usually an issue for the sarrs but when they do it in a pot of quarter inch VFT seedlings I get a little upset. Luckily I've only had it happen a few times over the years.

As for your question tomcat.....Always outside when you can do it. Direct outside Sun is hard to beat. Wind and rain really aren't a problem except for tall sarracenia and those you can stake. We get bad storms here in Tallahassee and my plants don't mind. Like Matt said, sometimes they may look bad, especially after hail, but the plant will survive.