FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

My first venus fly trap is a young SD Kronos that I bought 4 months ago for $80. Over the weekend, I bought a $5 venus fly trap from Lowes. Its tissue is tissue paper thin, flimsy, and the plant entirely lacks color, sporting a transparent faint green color.

I moved it out of its humidty dome and into a deep pot in AAA Besgrow New Zealand long fiber sphagnum cristatum, and have it under artificial light with a PAR of 250 PPFD.

Will it grow deeper colors, reds, and grow thicker tissue if treated well, or do typicals always look this pathetic?

I don't see how that looks pathetic, it's a real nice plant.

It will be every bit as nice as the SD Kronos if you give it optimal growing conditions.

I am going to try to see how nice a Lowes venus fly trap can look.

Why are the Lowes care instructions so incredibly misleading? Fertilizer? Terrarium? Bottled water?

So you kill it and thinking you did something wrong buy another

You are probably under the impression that your Krono's is a "better" plant than the typical. But the truth it that they are both the same plant. Named clones and named cultivars are just plants that have a genetically odd growth habit or color or any combination that someone really liked and others really liked it too and that created a demand that ultimately raised the price, supply and demand.

Given optimal conditions you might end up liking your typical more than your expensive named cultivar.

Fieldofscreams wrote:You are probably under the impression that your Krono's is a "better" plant than the typical. But the truth it that they are both the same plant. Named clones and named cultivars are just plants that have a genetically odd growth habit or color or any combination that someone really liked and others really liked it too and that created a demand that ultimately raised the price, supply and demand.

Given optimal conditions you might end up liking your typical more than your expensive named cultivar.

If my Lowes fly trap starts consistently growing 1.5 inch traps and new divisions, I will be impressed. I am going to feed it for the first time tonight, but I am worried that I will damage the trap since its tissue is so flimsy and nearly transparent. I want to start a competition to see who can grow the most impressive fly trap from a Lowes rescue.

Its possible that it could, not unheard of for regular store bought typicals to grow 2" traps.

It all comes down to genetics and your horticulture ability.

My Walmart typicals put most of their energy into making countless divisions instead of big sturdy traps. Disappointing in that regard and the fact they are slow to get going in the spring. They are quick trappers though and get a nice burst of growth in early fall after my cultivars are already past their peak and going into dormancy mode.

As much as I like the robust looks of my B-52's they are generally slow to trigger and take too long to close. If I didn't hand feed them they would probably starve to death. Some of the huge traps are completely non-functional for trapping insects. Will Not Trigger. If you force them to close they will and eventually seal up but how lame is that? I think the plant tissue is just too thick for the bio-mechanics to work properly.

My Polish Draculas are my favorite VFT's (so far). Great growth. Good sized traps on long thin (but sturdy) stems and quick triggering and trapping (although the bugs can sometimes escape at initial capture because of the lack of cilia).

I’ve heard multiple people complain about the slowness of B52’s traps.

My observations for Kronos’s traps is the large traps close very fast if you let them get fully opened before triggering them. Large 1.5” traps on a Kronos close fast after they have fully opened, but they take a very long time to fully open.

By “fully” open, I am referring to when the trap is opened so wide, the two halves of the trap are curved open. The small traps open up fully very quickly, and I wonder if the slow B52 traps are just traps that have not yet fully opened up.

My B52's close just as fast any of my other traps.

Just found out that vft and others can indeed use some special fertilizers deluded. Like maxsea etc.


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Typicals. 3rd picture is mixed typicals & cultivars.. Your SD can look like that lowes typical any day

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Jagasian wrote:

Fieldofscreams wrote:You are probably under the impression that your Krono's is a "better" plant than the typical. But the truth it that they are both the same plant. Named clones and named cultivars are just plants that have a genetically odd growth habit or color or any combination that someone really liked and others really liked it too and that created a demand that ultimately raised the price, supply and demand.

Given optimal conditions you might end up liking your typical more than your expensive named cultivar.

If my Lowes fly trap starts consistently growing 1.5 inch traps and new divisions, I will be impressed. I am going to feed it for the first time tonight, but I am worried that I will damage the trap since its tissue is so flimsy and nearly transparent. I want to start a competition to see who can grow the most impressive fly trap from a Lowes rescue.

Deal! I will buy a lowes plant this week even though I have enough plants. I'm in

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Big-Jack wrote:My Walmart typicals put most of their energy into making countless divisions instead of big sturdy traps. Disappointing in that regard and the fact they are slow to get going in the spring. They are quick trappers though and get a nice burst of growth in early fall after my cultivars are already past their peak and going into dormancy mode.

As much as I like the robust looks of my B-52's they are generally slow to trigger and take too long to close. If I didn't hand feed them they would probably starve to death. Some of the huge traps are completely non-functional for trapping insects. Will Not Trigger. If you force them to close they will and eventually seal up but how lame is that? I think the plant tissue is just too thick for the bio-mechanics to work properly.

My Polish Draculas are my favorite VFT's (so far). Great growth. Good sized traps on long thin (but sturdy) stems and quick triggering and trapping (although the bugs can sometimes escape at initial capture because of the lack of cilia).

My B52 snap so hard and fast, my tweezers fait.

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