FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

As much as I enjoy my fly traps, I ultimately want to replace the random assortment of pots they have come in. I totally understand why people recommend insulating properties of styrofoam, and the cheapness of stadium cups. I'd like to find something, though, that is more aesthetically pleasing, plus of course appropriate for the plant conditions. So let's debate the merits and drawbacks of a couple of options for fly traps.

Question: BLACK?
I am in Zone 5 (Wisconsin). We maybe get a maximum of 10 days that hit 90F. Most summer days are high 70s to high 80s. Would black pots really be so wrong? (I like black.) Could they even help keep media warm in the spring and fall nights?

Question: SIZE?
Are the 6+ inch tall tumblers below just too big (waste of media?)

= = = = =
Bubble tumbler: 6.62 inches (H) x 3.25 inches (W)
Clear plastic, 22 ounces, has bubbles throughout. Enough to diffuse sunlight off the moss? Also comes in a 4.75 inches (H) x 3.5 inches (W) version.
Gray tumbler (also comes in black): 6.62 inches (H) x 3.5 inches (W)
Pale gray, 26 ounces. Too big? Also comes in a 4.62 inches (H) x 3.5 inches (W) version.
Green tumbler (also comes in dark blue): 4.75 inches (H) x 3 inches (W)
Just right? Also comes in a 3.25 inches (H) x 3 inches (W) 8-ounce version and a six-pack of the small size.
"Stone" tumbler: 5.5 inches (H) x 3 inches (W)
Made of thick resin, 8 ounces.
Silicone tumbler: 2.875" dia. x 4.625" tall
Heat-proof, slightly squishy, 8 ounces. More expensive. Also comes in 3.75" dia. x 5.75" tall 16-ounce; and a translucent polished 3.125" dia. x 4.125" tall 12-ounce version.

If the pots were insulated or made of some sort of thick material, then black coloration wouldn't be a big deal. But even in mild temperatures, thin black plastic pots can heat up the soil a lot when placed in full sun. It might not kill the plant, but it wouldn't be ideal.

As for size, the bigger the better! The more massive the pot, the more media it will hold and the more stable the soil temperature will be, which is good. Of course, there is a tradeoff with using a lot of media (though you can put less expensive or older stuff in the bottom of the pot), so you have to decide for yourself how much space and media you want to dedicate when choosing a pot.

These 3 pots are what I use currently.

https://www.flytrapcare.com/store/growi ... ustom-pots

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073W ... QI5F&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073W ... 4503&psc=1

I gave my brother the dimensions that I need and he will be making me custom pots with his 3D printer soon.

Im in Michigan, zone 5a/5b and I wouldn't use black pots. The sun makes my white pots super hot and I cant even imagine how hot black would get. I'm never changing from white colored pots.

I grow my flytraps in standard gallon pots. They’re cheap, fairly durable, deep, and buffer temperatures and water well. They dry out much slower than smaller pots do, and I can fit multiple plants into one of them.

One consideration may involve your plans for dormancy. I think my plants look their best in winter and I also feed my seedlings all winter. So for simplicity I plant my plants either in 24 oz. white styrofoam cups or 15" pots. That way when they come in under lights in the winter it is easier to keep them a somewhat uniform distance from a light. That being said I do not actually pot up individual seedlings until after their first dormancy.

Good observations, 1cashew. My seedlings will stay in their seedling cube tray through this first winter. I don't plan a full dormancy for them because they are still so tiny. It's my "young adult" plants that will get new pots.

I did buy a couple of the smaller gray tumblers from Target, when I saw them on an end-cap of an aisle. They are bigger than the Flytrap Store pots received with my plants, and a good fit for a "next size up" move. (My Coquillage in particular is still really shrimpy.)

I’m fairly new to the carnivore scene but I keep all of my plants in glass fish bowl sort of containers. I put rocks in the bottom to allow it to hold water for the plant to sit in and it also keeps the humidity up in the media. It seems to work very well so far. I haven’t had most of my plants long enough for definite recommendation but my original VFT is growing like crazy! As long as you check it more often than you normally would since they don’t hold that much water as if it was sitting in a tray. You can find them really cheap at Walmart or tag sales (where I got most of mine)

I bet your glass bowls look great.

In Wisconsin the air is so humid I struggle with algae problems, so want to get maximum air circulation over the top of the pot. A fish bowl just wouldn't work. Probably helpful in dry climates though.

They do look awesome, but I have been noticing some algae forming on my new plants. Must be from the new media I got because my original traps haven’t had any. Honestly if you got to a nursery or something near by they will probably give you some of the square green pots that they use for free. My girlfriends gets some every now and then when she asks.

What about drainage holes? You plan on drilling them out? Honestly I'd skip that and go to nurserys and they usually have a bin full of pots they don't use, you just have to ask.