FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Sponsored by FlytrapStore.com

Discuss water requirements, "soil" (growing media) and suitable planting containers

Moderator: Matt

By Emmaaa
Posts:  18
Joined:  Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:21 pm
#351432
Hi! I'm fairly new to the VFT community. In January, someone gave me that 'death box' (bug biting plants) from Lowe's where you have a dormant VFT and a Sarracenia. The Cenia survived (barely) but the VFT didn't. Around the same time, I got 2 bottles of the VFT on Amazon, the ones where they are self-contained and have a gel that'll help them grow. There was a bit about them growing tall (with little light) and bushy (lots of light) so I experimented with that.

I noticed the taller one had some yellow heads and is definitely outgrowing the bottle. The bushier one is on its way to outgrowing the bottle too. I got some new pots (+soil) to plant them in and I'm expecting them in them in the mail soon.

My question is, what kind of bottled water brands are safe for them? I live in central florida, and my go-to grocery places are Aldi's, Costco, and Publix. We mainly have Kirkland purified water, which I thought was fine because it said that it was processed through RO, then I saw that it had added minerals. It's probably why the VFT I had with Cenia died. I'm not willing to get a TDS meter yet, so I was hoping to get some recommendations for specific bottled water brands to purchase.

I was also planning on just growing them indoors. I know this is a hard no-no but I didn't want them in the backyard since there's an automatic sprinkler and a lot of squirrels. I got grow lights for them because I was worried that they weren't getting enough sun. I think my room is on the south facing side (I mainly get sun around 1p to possibly 6 or 7p) and I think this isn't enough as I read that VFT's thrive in full sunlight. I plan on having it turned on from 6a - 12p everyday. Would this be enough for them?

I ALSO accidentally tore the head of one of the stalks from the saracennia... and I think it's dying too... How can I make it healthier?

All advices are welcome!
Attachments:
plants.jpg
plants.jpg (123.94 KiB) Viewed 3532 times
By Benny
Location: 
Posts:  530
Joined:  Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:46 pm
#351455
Just about any one that says distilled is fine. Some people here have tested their "distilled" water and it had a high ppm. If you do not have a TDS meter on hand, then don't mind testing it unless it causes issue later on.

I just use distilled Arrowhead water, and as much rain\snow as I can get.
Last edited by Benny on Thu Apr 09, 2020 3:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Emmaaa liked this
By Emmaaa
Posts:  18
Joined:  Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:21 pm
#351457
Okay thank you! I was asking for specific ones since I'm scared of touching every distilled bottle I touch because of the Covid. I wanted to just go in the store and get what I needed lol
User avatar
By Matt
Location: 
Posts:  22522
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#351478
Any bottle of distilled water will work great. I have never heard of bottles of "distilled" water testing high with dissolved solids. I suppose it isn't surprising, but I doubt it is a frequent thing and probably a particular brand or two.
Emmaaa liked this
Re-introduction

Thanks so much for sharing this great information![…]

You know, it kinda hits you different when you onl[…]

Piese originale Ford S-Max 2015-2020 alegerea pi[…]

https://www.pieseford.ro/piese-auto-ford-s-max-20[…]

Hello!

Welcome

Chilly in LA…

I've got a friend in Harvey, but that looks like […]

1 year old cape!

My cape is being evil. It died back when I did I[…]

The Sphagnum Yacht

We all love cotton...blue jeans, t-shirts, underwe[…]

Support the community - Shop at FlytrapStore.com!