FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

i just started to grow some vft seeds and they are very small they only have 3 leaves including the first 2. Some of my seeds havent even germinated yet should I keep thoes inside, then bring them out in the spring. Or is it posible to let your seedlings to be left outside, and germinate after it starts to warm up.

branpera wrote:Or is it posible to let your seedlings to be left outside, and germinate after it starts to warm up.

That's definitely possible. It seems sometimes seeds don't germinate until after dormancy, but most of them germinate fairly quickly after being sown.

Okay I have a question. I bought a VFT and it came with a baby VFT that is about the size of a dime or a little smaller. I am planning on bringing my VFT in for the winter and putting it in my unheated garage. Will this be ok for the little guy? I live in Indiana which is zone 6. The smaller one is pretty much all ready black. There are a few that are green (new ones growing). In the Spring I am thinking of putting it in it's own pot. I just got them Sept. 17th and it had been rainy most of the time since then. I have tired to keep them outside, just bringing them in when I knew it was going to rain that day. Anyway will it be okay to put "baby" in the garage? I will get very little light, since I only have one window that faces East. The temptures should be okay, for there is a heat vent out there, but it doesn't get as warm out there as it does in the house. Also should I leave the traps on the bigger one or cut them off if they are still green during dormancy?

Thanks a bunch.

Your garage sounds like an ideal place for a Venus fly trap to go through dormancy. For seedlings, I try to "baby" them a bit. They might do just fine on a normal windowsill during the winter. But they'd almost certainly do fine in your garage too. Since it has a heat vent, it doesn't freeze out there, right?

Sbrown72 wrote:Also should I leave the traps on the bigger one or cut them off if they are still green during dormancy?

Yes, never ever cut any foliage off of a plant that's green.

lemonlily wrote:That so freaks me out... If I get seeds, don't I just toss it on the top of the soil and wait a few years, give it water, sunlight. That type of stuff?

Yeah, but winter still happens during those few years.

My guess is if you sow them in early spring and give them all they need during the growing season, they should be strong enough to go through dormancy by their first winter, which will be healthier for them in the long run.

allenc666 wrote:Mythbuster's is a lame show on Discovery Channel


Allen,

Aww, I like Mythbusters!

ModeratelyExcessive wrote:

lemonlily wrote:That so freaks me out... If I get seeds, don't I just toss it on the top of the soil and wait a few years, give it water, sunlight. That type of stuff?

Yeah, but winter still happens during those few years.

My guess is if you sow them in early spring and give them all they need during the growing season, they should be strong enough to go through dormancy by their first winter, which will be healthier for them in the long run.

allenc666 wrote:Mythbuster's is a lame show on Discovery Channel


Allen,

Aww, I like Mythbusters!

don worry just ignore him (he hates everything...EVERY_THING!!

Time to resuscitate this old thread

Well, upon a checkup I performed on my fridge-dormant plants, I went through the VFT seedlings. At least 2 had no leaves and looked completely dead, 3 had dead leaves harboring that dreaded fluffy white fungus-mold thing (AAARGH! Knew I should've used fungicide, but I've never seen it at my local garden center (maybe I didn't look close enough?)) and the rest looked much smaller than before (probably the big leaves they dropped to save energy).

These were placed in the fridge around October, have been exposed to 5 degrees Celsius (around 40 F) during the chilly days before it went below freezing, and the fridge temps are about 2-3 C (around 36 F). I have been warned that this may be a little too cold for their liking, but there's not much I can do, I don't want to risk moving them to my other cold place (8C, 46F) because the change is quite drastic and may kill whatever' s left of them.

The soil is just barely moist, it's not brown (dry) nor sopping wet, if you push your finger in it it jumps back up and no water fills the hole. That is usually pretty good for dormancy, right?

Also, another factor: I have no idea if these were Tissue Cultured or not. HACKERBERRY if you read this, I got all of the seedlings from the member Devon.B, and they originally came from you. Do you remember if you gave Devon TC'd seedlings or seedgrown ones? Thanks

Soooo...Any advice on what to do with them? Which fungicides would you guys recommend for seedlings (if it makes any difference than using a fungicide on adult plants)? Should I move them to a somewhat warmer place, or make the fridge temp a little warmer (maybe 4 or 5 C, 39-41 F)?

Thanks for any help.