FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I just moved my plants from my Refrigerator down to my basement. I bought a Non-Stick baking pan to keep them in. But am now wondering if a glass pan would be better. Do you think the metal pan can leech any chemicals into the plants?

Thoughts

The modern non-stick coatings are not really reactive, and even less so at temperatures that are not cooking temps. It should be fine, especially if it's new and there aren't any unwashed cooking oils.

That being said, it's an expensive tray, you can get one of those aluminum one time use baking trays with a plastic "lid" and use the lid.

Thanks for the reply, I got it for a great price on sale. But your option is a great idea, in fact I have a few lids from Thanksgiving I should have used.

I would expect that to work just fine. The non-stick coating will prevent any potential reaction between the metal and water.

Thanks, appreciate the info.

@Bobioden, it looks like your A2 isn't potted correctly. The rhizome is sticking out of the moss. Anything white needs to be covered. I've seen someone else do this and they reference a video from Brad's greenhouse where he claims that the rhizome is actually the crown, but that's not right. Leaving the rhizome exposed like that will stress the plant to the point it might die but will definitely not grow well.

I've used those trays for helis in the past because they're so strong, and have always had perfect success with them. Also used them for pings with success at some point I believe.

Why use that though.... IMO the best thing for your money is a rubber shoe-tray from Home Depot. Costs like 15 USD, which is FAR cheaper than one of those baking pans. And... You will have enough room to house about twenty more 3" circle pots. 56 if you have a rectangle pot setup.

hungry carnivores wrote: IMO the best thing for your money is a rubber shoe-tray from Home Depot.

That looks like a great find! You're talking about something like this, right?:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMast ... /207070561?

Is that the size you use? How deep are the trays?

Matt wrote: ↑Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:41 pm

hungry carnivores wrote: IMO the best thing for your money is a rubber shoe-tray from Home Depot.

That looks like a great find! You're talking about something like this, right?:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMast ... /207070561?

Is that the size you use? How deep are the trays?

I believe it was the same exact size. I do not even use trays, just put the pots in (I use 3" squares) and fill the danged boot tray up with water. And, it's rubber, so it's much more trusty than those flimsy injection-molded trays, so I feel safe putting it over a hardwood floor.

Matt wrote: ↑Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:33 pm @Bobioden, it looks like your A2 isn't potted correctly. The rhizome is sticking out of the moss. Anything white needs to be covered. I've seen someone else do this and they reference a video from Brad's greenhouse where he claims that the rhizome is actually the crown, but that's not right. Leaving the rhizome exposed like that will stress the plant to the point it might die but will definitely not grow well.

Thanks Matt, just fixed it. It arrived all compacted, just had to loosen it up a bit, and re-pot it, making sure the rhizome is completely buried.

Bobioden wrote:Thanks Matt, just fixed it. It arrived all compacted, just had to loosen it up a bit, and re-pot it, making sure the rhizome is completely buried.

OK, great! Glad you got it settled. That thing looks like a beast of a plant so it should be huge next year!!

hungry carnivores wrote:I believe it was the same exact size. I do not even use trays, just put the pots in (I use 3" squares) and fill the danged boot tray up with water. And, it's rubber, so it's much more trusty than those flimsy injection-molded trays, so I feel safe putting it over a hardwood floor.

@hungry carnivores, Good to know, thanks. How deep are the trays?

They're something like 2 inches deep but also have a textured pattern so the lowest points are around 2.25 inches deep. IME this is nice since it allows drainage from pots, and it allows a slight raise in humidity.

Yeah, they sound like a great option. I might have to pick one up to try it out.