elaineo wrote:What's the most vigorous/bulletproof cultivar that you've seen?
I think DC XL is the most hardy flytrap we've ever grown. Out of the thousands and thousands of over 100 different cultivars we've grown here in southern Oregon over the last 10+ years, DC XL is the one that has the fewest health issues and consistently performs well in terms of trap size (spring time only). There are several others that are on par in terms of robustness against disease including, Jaws, FTS Maroon Monster, G16, Grün, Fine Tooth x Red, Wally, Big Mouth, Phalanx, Trev's Dracula, and perhaps a few others. But in terms of size, the spring traps of DC XL are still the largest I've ever seen in person.
SD Kronos consistently produces very large traps, larger than the average DC XL trap but not as large as the largest DC XL trap. It also has a very nice prostrate growth habit and gorgeous coloration. However, it is a little more susceptible to disease than those flytraps I listed above.
VFTNoob wrote:Wow thats definitely a testament to how differently these plants grow based on your location.
Yes, it makes a huge difference if you have very good growing conditions. Our southern Oregon climate is what I'd consider far-less-than-ideal for growing flytraps. Thus, we get a chance to observe how all varieties will perform under stressed conditions at pretty much all times. Our spring weather is about the only time of year that flytraps are very happy here. The days are sunny and mild, though sometimes we have very cold springs, which does cause them to stall. But once they put out their great spring traps and realize that they won't be catching any bugs (we have very, very few insects here in southern Oregon), they don't grow very quickly. Then the summer arrives with temperatures routinely over 100F, with humidity levels down near 20% relative humidity and hot, drying winds. By the end of summer, most of our flytraps don't look very good at all when compared to most of those grown in the rest of the US and EU.
VFTNoob wrote:As far as bullet proof cultivar, I gotta give it to the G16.
Agreed, G16 is one of the very good ones!!