FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello. My first VFT doubled while in dormancy. I packed it up in sphagnum, peat and perlite and it survived well from December to Mid March when I unpacked it. I repotted it as two plants and after some adjustment where some stalks blackened and died it's green and vivid and the traps are open. But they don't stand upright, they're drooping over and I can't figure out why or what to do. I've attached snapshots. Thanks for any advice you can give me.
Ellen in Maine

What kind of conditions do you have them growing in? They look like they need more light. Also the moss seems kind of dry but if it is only a top dressing, that isn't a problem.

They are on the same windowsill as they were before they were packed up, a sunny southwest facing kitchen window where they happily chowed fruitflies all summer and fall. It's still a little raw to put them outside, I think, we have a fairly late spring here in Maine. (It snowed yesterday). Maybe I should get them a gro-light.

Thank you ever so much for your reply, Panman.
Ellen

Maany thanks! I'll try that.
Ellen

Dear Matt,
Just wanted to check in and let you know that everything turned out all right. They spent a month under the grow light with little change but didn't get worse. Then I took them back to the kitchen windowsill and they began to show more life. The original fronds shriveled but lots of growth came up and seem happy. I do have one plant outdoors, which is a "crown" which is fairly stagnant and a sliver of a baby, which is very slowly unfurling. It is not dying but it is growing very slowly. I think the issue is the plant wanted the natural light to be stronger and last longer. That being the case I wonder if I should have let it stay in the dormancy package another couple of months. I put them away in mid November and took them out in mid March.

Here are photos of the progress.
Thank you so much for your support in this journey, which is new to me.

Ellen

They are looking better but still need more light. Can you put them on the window sill with the grow light?

Hey @Ellen,is it possible for you to put them somewhere with direct sunlight,like on a porch?You can try slowly acclimating them there,and it will be much better for them.

I will try both. It is not mild enough that I feel safe putting them outside. I'll try one outside and one with the grow light in the window as well. Thanks, both of you, all of you, for your help and expertise. Much appreciated. These are my first vft. To be honest, my second. I kilt the first one with tap water. We have well water, but it's got a lot of iron in it.

Have a great summer!
Ellen

Keep us updated on how they are doing.

Gladly. One is outside now, it's an overcast day, good for acclimating. Since one will be expected to work for a living, to consume fruitflies in midsummer, I'll rotate them from window to patio. What did you think of the idea of a longer dormancy?

I don't think a longer dormancy would help. 3 1/2 months should be plenty. The trick for them coming out of dormancy is getting the temperature, water, and light intensity/duration right. This year, I had my outside plants beginning to come out of dormancy so I moved the plants I had under lights outside. Those grown under lights, went into a dormant period while those outside continued to wake up. I did this in April of this year and I have a filiformis tracyii that is just now beginning to come out of its late season dormancy.

They definitely can tell the difference between the grow light and sunlight

Hello to Chef and Mat and everyone that's been so helpful on this case. So, am rather stumped. The specimen I put outside a while ago is looking pale and wan, fronds come out and traps fall off, while the one I kept on the windowsill is greener and growing and looks less stressed.

For extra credit, there's also a picture of flower stalks that I snipped and potted and what I think is a new one coming up. The "crown" on the latter isn't changing at all but the seedling is slowly growing. Those are outside too. We've had lots of sun and rain.

Any comments are enormously appreciated. Thanks hugely.
Ellen

It will turn yellow for an amount of time as it acclimates to the outside weather. Brighter green actually means it is getting more light, and the darker green color from the one inside means it is not getting enough light.
Just my opinion,
Max