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Ask questions about how to grow and care for Venus Flytraps

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By Nikson
Posts:  422
Joined:  Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:47 am
#390761
Hey all!

During the summer I've been able to keep my VFT's (planted in peat moss/perlite) watered nicely by just keeping them sitting in tray of water, letting them run dry, sit a day or two, then refill it with water.

However, due to the rain constantly smashing my peat moss and hurling perlite and peat moss everywhere, I followed the advice of the people here and added a layer of LFSM (like half an inch or so) on top of my peat moss layer, and it makes my plants look a lot nicer and my perlite/peat moss is no longer being flung around like crazy, which is great!

One issue I'm having now though is checking on when to water my VFTs, especially since now it's cold outside and the plants aren't sitting in water trays anymore. The LFSM on top seems to permanently stay wet, so I have to dig it to the side with my finger to check on how dry the peat moss underneath is. Are there any tips or secrets I should follow to keep my plants watered properly now, especially as they head into dormancy? Should I just keep doing what I'm doing, just pulling the LFSM to the side to check how damp the peat moss is underneath, or are there other lifehacks for this?

I did read about how some people just check how heavy the pots are to see if they need watering, and I do that sometimes, but it doesn't feel very reliable.

Image
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By Apollyon
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Posts:  1663
Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#390768
If the top layer is wet then you won't need to worry about watering. It'd require moisture from underneath to supply the moss with water to stay damp like that. When the top layer starts drying out would be where I'd start thinking of watering. As Nocturne said as well, the weight will be a sure tell if it needs to be watered as well. Otherwise, I do what you do and poke a hole about 1/2 to an inch in the media to see if it's damp.
Nikson, Kapahulu liked this
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By Nikson
Posts:  422
Joined:  Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:47 am
#390841
Carnies wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:32 am It seems like the tallest trap has aphids or some kind of soil on it, can you get a picture of it?
Oh yeah don't worry about that, it's just left over peat moss/lfsm that got splashed over my leaves and dried up last time it rained, the whole reason why I added the lfsm layer in the first place lol. No pests on my plants so far!
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By Apollyon
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Posts:  1663
Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#390844
Depending where you are, waterings may be few and far between. Personally I welcome that lol. It's the one amazing part of dormancy.
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By Nikson
Posts:  422
Joined:  Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:47 am
#390850
Apollyon wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:51 pm Depending where you are, waterings may be few and far between. Personally I welcome that lol. It's the one amazing part of dormancy.
Yeah I'm in a Georgia 7b zone, so I don't think I'll have to water too much! Been in the 60-70 range so far and I took the plants out of their water trays and the top LFSM layer is STILL wet haha.
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By Apollyon
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Posts:  1663
Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#390852
Zone 9b was a nice cool 87 today. Sometimes I don't need to water outside for weeks but the rains are pretty sporadic. When it gets to that range, I'm doing every 3 days or so but that's in my climate.
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By Nikson
Posts:  422
Joined:  Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:47 am
#390866
Apollyon wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 12:42 am Zone 9b was a nice cool 87 today. Sometimes I don't need to water outside for weeks but the rains are pretty sporadic. When it gets to that range, I'm doing every 3 days or so but that's in my climate.
Oh man, still 87? Crazy!

It's funny, before I got into VFTs I was like "Oh man, I can't wait for Fall and Winter, I like when it's nice and cool", but now that I'm into VFTs, I'm like "Oh no, dormancy, no, I need more sunlight, I need more heat, I want to see my babies GROW more! Don't sleep!" :lol:

Also man, RIGHT as I'm posting this at like midnight, a huge ass rain storm just hit. First time it's happened since I put that layer of LFSM on top of the peat moss, so here's hoping tomorrow when I wake up I don't see the moss splattered everywhere like a warzone.

I do fear for my sarracenia though, they always get tipped over when it rains, makes me sad haha.
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By Apollyon
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Posts:  1663
Joined:  Tue May 05, 2020 2:49 am
#390879
Yeah, That's why I use 1020 trays and square pots for my plants outside here. Summer rains here can get intense and it holds them together. Good luck!
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