FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Woo hoo! I have a grow list. Thank you so much, Chef and Evenwind!

Edit: 07/31/2023 - Lost everything up to this point. Starting over with different soil. Going big or going home.

D. Aliciae
D. Capensis Bulk Typical
D. Tokaiensis
D. Spatulata Population S1
D. Capillaris Population C1
D. Spatulata Population S3
D. Capillaris Population C2

Placed in water stratification
Dionaea muscipula OP
D. Intermedia

23 June 2023

Your labels are lovely, even if unusable. I am a bit curious how much ink bled into the medium and whether it might be toxic for CP seeds? But maybe that's just paranoia talking.

I had the same concern. You can't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs. I printed and cut 4 of them and then did the other 4. I noticed the bleeding before the second 4 were finished so they never got put in soil. So at worst, I ruined half of my pots with ink.

I believe I have some sprouts. They look a lot like the perlite that was in the soil mixture from a distance so they may have been there for several days. Looking at them up close, I can see a little bit of a green stem underneath. So, I either have sprouts or mold. Given the shape, I doubt it is mold.

Sometimes I will take a close-up shot of germinating seeds then scan the image zoomed in closely. It is amazing how that helps these old eyes.

Grow list update. Started from seed on 7 July 2023:

D. Spatulata Population S1
D. Capillaris Population C1

Thanks so much, Evenwind. The Cricut quit working a week or so ago. I've ordered parts but I couldn't wait any longer so I made some temporary labels out of masking tape. I also got some smaller pots for this round. I think I may have kept the soil in the larger pots a little too wet at first. This soil is very hydrophobic. I was afraid if I let it dry out too much, it wouldn't reabsorb water from the bottom. Those larger pots have really nice bottoms with lots of holes so they re-hydrate much easier than I thought they would. I haven't grown anything from seed in soil in a very long time but I am getting things dialed in.

Looking good! (If anybody's interested, I'll explain the "Population S1" thing in a separate post.)

Turns out, the "sprouts" were algae. I have read that this isn't necessarily a problem for seedlings. As far as I know, my options at this point are to toss the soil and start over or just wait and see what happens. Algae is a plant, same as the would-be seedlings so anything I do to get rid of the algae will also get rid of the seedlings. I'm in no hurry and even if the seeds never sprout, there is still much to be learned from maintaining the proper moisture level in this type of soil. I can't help but take a look at these little guys several times a day. At the first sign of mold, I'm popping smoke.