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Ask questions about how to grow and care for Venus Flytraps

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By ziko88
Posts:  268
Joined:  Mon Mar 14, 2011 3:57 pm
#95972
I just ordered 40 VFT seeds that a friend is going to bring back to me in about a week, so I'm trying to think of the best germination container I can make for the little ones ;)
I made something (took me about 5 minutes) with an old delly cup I had laying around I want to know what you guys think
Image
I made a lot of small holes on the bottom and the net is there to give me a little bit better view of what's going on drainage wise
what do you guys think?
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By Steve_D
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Posts:  3913
Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm
#95976
I think it looks great and will work very well. What growing medium are you going to put inside?

You might want to make sure to lift the lid once or twice per day to fan fresh air into the container (helps keep it from becoming "stale" and concentrating fungal spores). Be sure to keep it out of direct sunlight because sun will overheat the inside of the container and possibly bake and kill the seeds. You might consider making a few holes maybe 8-10 millimeters wide in the lid, for fresh air exchange.

Once most of the seeds have germinated, you can remove the lid and set the container in full sunlight for their continued growth.

Here is a recent photo of some Venus Flytrap seedlings from our latest seed harvest (2010). This is what you can expect them to look like about 4-6 weeks after germination. Keeping the growing medium and seeds warm (warmer than humans usually prefer, but not so hot as to bake them) will greatly increase the speed at which the seeds germinate.
Venus Flytrap seedlings about 4-5 weeks after germination
Venus Flytrap seedlings about 4-5 weeks after germination
vft-seedlings_2011-03.jpg (81.82 KiB) Viewed 1528 times
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By Steve_D
Location: 
Posts:  3913
Joined:  Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:06 pm
#95986
ziko88 wrote:I read this it was very very helpful
http://www.flytrapcare.com/growing-venu ... seeds.html
Thank you for the compliment (since I wrote that article). If any questions remain after reading it, just ask them and I'll edit the article to contain answers, to help other people. :)
ziko88 wrote:do you think it's big enough for 40 seeds?
Yes, absolutely. It is more than large enough for 40 seeds. You might try to sprinkle the seeds around the middle of the container instead of at the edges, because those that land near the edges may fall into the crack that sometimes forms between the growing medium and the wall of the container, and may have a difficult time growing after germination (or may be baked by the sun when the lid is finally removed and the seedlings are given direct sunlight to continue growing).

Nice germination container, and interesting idea about the drainage observation mesh! Please post updates every several weeks if you don't mind. :D
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