A Resurrection!
Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 9:43 pm
One of my VFTs completely stopped growing after I divided and transplanted it back in the late summer or early fall. The other 100 or 150 (some individuals, some in small clumps) were all fine. I ended up giving about half of them away (long story), but not until they all appeared to be doing well. One young individual only had a single root that was less than three inches long. I felt sure that I shouldn't have divided it from the clump yet, and that it probably wouldn't make it, but even that one continued to grow just fine.
But there was one individual that didn't grow a single new "winter" leaf or trap. (You know, the smaller ones that lie flat on the ground.) The old ones just died off without being replaced until it was eventually left with only half a leaf and no traps. That half-leaf turned an odd shade of dark green that I hadn't seen before, kind of like pine needles, but it refused to completely die, so I just kept that plant with all the rest of them and gave it the same care. It also had two small, red, pencil-dot sized bumps on it that I still haven't identified. They seem to be attached, but they haven't visibly grown or multiplied.
Anyway, it stayed in exactly that condition, with no visible change whatsoever all winter and spring, until just a few days ago. Now it finally has some tiny new leaves and traps coming in! I'm pretty excited, because if this one actually pulls through, it means that I haven't lost a single plant in several years of growing them, having divided and transplanted everything twice now!
I don't mean to brag - it's just testimony to the fact that, contrary to popular belief, when you give them what they need, VFTs are really pretty resilient.
But there was one individual that didn't grow a single new "winter" leaf or trap. (You know, the smaller ones that lie flat on the ground.) The old ones just died off without being replaced until it was eventually left with only half a leaf and no traps. That half-leaf turned an odd shade of dark green that I hadn't seen before, kind of like pine needles, but it refused to completely die, so I just kept that plant with all the rest of them and gave it the same care. It also had two small, red, pencil-dot sized bumps on it that I still haven't identified. They seem to be attached, but they haven't visibly grown or multiplied.
Anyway, it stayed in exactly that condition, with no visible change whatsoever all winter and spring, until just a few days ago. Now it finally has some tiny new leaves and traps coming in! I'm pretty excited, because if this one actually pulls through, it means that I haven't lost a single plant in several years of growing them, having divided and transplanted everything twice now!
I don't mean to brag - it's just testimony to the fact that, contrary to popular belief, when you give them what they need, VFTs are really pretty resilient.