FlyTrapCare Forums

Here are some pictures of my seed grown from about mid Jan 2012 - mid Oct 2012. I'm amazed how big they grew in one season!
I took some pictures in between these dates, but not a birds eye view like these. They've developed great coloration in the last month while I've been decreasing their light exposure. I noticed this when increasing their light exposure in the spring too. They seem to color up the most with 15-16hrs of light; more-so than with 17-18 hours of light. They are beginning to die back with the shorter period too though.

Very nice looking traps. They've done great in your care. Decreasing the light, does that mean you're growing these under artificial lights?

jwbates26 wrote:Decreasing the light, does that mean you're growing these under artificial lights?

Thanks! Yes, forgot to mention that. I haven't been able to successfully grow any flytraps outdoors yet. Bringing them indoors reduced almost all of the variables in troubleshooting their health. I'm going to do some repotting next spring and try again with maybe one of each cultivar I have multiples of. I know they should be able to grow outside here but so far that hasn't been the case for me.

You're not kidding, the colors are amazing. I wouldn't have guessed they were grown under artificial lights.

Wow! Those really do look great! They're colored up a lot more than any of mine that *have* been outdoors all summer! Whatever you're doing is obviously working great! So what kind of lights and indoor setup are you using that has yielded such incredible results?

I remember reading all your trouble you were having with them outside. I'm glad you found something that works for you. They look great.

Awesome looking flytraps, the coloration is stunning! There is even a little bit of "drool" along the edges of the traps

Stunning, the colours are amazing !!

Great looking plants and great growing this season xr280xr!

Thanks everyone, and to this community in general for helping me learn (and to FTS for supplying these superior monsters)!

ambkosh8465 wrote:So what kind of lights and indoor setup are you using that has yielded such incredible results?

I have them on a 4ft shelf with a 4ft fluorescent light fixture attached to the bottom of the shelf above. It's just 2, 32w, 6500k, GE "Daylight" bulbs. They were cheap at Walmart...so cheap they probably won't stay strong long. My soil level is 4-5" from the bulbs. I'd like to add another fixture with some bulbs in more of the red spectrum just to mimic outdoor life better but for now it's just these two. I have the light on a timer and, as I mentioned, I think I was up to 18 hours per day in the summer.

Once the UV index outside drops and I've got my artificial lighting photo period shortened down some more, I'm going to transition them to sunlight for the winter because my office (where they are now) won't get cold enough. The nice thing about having them indoors is I can enjoy them more throughout the day while I work!

I should also mention, these grew in natural light in a window, then outside up until sometime in July. It started getting really hot and dry and they wouldn't sustain more than 4-5 leaves at a time so I moved them in.

Inspiring photos. I use some of the same lighting, and my seedlings are nowhere near as prime. I don't see any insect debris in the traps. How often do you feed them?

sbrooks wrote:Inspiring photos. I use some of the same lighting, and my seedlings are nowhere near as prime. I don't see any insect debris in the traps. How often do you feed them?

Well, these were seed grown, but not seedlings Yours will get there. I don't feed them very often. I think most of these have had 1-2 bugs each since July. When I see a bug in my house I bring it to my traps and the one that's the best fit (by size) usually gets the meal. Since I don't find a lot of big bugs in the house, these don't get fed as much. Also, they look so nice, I hate to make them close!

Whoa! Awesome growing plants! I want one!

Great job there!