FlyTrapCare Forums

Recently, I have decided to take another shot at growing Venus Fly Traps. I have been growing my Venus fly traps indoors for the past couple weeks and wondered which is the better option for my Venus Fly Traps. At the moment I have my Fly Traps in a South West facing window and they seem to be doing fine. But, I also own an EnviroGro FLT24 2-Ft, 4-Tube Fixture that I used to grow plants during the winter. The fixture has 4 fluorescent 24Watt 6400k T5 tubes and rated at about 8000Lumens. I am deciding whether I should move my flytraps 2-4 inches below the light fixture and have it on a 16hr timer or continue to leave my plants in the window. I want to give my Fly Traps the best possible light for my situation. I would prefer to keep my plants indoors because I do not want to deal with bad weather, Insects and other pests, and possibly burning my plant outside. I would appreciate if someone with more experience could give their opinion on the my situation and what would work best.

Thank You!! Any replys are much appreciated!!

Well this is going to be a intresting science experiment

Your artificial lighting will likely be much better than the window.

I moved my Traps under the grow lights and will see how it goes.

Also, what is a good height and time to have the grow light set to? Right now I have it around 2-3 inches above my plants and on a 16hr timer.

Thanks

I've been growing my vfts outside all year long for years very successfully. I live in California haven't loss any VFT unless I forget to water. Pest seem not to bother them in full hot sun. Only when they don't get enough light Afids are attracted. Your VFT looks great !


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Is it possible to grow outside? That would be the best option my flytraps grow in full sunlight from sunup to sundown and they love it. No artificial or window light will adequately compare to growing outside

I might start conditioning one of my flytraps to move outside to see how it does. Any idea on how long I should take to acclimate the plant?

Thanks

It is really much healthier growing them outside. First day one hour, second they 2 hours, third day 3 hours etc. After a week you can keep them outside all day long.

I kept mine inside too, but there is almost immediately mold because of the lack of air movement. They can catch some bugs outside as well.

Okay, some thoughts.

I've got a 2-tube fixture generally similar to your EnviroGro that I use for Pings and sundews. I just measured the light levels under it. When the sensor is 5" under the lights, my meter is showing around 3800 ft/candles. My main lights are around 3400 ft/candles at growing distance (I use 6.5" from the tube to the top of the pot). The VFTs under my main lights seem to be fine and I've been getting compliments on how bright the colors are.

So my guess would be that you can safely move your plants further from your lights. I'd try them at maybe 6 or 7 inches and see how it goes. A lot will depend on the color spectrum of your tubes and the efficiency of the reflectors. I really think 2-3" is way too close but maybe somebody with real experience with a 4-tube EnviroGro will add some comments.

Just keep in mind that growing under lights is not ideal and that your plants are going to be a bit more delicate than those grwing outdoors in a more natural environment. Good luck.

I adjusted the height of the tubes to 6inch from the pot. Would a small fan on a timer be a good idea to have some air flow or would it be pointless? Also, I plan on acclimating one of my FlyTraps to the outside and will compare how it grows to the indoor plants.

Thanks

I would just throw them outside in the full sun. That's what I do with all my flytraps or sarracenia. I never acclimate, takes too much time and the leaves will still die off no matter how much you try to acclimate.

If you do keep them under lights, you'll have more intense colors but the plants will be weaker. They also might grow slightly leggy

Kvatch wrote:Would a small fan on a timer be a good idea to have some air flow or would it be pointless?

Personally, I don't use fans - maybe I should. A lot depends on where your lights are located in a room. A small fan (like the kind used in computer cases) would certainly not hurt and might do a lot of good. Just remember you're aiming for "air movement" and not "indoor hurricane".

Also: If, after your experiments, you're going to stick with growing indoors, I'd strongly suggest you get a light meter to take some of the guesswork out when you've got to move your plants around.

I will look into getting a light meter and setting up a fan. I will leave updates in this thread.

Thanks

I think you are just complicating it unnecessarily. Acclimate them a bit and throw them out. Sun and wind are free and much better.