FlyTrapCare Forums

Dear all, I'm relatvely new to the CP world since my son saw a VFT in what would be a variety of Loves here in Europe. Since than the VFT is doing fairly good (it could use a liitle more light though) and recently we bought a flat with a garden so I'm thinking of making a bog garden next season (this will be a topic later when I start the project in an adequate place). As the CP bug bit me, I've been reading last few years of posts on this forum.
My question is... Is it smart to start seedlings now indoors and plant them in the spring in the bog, or buy small plants from our variety of Loves? I plan to buy few Sars and Nephs but for VFTs I am thinking of germinating from seeds in this dormancy period. I am not into cultivars, yet. I am thinking of making this on a southern facing windowsill with additionall lighting made from LED strips. I have 5000k and UV strips available. Any thoughts on this?
Regards,
M.

IMO germinating VFT seeds is pretty easy if you get them from a trusted source, you just keep them moist like anything else until they sprout. It will take them 3-4 years to grow into adult plants though, so something you may want to consider. I have some seedlings from last year which are about 1 inch in diameter now. It would be fine to germinate them whenever you get them and skip the first dormancy, as long as they get one the year afterwards. Depending on how strong the light is, 5000k LED strips should be fine kept a few inches above them once they start growing.

They won't be ready to plant out until they're a couple years old, the tiny seedlings are easily lost outside of the controlled conditions indoors. Now would be a good time to start sundew seed for next season though.

Thank you for the info. So I've ordered VFT and drosera seeds and I'll se how it goes. If for nothing else to keep me trough dormancy. Probably these will be sitting on a balcony on a more controlled conditions for start. I know i canot get a to a great looking bog garden in a short time period withouth dishing ot serious amounts of cash so I'm thinking of moderate investment plus patiance. Any info on using UV LED or to avoid them?

So far dooing ok. Seedling starting to sprout.

Awesome, and congratulations. Looks like you are on your way to that bog garden. You can start feeding them as soon as you can and they will grow much faster.

Congrats! While VFTs are pretty slow from seed, it’s always fun to see all the diversity you get from them. It’s a great way to expand your collection if you’re willing to wait!

For what it’s worth, if you skip dormancy the first year, they’ll mature faster.

Thank you all! They germinated in 3-4 weeks roughly. I think I will replant them to pots in a few weeks for the first year and after their first year replant them to garden. Most likely I will put them trough normal dormancy outside. My current plants are looking good dormant in pots but winter hasn't started yet with really low temps wich can hit -10 C. They are sheltered on the open balcony which is fairly warmer than it really is in the open.

So far so good. Thinking of transplanting them to a more apropriate container while they are still small as this.

First "hunger" leaf emerging

Seedlings are nicely making progress but a mold issue has became apparent. Need to figure out how to get rid of it....

Spray with Neem Oil and dry them out a little as well.

Thank you for the advice, I will try to source some neem oil but it is not so widely available here...mostly as cosmetics only. Also I will try to move the pots to another place. My problems started when I moved them from work to home when mold started to form. Probably lack of airflow. The peat and perlite were in the oven for 20 mins before the germination and still it came rellatively quickly.

Mold is no longer an issue. I have used a fungicide and changedtheir position with more air Flow. I've started feeding them with freeze dried bloodworms also.
D. Capiensis are also looking good but with litgle dew.
Sarracenia started germination after 1 week (5 weeks stratification)

Wow, nice looking plants! I'm still waiting for some of my capensis seeds to sprout...