About to Recieve first VFT

[nrbelex]

I'm about to receive my VFT and I have never grown one before. I would like to make my plant as healthy and happy as possible however because I live in Westchester NY where winter hasn't been very wintery and putting the plant in the refrigerator is not an option, I am not sure what to do about dormancy. Also I was wondering how much distilled water is appropriate daily and what alternatives there are to feeding the plant flys. One more thing --- Is the soil the plant arrives in OK to leave it in

Any other tips on how to care for the plant after it has arrived would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks - Brett

 

[Guest]

Hey Brett

First WELCOME!! :smile:

If you bought a plant from here ( PFT.com ) there is a saucer that comes with the plant. SImply put the water in there. ALWAYS keep it filled.

If you bought it from somebody else and it doesn't have this, use something that you can sit the pot in and fill about a 1/2 inch ( don't want to go really high with water- rot may happen ).

Just make sure your plant stays wet AT ALL TIMES !
Never let it fry out. It will die!


If you have just bought a plant, there is NO NEED FOR DORMANCY!

Dormancy will however need to happen for the plant in this coming November ( next Winter ). When we get back to that point, trust me....there will be PLENTY of information on what to do for your plant.

Lets work on getting it there first :smile:

Feeding your plant is a option....You don't have to feed it anything at all ( think about the plant 'eating' a bug like fertilizer for the plant- which is what it is ). If you feed your plant ( fertilize it ) it will grow faster and bigger. If you don't feed it ( fertilize it ) it WILL STILL GROW...just not as fast. Some of these plants go in the wild WITHOUT ever catching a bug!!
Alternative food for the plant can be:
1) eggwhites
2) Superthrive
3) make a 'tea'
4) nothing :biggrin:

The soil that the plant arrives in will be fine.

I advise people to NEVER REPOT YOUR FLYTRAP!! ( this is for others reading this as well )

Repotting does no good for this plant. It gets nothing from the soil. No need to repot. Make a 'tea' and it will love you!!

If you have to repot ( for whatever reason )...use SCHULTZ CANADIAN SPHAGNUM PEAT MOSS and PERLITE....50-50 mix. You can find this at most garden places and walmart, target...just get schultz brand!

At the top of the website there is care/ information about the plant, read through that and then if you have questions, post them in here.

Hope this all helps , and let us know how your plant does!!

p.s. and don't fret, they are easy to grow as long as you follow directions!!
DISTILLED WATER ONLY AND GOOD LIGHT...that is really all they need to be happy!

Good Luck

 

[nrbelex]

Thank you VERY much!!! Just one question, what do you mean by "make a 'tea' "

THANK YOU!!!
-Brett

 

[Stefano1]

yea, jaie, how do you make a "tea" for it, i would love to make a tea for my VFT

and what is eggwhites?
please jaie or somebody help out nrbelex and i and gives us directions on how to make a tea

and please someone say what eggwhites are?? thanks

 

[noah]

Hi Stefano1

Eggwhites are the part of an egg that is white when it is cooked and clear when it is raw.

If I am not mistaken what jaie means by 'tea' is peat tea, which can be made by boiling peat moss in water for a while and draining the tanic acid rich water out to use to water your cps - they love it.

Hope this helps.

Noah

(Edited by noah at 3:35 am on Feb. 26, 2002)

 

[Guest]

ok

I was wanting to end the last post...there was just too much information to keep going...

So now you have come to the Tea and Eggwhites

Although I have not played with giving my plants eggwhites ( that would be the clear part of the egg-just not the yolk- the yellow part )

Many people have...

They suggest do NOT give to Nepenthes ...the pitchers can't handle it.

However you can do this for the Sundews, Butterworts, VFT's and Sarracenia.

You boil an egg. Take only the white part. LITTLE PIECES ONLY- not too much.

Then feed your plant with it.

The only problem with the VFt's are they need continued movement to start the digestive process. So I am about to conduct a little test on mine. This is what I plan to do:

Feed it the eggwhite ( not too much !! )

2-3 times a day...I am going to 'giggle' the trap ( to make the plant think that it is a bug ). I am hoping it works. As I am looking for more ways NOT TO KILL any bugs.


The Tea:

You need:

a cheese cloth or pantyhose
a plastic container of some kind ( milk jug tea pitcher that is clear )
Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss

Pack the peat moss into the panty hose or cheescloth. ( Like you are making a TEA BAG )

Then fill the pitcher/jug up with water.

Place the 'tea bag' in the water.

Sit it outside and allow to 'brew'

This will create water with great acidic content ( since the peat moss is very acidic )

Feed this water to your plant.


By doing this you have just 'goosed' the soil with more acidity. The plant will love it! This is a great thing to do in place of repotting ( which I try my best to talk people out of )

Hope this helps!
Give it a try somtime when you have some time! :smile:

 

[nrbelex]

Somebody Just answered my question so nevermind!!!

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-Brett

(Edited by nrbelex at 8:46 pm on Feb. 25, 2002)

 

[Wado]

Would you consider repotting if the roots are growing out of the drain holes in the pot??

 

[nrbelex]

I just thought up yet another question!!! Sorry for all those people sick of me by now! I am planning to place my vft on a window-sill in my bathroom facing north (I think) and not really move it. Therefore, although I do plan to take care of it and treat it as well as possible, putting it into dormancy next winter seems like a lot of work for one plant. How long do you think a VFT can survive with constant watering and a constant temperature of about 69-72 degrees F?

 

[Guest]

Wado,

You have a VFT with roots coming out of the bottom? If it is coming out of dormancy, I would repot, BUT this is what I would do:

Get a bigger pot and try to get ALL the dirt out of the old one. That way you do not distrub the roots or plant ( which is why I argue against repotting ) Add new soil to the bottom of the new pot, then place the plant ( with all soil still around the plant) into the new pot.

REMEMBER: these plants get nothing from the soil...that is why you really do not have to repot. So leaving the old soil with the new doesn't matter.

If you have the time, make a 'tea' after you have repotted the plant.

I think if you HAVE to repot, that is the best way. That is the only way I repot my plants ( carnivorous ) and they seem to go through the least amount of shock.

Just don't do it during its growing period. ONLY do this when the plant is coming out of dormancy.


Now next question

Nrbelex:

I never get sick of questions. That is why these froums exsist... for people to get information and share it. and have fun ( just stay away from Rampuppy

)

You can put the plant anywhere that gets a lot of light. Since you are up north...the more light the better. Humidity isn't a big factor with this plant ( although this is up to some debate ) if the bathroom has good lighting, the plant will be happy

Dormancy isn't something to worry about until November. If you do not put your plant into dormancy, it will not last more than a couple of years. It will get weak and not produce traps, then die. Dormancy isn't that tough. There are several people that live in NY that grow these things. I am sure when the time comes you can ask them what they do. We also have a write up on dormancy under plant care. There will be help when that comes. Don't worry

The temps you will have should be fine. They thrive in mild conditions. Mid 70's to 80's are perfect!

Enjoy the plants now...Spring time is coming!!! :cheesy:

 

[Wado]

Thanks Jaie, as I'm in Australia and in the middle of the growing season then I'll wait til spring. yes I do have a VFT with roots coming out the drain holes. They are about 2cm long but there is only 3 root poping out.

 

[nrbelex]

Thanks again Jaie, I would be lost without you guys!!!

- Brett

 

[PlantAKiss]

I ain't got nuthin' to add since its all been covered...I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the forums to Brett.

Keep us posted on how your plant is doing.

Suzanne

 

[nrbelex]

Yea, my vfts just arrived!!!! I took off all of the coverings and put them on the sunniest window I could find. I filled their trays' with disilled water and although all of their traps are closed, they look great!!! I already had a fly go near them but since all the traps are closed, he couldn't go in

.

Thanks!!!

-Brett

 

[Dyflam]

Sorry to post crash but I just ordered 3 green and 3 red dragons. I recently bought a kit from Lowes (like Home Depot) that had a common VFT, sundew, and some variety of pitcher plant. The kit included potting medium (peat, perlite, and sphgnum) and bare root plants. The VFT is doing great, the sundew is coming around, the pitcher plant started growing and quit. I plan to put them all in a larger container and create a mini-bog. Hope it works.

 

[Alvin Meister]

Hi Dyflam. You'll be really impressed with the Red and Green Dragons - they are much more colourful and the green dragon grows like a weed