What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Feeding flytraps

H

honoroll2002

Guest
Hello! I have 2 questions:

1. In the mornings, I like to put my traps outside. When I come home in the afternoon, sometimes as many as 3 traps are closed with insects inside them. Is it possible that my traps are eating too much?

2. Here in Florida, it's been raining a lot, so sometimes I dont put my VFTs outside because I'm afraid the rain will ruin them. Do you think they'll be ok functioning on an on/off sunlight schedule. They seem to be growing fine.

Thanks!
 
Hey Honoroll2002..  Welcome to the forums...

Question #1.. No. My VFTs very seldom have any open traps for longer than 1 day... They eat like starved pigs and all it does is make em grow bigger.

Question #2.. I dont think the on off light thing is much of a problem. I regularly bring my VFTs into the shade on hot days and they dont mind at all. I wouldnt worry about moving them while its storming..

Good luck with your plant
Steve
 
1.)Do let the plant eat all it could. A good feeding season equals larger and healthier plants!


2.)Rain won't harm plants at all. I let the plant get soaked and its fine. Flytraps in nature are not equiped with an umbrella.
 
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Flytraps in nature are not equiped with an umbrella.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
LOL! What an immage!

I leave mine out in the elements 24/7. Of cource, I live in NY so the sun isn't quite as rough, and they only get 5 or 6 hours of it anyway. However, we have lately been getting PUMMLED with rain, and they're no worse for the ware. I don't think you moving them will hurt them, but if you have to go on vaca or something I would only worry about them drying out, not getting beaten up by rain.
I also make no attempt to limmit their food intake. They just eat and eat and eat.
rolleyes.gif
 
Does any one know why on my vft after one trap eats about 6 times it seems to die, is it normal or is it eating bad bugs mabye they are poisoned or something, I hope not.
 
That is normal. It is actually quite a large number of meals for the trap. On average, they last two to three meals for me, before going to their 'inverted' stage.
 
oh ok, thats good
 
pyro213,
The reason the traps stop closing after any given number of meals is "growth exhaustion" (I made that term up
smile.gif
)
Anyway, the way a trap closes is this: The cells along the outside of the trap go through a very rapid growth spurt all at once, hense causing the outside edge of the leaf to expand while the inside stays the same. This makes the leaf close. To open back up, the inside cells have to grow. This mean that the trap is actually slightly bigger each time it opens back up. The cells can only grow so big, so when they reach their max size, the leaf can no longer close. At this point the trap is not dead, just inert. It is still a viable leaf capable of photosynthesis, so don't cut it off until it turns brown.
Hope I made sense!
biggrin.gif
 
  • #10
schloaty, Interesting theory. Is it proven?

Well my hypothesis is this:

I think the quick closure could be a combination of 'expansion' and 'shrinkage' as opposed to just growth on the outside. Instead of just the outside expanding, I believe the inside also shrinks. Basically, the inside cell's pushing fluids into the outside cells triggered by some electric surge. After time goes by (maybe after some chemicals break down), they transfer the fluids back, but this transfer is not without cost, possibly some buildup of by products slow the transfer each time till it becomes ineffective.

I think this is more plausible because to get the same change, in the angle of the trap, the inside and outside only have to change half as much as the just the 'outside' theory.

If I'm wrong, please let me know.
 
  • #11
uglypho you made sense, I never knew that, and I loved venus flytraps since I was pretty small but never had too much luck with them.
 
Back
Top