Well, I put them outside. In the early morning there is a little dappled sun. Around 8:30 I move them to the front steps, where there is full sun. As the sun moves around the sun becomes dappled again but full next to the house. I move them back one more time. This is the best I can do. I've noticed on the Saracenia rubra that the new growths are red while all the other growths are green. The pitchers on the Flytrap have not changed color. They're still green. All in all, I think putting them outside was the right thing to do. Thanks for the advice. They are geting a little ambient light from the porch light. They sit about four feet from it at night.
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Barry Rice grows his VFTs under lights.
Baylorguy
"Oh, now he's a philosophizer"
I grow my venus flytraps indoors under 6 40 watt T12 bulbs. The coloration is amazing... deep red with not a hint of green. They are absolutely thriving. Dormancy means I'll need to move the pot outdoors, but big deal.
Many on here will discourage you from growing them indoors... but mine are doing just fine.
Many on here will discourage you from growing them indoors... but mine are doing just fine.
nightsky
Lover of Mountains
How close do you keep yours to the lights? Just curiuos. Also - pics man!
I wish I could grow big palm trees in my back yard..in Rochester..
like this:
oh wow..I found a person on an internet discussion forum that says they just planted one in Buffalo!
(a few weeks ago) and its thriving! yay! that means its fine to grow palm trees in my yard! im going to buy 10 of them..wish me luck!
Scot
like this:
oh wow..I found a person on an internet discussion forum that says they just planted one in Buffalo!
(a few weeks ago) and its thriving! yay! that means its fine to grow palm trees in my yard! im going to buy 10 of them..wish me luck!
Scot
You act as if growing VFTs under lights is an automatic death sentence.
It is not provided one simulates a natural environment that VFTs will grow in.
A few people grow VFTs successfully indoors in and out of terrariums for years. Barry Rice and Ivan Snyder are two for starters.
It is easier in most cases to grow them outdoors.
People growing VFTs outdoors in the desert, at altitudes, in zones less than 6 or near the equator have their own sets of problems. Just ask Joosa, Italo.american, Jimscott or Cindy.
BTW: I would expect to have more problems growing a plant with a hardiness zone rating of 10-11 in zone 3-5 vs a plant with a hardiness zone rating of 6-10.
It is not provided one simulates a natural environment that VFTs will grow in.
A few people grow VFTs successfully indoors in and out of terrariums for years. Barry Rice and Ivan Snyder are two for starters.
It is easier in most cases to grow them outdoors.
People growing VFTs outdoors in the desert, at altitudes, in zones less than 6 or near the equator have their own sets of problems. Just ask Joosa, Italo.american, Jimscott or Cindy.
BTW: I would expect to have more problems growing a plant with a hardiness zone rating of 10-11 in zone 3-5 vs a plant with a hardiness zone rating of 6-10.
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
It seems that growing them under artificial lighting is okay, but not as good as the sun. That also means that they can get by during the growing season but since they are temperate plants, they also need the declining phiotoperiod and cold temps. Inside cultivation doesn't provide the latter requirements.
I never said it was an automatic death sentence..
im just providing the other side of the story..
IMO, there are several rather irresponsible posts in the thread, giving misleading and dangerous information for newbies... such as:
how long have you had them?
big deal? um yeah..it IS a big deal, if you want your plants to live..
as we have already established, you cant just put them outdoors for 2 weeks in October and then stick them in the fridge.
with good reason...because they are very likely to die indoors.
for how long? how long have you had them?
(edit: Baylor, I just found your first post..you started growing CPs this spring..
a few months ago..
you havent even put your plants through their first dormancy yet..
based on that limited experience, its not a great idea to be giving advice about how its not a big deal to grow VFTs indoors..
sure, yours look great and are "thriving" being indoors... 4 months after you bought them..
When your plants have been alive under grow lights for 5 years, maybe then you could consider giving newbies some advice about how you do it..
not trying to be a jerk..I just dont like it when newbies are given advice that is potentially harmful to their plants..im just looking for out for the
health of the plants..its not personal.)
and yes, Barry Rice might grow some VFTs under lights, but he also says this:
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2360.html
about VFT dormancy.
and he has never said they can be grown indoors 24/7/365..
and he has the experience to sucessfully keep VFTs under grow lights for awhile..
a few months at a time..
Im only offering an alternative to indoor growing, and giving newbies the reasons
why they should should seriously consider NOT growing them indoors..
I know some people dont like to hear the way they are doing things isnt ideal..
they want to hear that what they are doing is just fine and dandy..
well..too bad.
I would say the same "mean" things to someone keeping a goldfish in a 1-gallon bowl..
I would tell them the way they are taking care of their pet sucks..
its just a really bad idea (goldfish in 1-gallon bowl and VFT indoors)
when there are alternatives that are SO much better..
so much better for the long-term health and survival of your pets..flora or fauna.
I have a feeling the majority of VFT growers who say "it works fine" to grow them indoors have been doing so for less than a year..
they havent had any problems growing them indoors...yet..
Scot
im just providing the other side of the story..
IMO, there are several rather irresponsible posts in the thread, giving misleading and dangerous information for newbies... such as:
how long have you had them?
big deal? um yeah..it IS a big deal, if you want your plants to live..
as we have already established, you cant just put them outdoors for 2 weeks in October and then stick them in the fridge.
with good reason...because they are very likely to die indoors.
for how long? how long have you had them?
(edit: Baylor, I just found your first post..you started growing CPs this spring..
a few months ago..
you havent even put your plants through their first dormancy yet..
based on that limited experience, its not a great idea to be giving advice about how its not a big deal to grow VFTs indoors..
sure, yours look great and are "thriving" being indoors... 4 months after you bought them..
When your plants have been alive under grow lights for 5 years, maybe then you could consider giving newbies some advice about how you do it..
not trying to be a jerk..I just dont like it when newbies are given advice that is potentially harmful to their plants..im just looking for out for the
health of the plants..its not personal.)
and yes, Barry Rice might grow some VFTs under lights, but he also says this:
http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2360.html
about VFT dormancy.
and he has never said they can be grown indoors 24/7/365..
and he has the experience to sucessfully keep VFTs under grow lights for awhile..
a few months at a time..
Im only offering an alternative to indoor growing, and giving newbies the reasons
why they should should seriously consider NOT growing them indoors..
I know some people dont like to hear the way they are doing things isnt ideal..
they want to hear that what they are doing is just fine and dandy..
well..too bad.
I would say the same "mean" things to someone keeping a goldfish in a 1-gallon bowl..
I would tell them the way they are taking care of their pet sucks..
its just a really bad idea (goldfish in 1-gallon bowl and VFT indoors)
when there are alternatives that are SO much better..
so much better for the long-term health and survival of your pets..flora or fauna.
I have a feeling the majority of VFT growers who say "it works fine" to grow them indoors have been doing so for less than a year..
they havent had any problems growing them indoors...yet..
Scot
Baylorguy
"Oh, now he's a philosophizer"
upper
Capensis Killer
yey.....fight thread!....wait...who's missing...jayjay?
Good thing nobody is trying to be mean
Scotty, you're right...we rookies should let more experienced growers give the advices.
I have seen many plants grown under lights and it's possible. Do they look better?...no, i do not think so! But guys, we are talking about a stupid vft that you can buy for almost nothing, from anywere! So Nancy, my ROOKIE advice is to buy one more and place it in the sunniest spot you have outside. Do grow the other one inside and see what you like best and what your plants like best....may be diferent sometimes.
see you!
Good thing nobody is trying to be mean
Scotty, you're right...we rookies should let more experienced growers give the advices.
I have seen many plants grown under lights and it's possible. Do they look better?...no, i do not think so! But guys, we are talking about a stupid vft that you can buy for almost nothing, from anywere! So Nancy, my ROOKIE advice is to buy one more and place it in the sunniest spot you have outside. Do grow the other one inside and see what you like best and what your plants like best....may be diferent sometimes.
see you!
That poor trap was halfway eaten by some sort of pest. There were a couple of others that looked similar or even worse. One looked like wacky traps/bart simpson, but it was only because it had been eaten away.:-(
I managed to kill it with a spinosad/BT mix after having several leaves ravaged, but I recently found a new one that has had it happen. I still have no idea what it is.
yeah this is an interesting thread topic... and it has gone a really long ways since I posted in the first page...
I'm no CP expert i've been growing for about 1 year... but I put about 10 vft's through dormancy last year without any outside growth at all.... so does that mean its okay for me to post on the subject? there not 15 years old... but I mean 15 years ago I was 5 so thats kind of an impossible feat for me... but anyways I digress...
I think the bottom line is that its definitely doable to grow them inside and provide them dormancy and have healthy plants...
it IS more difficult, it DOES require more attention
and it WILL take time to find a method that works for each individual...
but it definitely is NOT an impossible task.
everyone appreciates the info from the experienced growers on this forum and scotty of course your one of them, your sarrs and bogs are great and everyone knows that.
I understand your apparent commitment to care more about the plants than the growers... at least that what it appears... given your approach it would seem that anyone living in an area where you cant grow vft's outside would just be what? SOL?
I feel thats kind of a sad approach for the CP community in general... Isnt alot of what we're trying to accomplish is spreading knowledge and appreciation for these plants and what better than actually growing them.... would you feel theres a geographic restriction on that? I would hope not...
I would hope that if I moved to the antarctic to live with capensis that I could grow my Cp's there too....
your fortunate to live in an area where you can grow these plants outside, not everyone is...
I feel that you've made your views clear and i'm glad, ideally everyone would grow all of their plants outside. all nepenthes all pings all vft's all sarrs... it just doesn't work out that way all of the time...
so nancy, if your unable to grow them outside due to a shaded area...
it is doable to grow them indoors, despite what some experienced growers may say...
will they live for 15 years? maybe not... do vft's in the wild live that long? jeez probably not... I dont think its doing the plant injustice to grow it inside... less ideal maybe...but meh? what are ya gonna do?
I hope this doesnt affect anything scotty because I really do like looking at your bog pics... I'm pretty envious and your a knowledgable grower...
thanks,
Chris
I'm no CP expert i've been growing for about 1 year... but I put about 10 vft's through dormancy last year without any outside growth at all.... so does that mean its okay for me to post on the subject? there not 15 years old... but I mean 15 years ago I was 5 so thats kind of an impossible feat for me... but anyways I digress...
I think the bottom line is that its definitely doable to grow them inside and provide them dormancy and have healthy plants...
it IS more difficult, it DOES require more attention
and it WILL take time to find a method that works for each individual...
but it definitely is NOT an impossible task.
everyone appreciates the info from the experienced growers on this forum and scotty of course your one of them, your sarrs and bogs are great and everyone knows that.
I understand your apparent commitment to care more about the plants than the growers... at least that what it appears... given your approach it would seem that anyone living in an area where you cant grow vft's outside would just be what? SOL?
I feel thats kind of a sad approach for the CP community in general... Isnt alot of what we're trying to accomplish is spreading knowledge and appreciation for these plants and what better than actually growing them.... would you feel theres a geographic restriction on that? I would hope not...
I would hope that if I moved to the antarctic to live with capensis that I could grow my Cp's there too....
your fortunate to live in an area where you can grow these plants outside, not everyone is...
I feel that you've made your views clear and i'm glad, ideally everyone would grow all of their plants outside. all nepenthes all pings all vft's all sarrs... it just doesn't work out that way all of the time...
so nancy, if your unable to grow them outside due to a shaded area...
it is doable to grow them indoors, despite what some experienced growers may say...
will they live for 15 years? maybe not... do vft's in the wild live that long? jeez probably not... I dont think its doing the plant injustice to grow it inside... less ideal maybe...but meh? what are ya gonna do?
I hope this doesnt affect anything scotty because I really do like looking at your bog pics... I'm pretty envious and your a knowledgable grower...
thanks,
Chris
With proper care, a VFT could actually live forever. I am still growing the original VFT plants that I bought in 1955. That makes the plants 53 years old! To be sure, they have been repotted in fresh soil and divided many times. They have moved with me from house to house, town to town, and state to state.
I dont care that people try to grow VFTs indoors..
I would just like it if people who say things like "sure! you can grow them indoors under lights! look at mine! they are thriving!" or words to that effect,
would finish their post by also mentioning the problems with growing indoors..namely, dormancy..
the later posts in this thread by the "indoor growers" do mention that, but the earlier posts do not..
thats all im "ranting against"..not the concept itself, of growing indoors under lights..
but conviently glossing over or ignoring the big major problem with indoor growing.
it needs to be said..and I will continue to say it!
Scot
I would just like it if people who say things like "sure! you can grow them indoors under lights! look at mine! they are thriving!" or words to that effect,
would finish their post by also mentioning the problems with growing indoors..namely, dormancy..
the later posts in this thread by the "indoor growers" do mention that, but the earlier posts do not..
thats all im "ranting against"..not the concept itself, of growing indoors under lights..
but conviently glossing over or ignoring the big major problem with indoor growing.
it needs to be said..and I will continue to say it!
Scot
