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I've Been Using the Wrong Temperature Lights! When Can They Go Outside?

I thought my VFTs had been growing reeeaaaaaaaaally slow, so I decided to read up on them, and saw everywhere says to use 6500K, and I've been using 5000K. No wonder! My poor VFTs and sundews have been deprived for the past ~9 months. Boy am I honked off.

Here are some pictures. I asked about this before and people said they grow really slow, just be patient, but I'm not so sure. Should they be bigger after 8-9 months?

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And why have some turned all black and (I assume) died? I probably should have adjusted the photoperiod, but it's been at 16 hrs/day since day 1. Some look healthy, though.

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After looking at these pictures, my soil looks pretty darn wet in some of these pots.

I wish I'd gotten a T8 fixture instead, because I have to keep a fan on these all the time to keep them cool. They're under saran wrap to keep humity up, but that also keeps temperature up. That was for germination. I've poked holes in the saran to ease off the humidity.

They're about 4-5" beneath six 54W T5 5000K bulbs. The condensation could be messing up the light coming through, also.

What should I do? Remove the saran? Get 6500K bulbs? Poke more holes in the saran? Move the VFTs outside at this young age? I bet they'd be shocked and not have enough meat on their bones to pull through.


EDIT: I just did a temperature test and it only gets to be about 83F at the plants' height under the light without a fan and without saran. So the fan and saran are history. This should improve things. Or, rather, this better improve things. :-\
 
yes. please--leave them outside. they do better outside than in a terrarium anyways. if outside is not an option, then next to a southern facing, or bright windowsill.

better yet, i would first put them next to the windowsill, and once when they are hardened, move them outside afterwards.
 
yes. please--leave them outside. they do better outside than in a terrarium anyways. if outside is not an option, then next to a southern facing, or bright windowsill.

better yet, i would first put them next to the windowsill, and once when they are hardened, move them outside afterwards.

Outside is an option, but it's cooler outside now than they've been the past 8-9 months inside. Should I wait until it stops dropping into the 30s and 40s at night? Also, they're tiny! Squirrels have been known to dig in my planters. Luckily a plant has never died because of it, but one scoop could take out 20 plants when they're this size.
 
squirrels are a big problem. if that's the case, i'd grow them on the windowsill. that way, your plants can gradually adjust to seasonal temperature variances, toughen up, and within a couple of years, survive a squirrel assault.

also, at this stage, it could be quite easy for the plants to desiccate. i'd provide it with a humidity dome for a bit--just be sure to poke some sort of slit or holes, otherwise the plants can succumb to a fungal attack. best of luck!
 
squirrels are a big problem. if that's the case, i'd grow them on the windowsill. that way, your plants can gradually adjust to seasonal temperature variances, toughen up, and within a couple of years, survive a squirrel assault.

also, at this stage, it could be quite easy for the plants to desiccate. i'd provide it with a humidity dome for a bit--just be sure to poke some sort of slit or holes, otherwise the plants can succumb to a fungal attack. best of luck!

Heck, I just took off the humidity saran wrap not even 2 hours ago. Maybe I'll take a little pot or two and put them in a window and compare how they do compared to ones left under the light.
 
They won't grow if they are dormant. Even under artificial lighting they may get enough cues from ambient sunlight through your windows and night temperature drops to go dormant. My Drosera petiolaris flowers on schedule beginning January even though I never vary the lighting period on my lamps.

Seems to me the heat and the plastic wrap are more a problem then the color temperature of the lights. Many of the LACPS growers use cool white lamps (~4100K) and the plants do fine. That's what I use and my VFT cuttings grow fine and color up nicely.

And yes they are slow growers unless you are either lucky or conditions are just right. Seedlings I grew outdoors were no bigger the first year and didn't survive more than a month or two after the first dormancy.

http://www.carnivorousplants.org/seedbank/species/Dionaea.htm
The seedlings are very slow growing. Have patience. DO NOT fertilize them unless you don't care if you kill the plants. Dionaea seedlings will tend to grow for about 4 months then stop growing. They are expecting winter to start a that point. They can be tricked by transplanting into new media. They will grow about 6 months and stop growing again. Yep, time for winter again. The plants get smarter as they get older and may or may not respond to a repotting. If you are lucky the plants are now about 1 cm across. Most people at this point give up and go to a local nursery to get a full grown plant. If you want to continue with the seedlings and it is winter, put them outside or in a cold window. If it is summer it may become a standoff of wills to see if you can get the plants to start growing again. Or try the refrigerator trick mentioned above.
 
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