New Arrival

[Schnapper]

Complete newbie here, my very first FlyTrap is on its way to me through the post as I type. Which is the problem - I have no idea it what form it will arrive - so here is my question.

I understand that FlyTraps from big companies are grown in completely controlled and artificial conditions and so I was wondering, if, when it arrives it's growth cycle would be completely out of sync with the season. Now it is winter I wondered whether I should put it straight into dormancy when it arrives, or what? How can I tell what it will need?

I'd be grateful for any information anyone has about VFT's through the post and your experiences with them.

ps. sorry about the long post, I don't have much time before it's here! (yay)

 

[RamPuppy]

well, the fact that you even KNOW about dormancy, show's your not not a total newbie!

Almost every single flytrap you will find for sale right now, including yours, is probably fresh out of tissue culture, well, not totally fresh, They are all hardened (meaning they have lived in soil for a while now)

What that means, is you can enjoy your flytrap until next autumn. Wehn thanksgiving day rolls around (if your in the US) that is a good time to induce dormancy if you choose to do it via artificial means. Take plants out of dormancy on valentines day.

So, just enjoy your plant! Artificial light is fine, give it about 12 to 14 hours if that is your choice.

as far as the care it needs, get it plenty of light, if it comes in a dome, do NOT leave it in the sun, the dome will hold in heat.

If it is bare root, plant it in a mixture of peat moss and perlite at the most basic, you can also use sand in place of perlite...

To water, use only pure water, filtered through distillation, or reverse osmosis. Ozarka and other brands are not suitable for watering with, as they contain salts to enhance flavor, and salt is DEATH to a cp...

Place the trap, the plot should have holes in the bottom, in a tray of water, and keep the tray filled up about 3/4 of an inch at most... let it go dry, and then fill it up again. Never let the soil go moist.

Do you mind if I ask where you bought your flytrap from? If you purchased it from Petflytrap.com, it will come with a care sheet telling you how to take care of it. Follow that, and you'll be Golden, and your chances go up because Petflytrap ships very healthy plants!

 

[Schnapper]

Thanks a lot for your help! The company I bought it from is here in the UK, apparently reputable - though I just found out it's half an hour's drive from my house!

....nevermind, I suppose that's an advantage.

I'm now ready for my new arrival, but for a few things: the plant will be kept in its pot indoors, under artificial lighting for the whole day BUT it is not in a terrarium. My concern therefore was about the humidity of its environment - somebody suggested cutting the ends off a 2 litre (liter) plastic bottle and placing over the pot to create a higher humdidity - what do you guys think? And is the tray system a good idea (with the standing water) or is it better to just water from above?

Finally, I figured that water from a dehumidifier tank, like mine, should technically be pure and therefore useful for watering but am I going to end up killing my plant? (which sounds like it might well happen, according to many people)

Thanks again.....uhh...please tell me you enjoy answering all these questions as it would make me feel a lot better!

 

[unknownclown]

(Edited by unknownclown at 8:54 am on Jan. 7, 2002)

 

[RamPuppy]

while a few people can get away using tap water, many of us cant.. If I read you right, your water source is a DE humidifier, meaning it condenses water out of the air into a basin... I think this should be perfectly fine for your plants.

The dome method you described, as long as it is open on the top, is fine... air movement around the trap is important however as well... but truly humidity is not as important to the flytrap as it is to some other carnivores. (that is not to say they don't enjoy it...) However, if your house needs a de-humidifier, I might postulate there is alread enough in the air!

I would avoid the bottle-dome, and just mist your plant, with a very fine mist, a couple of times a day, once in the morning, once in the evening... but your plant will probably be fine regardless...

Oh, and on the tray method, unknown clown is right, also remember that watering from the top can cause bits of soil to float before the water settles down into the peat, and that soil could come to rest withing the growing point of the bulb, small chance at causing a fungus problem, but there none the less... The VFT is a Bog plant, which means water is moving through it's natural soil all the time... if you use the tray method properly, your soil should be damp, not soggy, and your plant will appreciate it!

What kind of light will you be using to grow it?

And we are here because we like to help! Welcome!

 

[PlantAKiss]

Welcome to the forums, Schnapper!

As some people have mentioned, high humidity is not required for flytraps. They are not tropical plants...they grow as native plants in a small area in North Carolina, USA which is a temperate area. My flytraps were grown outside in the sun last summer and did fine with no special provision for humidity other than the tray (saucer) of distilled water which the pot sat in. Soil was kept moist to wet. The traps caught flies galore! If you do wish to increase the humidity some you can use a wider tray/saucer and add some rocks or lava rocks which will raise humidity a bit as the water evaporates off the rocks.

Good luck with your new plant. You will enjoy it. Then you will find yourself wanting to try other carnivorous plants (CPs). The plants bite the bugs and the CP bug bites you.

Have fun and let us know how your plant is doing.

Suzanne

 

[Alvin Meister]

Hi Schnapper.
I am also in the UK - what firm have you bought your plant from?

I would strongly recommend you grow your plant on a windowsill, preferably south facing to make full use of the low number of daylight hours at the moment.

I would also forget the dome/bottle idea. It isn't necessary at all.

And yes, keep the pot in a saucer which permanently contains water. The water should be either pure distilled, or water from a clean river or stream. I use water from a nearby stream for mine and this is ok as long as you don't live in an area with alkaline rock e.g. chalk.

And of course we don't mind answering your questions - it makes a change after the quiet Xmas period on this forum!
You might want to send the firm an e-mail to see what they say. I wouldn't be surprised if you got a care sheet either if it's like you say, a reputable firm.

 

[Schnapper]

Thnaks again. I think I'll scrap the bottle idea and mist as you say. I don't know why we have the dehumidifier, to be honest, it's not my house (I'm only 16). But yes, it is the kind that extracts moisture from the air as you said, which is why I thought it should be pure.

The light I'll be using is a 40 watt aquarium light, full spectrum. I used to use it in a terrarium (for reptiles, that is, I keep snakes as well!).

Now that I talk to people who have tried to keep VFT's I realise that most of them died because the owners didn't do what I have - asked questions!

I'm pretty sure I will "branch out" to other CP's, probably Nepenthes, but Nothern England is not the easiest place to find such things for sale.

The firm is "EasyCarnivores", if you have the time you could check out the site at www.easycarnivores.co.uk and tell me what you think - the care of Dionaea section is pretty limited I think.

But stupid me asking here, as my mum teaches latin, but is it "die-oh-ni-ah" or "die-oh-nee-ah" or what?

 

[Alvin Meister]

Hey, I didn't know there was another CP firm in the UK. It seems to me that they've tried to copy Petflytrap's inimitable style! The photo is a bit misleading too - it looks like some red cultivar that's been in equitorial sun 24hours a day. When it arrives it'll be 99% green!
I don't know much about terrarium lighting - that's Ram Puppy's department.
I've also prounounced it dion-ay-er, but I'm probably completely wrong.
Try visiting www.sarracenia.com/faq for more information and do some searches on Altavista too.
Where abouts in N. England are you? I'm in Lancashire. I can e-mail you some places where you can get more plants in the UK if you want.

 

[RamPuppy]

well, if you go with a terrarium, I think you are going to need more light... as a general rule of thumb, one is never enough...

there has been a lot on lighting the last couple of months search back a bit and read it. Until then, I say go with what Alvin Meister says, IMHO, it's always best to go with the advice of an experienced grower near you, they know what you have to put up with better than any one else... so put it on a window sill until you can get your artificial lighting set up, heck you may decide after seeing what REAL sunlight can do for a plant, that you NEVER want to use artificial light again!

Most of us only use artificial lights for plants that we must grow in terrariums, like Nepenthes and heliamphora (Our need is sometimes dictated by location (for me South Texas), preference, or unsuitable conditions any where in the home or around it, terrariums are small, less efficient green houses in a way I guess...)

 

[CP2k]

Hi Schnapper,

A 40watt single aquarium light won't provide the required lighting for vft's, unless it is a bulb not a tube. I grow my tropical droseras 10cm below 2 40watt tubes and they grow well and turn red. Flytraps need a little bit more light and should be kept closer than drosera.
Your plants will do better in full sun outdoors, so I wouldn't even bother with artificial lights.

Not all company grow flytraps in completely artificial conditions. A lot grow them in greenhouses with natural sunlight, so your flytrap may not be out of sync with the seasons.

 

[Mondo]

LOL it depends on where u live as to how u pronounce words...every country has different accents...but the right way is the way i pronounce it(lol only kidding)...i do not understand why u say the flytrap section on that site was limited-i thought it was EXCELLENT-it told u every thing u needed to know in simple straight forward language-more than i can say for some sellers of cp's.

(Edited by Mondo at 2:14 am on Jan. 8, 2002)

 

[RamPuppy]

a lot of times, people expect more complex care instructions for something as weird as a flytrap... I personally have not checked out the site, but If Mondo says it's got enough info, he is probably right.

 

[Schnapper]

I guess I'll borrow another tube from my snakes, it's not a big problem! My room is an attic and has two large skylights, south facing, so natural sunlight will be a good idea for a small time in the summer (our climate is not exactly sunny)

Alivin Meister, I'm right next door in Yorkshire - my VFT hasn't arrived yet, so if you know places near us where I can actually buy plants directly that would be great

Thanks