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only a healthy plant will flower

I have heard that only a healthy plant will flower. In other words, a plant that sends a stalk up will not attempt to unless it has a strong energy reserve to do so. However many have said they have lost plants after flowering. Has this been the experience of those who let their plants flower?
 
It can and does happen, but it is not a common occurence. Usually they die because of some unknown stress they are going through that we may not understand. A lot of times, because of various differences in the environs they live in, you have to develop an instinct for raising them, and it can be touch and go. I copy the environment they came from, and I have huge beautiful VFT's the majority of the time. Only when I lose a pump in my garden, and they dry up a little, do I have problems with the babies. It can sometimes take them a long while to come back to themselves and be healthy once more.
 
VFTs flower only if they are mature(5 yrs and above for those that germinate from seeds)
My VFT usually flower in spring, and hence it has a long summer period to regenerate its stores for its winter dormancy.
So far, all my VFT have survived after they flowered.
 
It isn't a simple, cut and dry issue. Other things to consider is that a typical VFT purchased form a nursery, whether it be a locally owned greenhouse or Lowes or Home Depot has purchsed a batch of plants fresh out of tissue culture and those plants seem to be healthy enough to commence flowering. However, most of these places do not how to take care of them. They water them with tap water. They don't know about open tray method. They leave the top on all the time or leave it off. They err by giving it too much humidity or too little. The plants receive indirect light. In short, whatever fine shape the plants were in, upon arrival, they have been since under increasing stress every day they reside there. Then a customer buys one and usually they have similar lack of knowledge as the retailer and thus perpetuates the stressful conditions. The customer tkaes thae plant and puts it on a window sill, so it receives filtered light and thus receives less solar energy. By the time the plant actually flowers so many variables have gone against it that the stressors have out the plant over the edge. It is the proverbial "straw that breaks the camel's back." The plant dies. Your best bet is to not let the plant flower when you frist purchase it, but follow the cues that nature provides. If purchased in the spring, put it outside. Let it grow but don't let it flower. As fall approaches let it get less light and lower temps. Have it go through a good three month dormancy. Gradually increase light and temperature. Get it outside again, depending where you live and whether it will freeze. Bottom line: give it dormancy and give it as much sunlight as possible, along with balancing humidity and air circulation and de - whatever water.
 
Will a plant survive through flowering and produce many seeds (like BigNaturalBrock's looks like its going to do), if you don't feed it? Because my plant looks healthy enough to produce seed, even though I haven't fed it before. Is the energy store from photosynthesis enough to keep it going *healthly* throughout flowering and seed formation? I'm not sure whether dormancy is a part of the flowering cycle or even affects flowering, but since we don't have dormancy in this part of the world (singapore) I'm not going to mention it.

Besides, I don't like the idea of stuffing my VFTs with crikets or whatever else people put into their VFT traps...what goes on behind those closed doors... what secrets...
(Did someone mention BLENDING them?
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URGHHH!
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Jason
 
False. A plant will flower when it's very healthy, when it's flowering season (spring) or when it's on it's last legs as a final attempt at passing on it's genes.
 
Jumping on this discussion, I also need some flowering advice...

I purchased the VFT about a month ago from a company called "world Caravan".  It came as a 5 plant terrarium kit.  I kept it in the small plastic terrarium that came with it for a few weeks and then built a 10 Gal. terrarium.  One of them is flowering - see below

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It is about 3 inches tall at the moment, and looks like it is very close to opening.

Do I leave it alone or cut it off?
 
Kyrakin, your image link thingy doesn't seem to be working. I can't see anything! On teh subject of flowering you should try looking here," target="_blank">http://s98622558.onlinehome.us/cgi-bin....RL=http</a> or at the opmost pinned topic of the VFT boards. There's a ton of info there. I don't have much experience in VFT flowering but from what I heard, you may want to cut off the flower before it gets 4" high (or opens), if you want bigger and more robust traps, if you don't need seed or if your VFT is looking poor, as flowering stress may cause it to die (I not too sure about that.) On the other hand if you want seed and your VFT is in heathly condition, I suggest you try for seed, as flowering doesn't come along very often (in my experience).

Happy seeding!
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Jason

Ps. How old is your VFT, cuz I think mine is four years old and hasn't flowered yet. Can someone tell me at what age a VFT usually flowers? Could be due to the growing conditions in singapore...better to ask someone round here.
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We are talking about typicals, aren't we?
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  • #11
CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO ENTER A QUOTE?
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? that just proves my last statement!!!!! (look at de last post!) shoot...
 
  • #12
it will take about 5 yrs if grown from seeds,
I'm also staying in s'pore and all my mature VFT are flowering well and are very much alive after that stage.
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  • #13
Thank you Darcie. You have confirmed a point I had overlooked. In the plant world a stress-grown plant will flower early to produce it's seed. Something I knew but had not applied to my thinking with dealing with my VFT's.
 
  • #15
[b said:
Quote[/b] (zappafan @ April 02 2004,9:34)]In the plant world a stress-grown plant will flower early to produce it's seed.
OK - so everyone is in agreement to cut the thing off? Do I snip it right at the base?
 
  • #16
Flowering does take energy from the plant but it will not kill it.  Some people will tell you flowering will kill your plant and thats just not so.  If it were, there would be no plants in the wild beyond a single growing season.

I always cut my flowers off because the flowers don't "wow" me and I don't have any interest in seeds.  For any flowering plant, it takes energy to make the seed.  That's why gardener's "deadhead" flowers like petunias, geraniums, african violets, etc. to stop the seed production phase and encourage more flowering.  However with VFTs, they only produce the one inflorescence and once "deadheaded", that's it.

If you like the flowers or want seed, let it go ahead and flower.  But the plants growth may be slowed down or not as vigorous for a while afterwards.

Yes, cut it at the base.  I normally cut mine when they are a couple of inches tall.

I do have one green dragon I'm allowing to set its scape as its got a "mutation" on the stalk...two additional tiny flower heads growing off the side.  I'm hoping to get a pic of it.  Very odd looking.  
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