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The cup it came in..

NaRnAr

Ive got Crabs!
Now that Ive read about kritter keepers being ok, since Ihave a wealth of them that arent being used, Im going to set my terrarium up in one of those. Should be pretty steady as far as heat and humidity goes with some plastic wrap over the top and a little corner to adjust the humidity.

I was reading that its easier to leave them in a cup and set that in the KK to allow for an easier dormancy period.

Right now my VFT is still in its original little cup...plastic and about 2" tall and 2" wide. The plant itself is between 3-4" tall. Should I just leave it in this cup until after its dormancy period and then transplant it to a larger cup? or should I re-pot it now?
 
Now that Ive read about kritter keepers being ok, since Ihave a wealth of them that arent being used, Im going to set my terrarium up in one of those. Should be pretty steady as far as heat and humidity goes with some plastic wrap over the top and a little corner to adjust the humidity.

I was reading that its easier to leave them in a cup and set that in the KK to allow for an easier dormancy period.

Right now my VFT is still in its original little cup...plastic and about 2" tall and 2" wide. The plant itself is between 3-4" tall. Should I just leave it in this cup until after its dormancy period and then transplant it to a larger cup? or should I re-pot it now?


I would probably repot it rootball and all into a pot no smaller than 4" since flytraps are sold in notoriously tiny containers -- especially through Lowe's, Home Depot, and other former sites of wetlands and bogs . . .
 
What is a "kritter keeper"?
who said its "ok"?
ok for what?

no plastic cup.
no cover.
no worry about humidity.
no terrarium.
no indoors.

VFT grown outdoors = very good.
VFT grown indoors = not so good.

a handy quote again..from me:

In my opinion, VFT's and Sarracenia should never be grown indoors or especially in terrariums..
the climate inside a terrarium is just all-wrong for them..
the climate is fine for a few months...but VFTs and Sarrs need very different climates at different times of year..

Keeping VFTs and Sarrs in a terrarum is the same as trying to grow maple tree bonsai in a terrarium..
you can replicate June - August ok in a terrarium..sunny and warm..but what about the other 9 months of the year?

Maple trees need a gradually warming spring to come out of dormancy, a gradually warmer and sunnier summer, a gradually cooler and darker autumn, then a cold and dark winter to be fully dormant.

...cycle repeats...

so do VFTs and Sarracenia.
its not an option..its a necessity.

If you grow a maple tree indoors it will die within a year...the non-changing environment of a terrarium will also eventually kill a VFT.

VFTs need it warm and REALLY sunny in the summer..DIRECT sunlight..
where can you find that? outdoors in the summer!
Nature provides the perfect light for free..
(not to mention free food, bugs to catch)
then you need gradually decreasing photoperiod and gradually decreasing temps from summer into autumn..
where can you find that? outdoors..again nature does all the work for us.

The only tricky season for those of us in the Northern states is the winter..Spring, Summer and Autumn are a breeze..just keep the plants outdoors April - October.
but the plants need a COOL winter..the winter of South Carolina..
but winters in the northern states are too severe and will kill them if the plants are left outdoors..

If you have a cool basement or attic, or a garage that stays in the 40's (4-10C) all winter, thats fine
for dormancy..or ideally, if you live in the southern US where winters are mild, just leave your plants outside 24/7/365! but right now I lack any of those conditions..hence, they are going in the fridge!


http://gold.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/CP

Scot
 
What is a "kritter keeper"?
who said its "ok"?
ok for what?

no plastic cup.
no cover.
no worry about humidity.
no terrarium.
no indoors.

VFT grown outdoors = very good.
VFT grown indoors = not so good.

a handy quote again..from me:




http://gold.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/CP

Scot
kritterkeeper=those terrarium where those pet turtles and stuff comes in.
 
I did a search for Kritter Keeper and found this article... clickme

The kritter keepers (KK) are the plastic tanks thatyou can put fish or frogs in. The have a "screened" top, but if I put plastic wrap under the lid it creates a humid environment.

Im not so sure the VFT would do well on my balcony, just out there in its own planter...it gets to be 100+ with less than 20% humidity by noon right now. Would that be a suitable place to put one..in the direct sun for around 8 hours?

Perhaps I could set up the KK with the VFT in its own cup in the KK and set it in a cooler area of the balcony..that way it would have the varying temperatures and some humidity, just not as harsh with the 100+ ?
 
Generally, small enclosures just lead to stagnant air which is a breeding ground for fungus and can easily rot the plant and bring about its demise.

As a rule, VFTs aren't THAT fussy about humidity.

I would recommend putting your plant outside, in full sun for a couple of hours at most and see how it does. In 10 days you should be able to leave it in full sun all day. Give it a deep water tray and it should be happy.

Don't worry about dormancy yet - it's only July.
 
Alrighty, I will start adjusting it to the outside temperature and see how it does :) Ill give it a nice cup to soak in as well.

Thanks for your help!
 
Personally i wouldn't rush out and repot it until you are sure you know your purchasing the right peat.

If you want to keep it in the small pot it came in then i would advise the use of shadecloth as placing your plant in direct sunlight in such a small container will lead to it drying out very fast even in a tray of water-or place it in dappled light somewhere.

When you feel confident that you know enough about growing vfts to re pot yours then i would suggest doing so just so the plant doesn't dry out so quickly.

Keeping the plant in the small pot it came in while it's acclimatising to your conditions for a month or so before repotting will reduce a lot of stress the plant might go through if you did repot immediately, as it's most likely been growing in a greenhouse all it's life up until now and so will be acclimatising to things like lower humidity,higher light intensity and wind movement.

When repotting gently shake all the peat loose from around it's roots as i find plants sold in small pots are growing in highly compacted peat, and getting rid of this peat will relieve pressure from the rhizome and lead to a much healthier and happier plant-carefully place the plant,which would now be bareroot, into a pot about 12cm deep with the correct peat and your plant should thrive.
 
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