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Then and now

As a kid growing up in North Carolina I purchased VFTseeds by mail order.When they arrived I planted them in any pot using soil from the backyard,watered from the tap,and placed on the back proch.Not long after I had VFTs happily dining on the local insect life.Come late fall the plants went dormant and next spring came back with gusto.Flytrap cultivation-no problem.

Fast forward to Oregon 40+ years later and it is a much different story.A VFT outside of a protected environment in the high desert(humidity usually = <20%) has a life expectancy measured in hours. I learned this by bitter experience.

I am now attempting to grow a single plant and for about a month it seems to be doing well.Time will tell. I have it planted in a sand/peat mixture in a flat rectangluar bonsai pot.The pot stays inside a small animal terrarium (18x8'x12&#39
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I found at Petco.It has a mesh screen top that allows aircirculation but does appear to keep the humidity up to an acceptable level.

The bonsai pot sits atop 4 inches of pea size aquarium gravel which allows a place for the excess water to drain and keep the humidity up.The whole thing sits on my brillant East facing windowsill.

Fingers crossed I hope to see it develop to a point where I need to consider how I will give it a peroid of dormancy.As of today it is about the size of a silver dollar and has 32 open traps and 5 developing.

I just ran across this board the other day and I am finding tons of usefull informantion.When I have specific questions it is reassuring to know there is a place with such accumulated knowledge to resort to.
 
Welcome to the forums! Glad we can be of some help.

Good luck with your VFT and keep us updated on its progress.
 
Where are you from in NC?
 
Hi Seminole.

First of all, welcome.

From my experience, most bonsai pots are rather shallow. If this is the case with yours, now is the time to transplant.

Venus fly traps have deepish roots, so 6" plus of roots space is preferable. This will not only provide space for the roots, but also stabilize the plants environment considerably and enlarge it's buffer zone.

Good luck with your plants!

-noah
 
Welcome to the forums,


Where in oregon do you live now?

Chris
 
I'll answer all the above questions with this post.

I grew up in Gastonia,Noth Carolina.The climate there must have been ideal for growing VFTs for back in those days we thought they were as indestructible as weeds.Plant the bulbs and enjoy the results-no problems.

I live now in Madras,Oregon.The main problem here is the lack of humidity.Yesterday it was an abysmal 33% outside.My humidity meter tells me that inside my house it is 53%.Hopefully inside my terrarium it is around 65-70%.I have ordered a small combo thermometer/hygrometer that will fit inside so I can't be more certain of the conditions.

One compensation for the lack of humidity here is that in the evenings the Mayflies that hatch on the Dechutes River(a couple of miles from my house) find their way to my screen door.Mayflies are perfect to feed a housebound VFT.They are easy to catch,plentiful,perfect size for the traps,contain nitrogen,and their erect wings make a neat handle for insertion.

As for the Bonsai pot, it is adequate.I used a rather large one that just fits into my terrarium.It is as deep as the pots that are sold on this site and much more decorative.

My real concern will come later in the summer.It is typical here to have a short peroid of intense heat that may cook my VFT if I am not careful.I have a battle plan ready.

I was concerned about the VFT I purchased at first.I bought it at the size of a silver dollar and the plant appeared to consist of only traps-32 traps on very short,rather broad leaves.

After about a month it is now putting out the more typical long leaves (7 of these)and the traps on these longer stems are beginning to open.So,I'm satisfied that the plant is doing as well as can be expected considering the hostile conditions here.

In fact , I have been encouraged enough to try and grow a Green Dragon outside a terrarium using a water tray.

Wish me luck.
 
Welcome to the forums!!!
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 Hope you enjoy it here as much as we do!!!
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Good Luck with the VFT - Sounds like a great plan!!!
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