Venus Fly Trap - Growth rate Red Dragon vs B52

[flyinthetrap]

I know that B52 is supposed to grow much faster than red dragon and tends not to divide as much, but how much faster?

What is the fastest growing Venus Fly Trap Cultivar?

Are my Venus fly traps and Sundews going to grow on these magic Chinese growing crystals or will they kill them?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/360788688875

I know what the right types of soil is for the plants, but the clear magic crystals are so cool I want them to work.

I've seen people on eBay selling seed grown VFTs in some sort of clear agar. They look really cool:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VENUS-FLY-T...ous-Plant-Live-Great-Gift-Plant-/121681733118

 

[Hamata-Honzo]

While I have very little experience in the use of Agar for growing plants, I can guarantee that the use of the agar is only meant to be temporary. That plant will outgrow those spaces in a very short time. What you see on ebay is a good looking tissue culture set up. These plants are very delicate. Again I'm not sure about the stuff but I'm going to go out on a limb and say there are a lot of problems you will run into down the road if you are not experienced in TC plants.

 

[Zath]

I believe those "Chinese growing crystals", are nothing more than Sodium Polyacrylate, a water-absorbing polymer commonly used in disposable diapers and (in my experience) as a humidifying agent for cigar humidors.

If they're sold as "growing crystals" I could only assume that they might have some fertilizers added, which is the only reason I would advise against trying to grow VFT's in them.

However, I've been curious myself if certain CP's could be grown using that as a substrate, so if you decide to go ahead with it, by all means, please keep us updated on your progress.

 

[flyinthetrap]

They are extremely bouncy after expanding 10 times and filling with water, and they are large so they don't seem to make a stable place for a small plant to grow.

I mashed up some of the balls and placed a tiny Sundew TC that was started in water. It seems to be doing fine.

I also put a bunch of Sundew cuttings and Venus fly trap pullings in that same magic crystal mash.

The 2 pictured seem to be doing fine, but I haven't noticed very much growth.

More light could be concentrated on the plants with a clear substrate.

 

[Knuckles]

Yep, those particular "magic" crystals contain fertilizer. You can get them minus fertilizer just about anywhere. They're water crystals sold at just about any nursery which I guess aren't as magical. . . . I don't see why they wouldn't work on water loving cps since they're used on water loving houseplants. I've tried for some houseplants, but they sometimes tipped over, molded easily, & caused some plants to rot so they're annoying to me. lol They're only for the roach colony now. They do look great with plants that tolerate that medium though. It would be interesting to see your results.

 

[SubRosa]

How long have you been using them? I wouldn't expect them to remain clear indefinitely. Generally speaking, water + light + fertilizer = algae. Particularly at the light levels CP's require.

 

[SubRosa]

After checking out the link, a few red flags come up. First, the crystals are described as rich in fertilizer, and second they say to keep them out of sunshine. If you don't get an algae farm, I'd have to wonder what they put in to inhibit algal growth.

 

[Zath]

There is a commercial product sold at hardware stores called "Soil-Moist" which is about the same thing, except that they are small, irregular crystals, rather than large balls. They're also completely unfertilized. If one were to experiment with the media, I would run with that, since the ferts alone will probably inhibit or kill your VFT's and 'dews, regardless of any other conditions.

 

[flyinthetrap]

Thanks for all the great advice! Its been about a week, and I don't think I will risk any more plants.

Maybe Ill try some water crystals. Sounds like I overpaid for the Magic Crystals =)

These magic crystals would look much less cool covered in algae!

B52s arrived today, does anyone know how their growth rate will compare to red dragons side by side?

They were described as small by the eBay seller, but they have one inch traps already =)

 

[flyinthetrap]

The Venus fly trap and sundews did not do well on growing crystals.

The growing crystals were also very good at killing a variety of other plants.

Algae did grow well too.