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venus fly trap indoors

i cant grow my venus fly traps outside because it gets like no sunlight at all in my yard, oak trees EVERYWHERE. so i tried to put it on my windowsill for a while but now i use 2 compact flourescent bulbs 6500k each. the lights are not far above plants they are about 5inches above. i dont use a dome anymore because it caused white mold on the soil, and i fed one of my traps a cut up earth worm, when it opened back up i got the worm out. and the trap like wilted outwards likes its TOO open and i thought to try to trigger it to get back after it being like that for aweek, it doesnt close anymore but is still very green so i left it. another question is if i should mist the trap everyday with rainwater, they sit in a tray of water anyways but i thought it might benefit?
 
Ah i remember when i did this with my VFTs lol. lets just say, when the traps do that, it usually means its not getting enough light in my experiance, the leaves get etiolated(long and limp) AND the leaves near the traps grow spiny little edges. Personally i would go the easy cheap way. put them under some shoplights about 6" from the plants in a tray of water if you have to grow indoors, and remember they need winter dormancy. Do not worry about misting them as VFTs do not depend on humidity, but rather on the other hand, depend on LARGE amounts of light. A VFT with weak lighting = a dead or VERY unhealthy plant, on the opposite end, a VFT with TONS of light = an incredibly healthy plant with GREAT color. Do some shoplights or groups of CFLs, keep em about 6" away and your fine. IF you have to grow indoors.
 
I could be wrong, but even shaded sunlight is probably better than artificial lights...
 
I could be wrong, but even shaded sunlight is probably better than artificial lights...

Many people have great success growing flytraps under artificial lighting; just do a search on Not A Number's B52's.
Fluorescent lighting usually brings out better coloration and growth on flytraps than full sunlight does. That is, if it is the correct light spectrum, etc.
The only minor difficulty with artificial lighting is respecting the plant's winter dormancy, but this can be easily overcome in a number of ways.
 
Many people have great success growing flytraps under artificial lighting; just do a search on Not A Number's B52's.
Fluorescent lighting usually brings out better coloration and growth on flytraps than full sunlight does. That is, if it is the correct light spectrum, etc.
The only minor difficulty with artificial lighting is respecting the plant's winter dormancy, but this can be easily overcome in a number of ways.
I have successfully grown VFTs under artificial lighting and I agree that it brings out better coloration. However, I think that growing VFTs outside results in healthier plants than those grown under lights. Outside they can catch food and there really is no artificial replacement for real sunlight....even if it is indirect light.
 
Well, be it this is very true, if barely any light is getting to the plants, it might be easier to just go with artificial lighting, as long as he gives them winter dormancy, a few flys or spiders thrown into a trap once in awhile will suffice. Bright lighting such as T5s, would need quite a few....would be ideal for artificial, and as i stated, no farther than about 6 inches from the plants themselves, and a tray. no cope, no dome, none of that. just a tray and bright lighting. if your growing for color, thats the way to go if you have no light getting to em outside, just put em outside for the last few weeks or october to get em into dormancy, and bring em inside in spring. or put them in the fridge, read up on that first though.
 
as far as the leaves being "too open" this happens on my plants when the traps become old or have caught their fair share of meals. No trap will last forever no matter how healthy the vft actually is. the leaves will continue to provide photosynthesis via the green leaves so you dont want to remove them, but as far as feasting upon prey... probably not. dont worry about it nothing is wrong with your plant at all

the domes on your CFL's didnt cause the mold, they may have not exactly helped it... but they didnt cause it, your mold is probably caused due a lack of air circulation, get a small fan going near the lights/plants and you'll see that mold disappear if your having a problem with it use some diluted alchohol on a q-tip and dab it and it'll get rid of it for now, but if you want to just not ever have to deal with it, get some air circulation...

did I miss anything? I think the other posts covered the artificial lighting...

my 2cents on that note since I've got both inside and out, I'd basically agree with what they are saying, you dont need fancy indoor lights to accomodate you just need alot of light, which if its low watts or a small cfl then get it really close... if your outdoors your work is cut out for you, however if I had a shaded yard I would definitely keep them indoors... just a preference I suppose however...

Good luck
 
just put em outside for the last few weeks or october to get em into dormancy, and bring em inside in spring. or put them in the fridge, read up on that first though.


I dont think "a few weeks" outdoors in October is going to do it..for an "indoor" VFT..
they should really be outside for 2 months at least to prepare for dormancy,
all of September and October..
and if you are going to have the plant outdoors for 2 months, you might as well have it outdoors for 8 months..

really the "dormancy process" is on-going through the whole season, and begins at the summer solstice in late June, when the photoperiod begins to decreease.

plants dont do things quickly..you cant have a VFT growing in a terrarium, stick it outside for 2 weeks in late October, and expect it will go into dormancy that quickly..it wont happen. "preparing for dormancy" takes 2 months at least..4 months more likely.

if you absolutely have to grow VFTs and Sarrs indoors, because you dont have anywhere to grow them in full sun outdoors, maybe you should consider just not growing them at all, because you really cant grow them properly indoors..they arent houseplants, for proper long term health, they really need to be grown outdoors all season.

If you only have indoor space, consider switching to Nepenthes..
you can still enjoy CPs that way! and Neps dont need a winter dormancy, and can be sucessfully grown indoors.

Scot
 
What's your windowsill like?

VFTs can happily grow on south, east or west facing windowsills indoors. You might not need fluorescent lighting.

No need to mist.

Just keep it sitting in a saucer of water.

Old traps sometimes stop working but open outwards so they can photosynthesise more efficiently.

One more thing - your post is hard to read because there are no capital letters at all.
 
  • #10
I know what scottychaos is saying about VFT's and Sarr's growing indoors and that maybe they arent the best choice for indoor growing on a long term basis.... but. I think it is definitely possible to grow both healthy vft's and sarrs inside under artificial lighting, your going to have to resort to small sarrs or maybe even stick with seedlings...

you can grow seedling sarrs indoors for at least a year or two before ever having to move them outdoors... they provide lots of colorful growth and would be fun to have indoors I think personally...

VFT's can be grown inside just get some artificial lighting, and you probably wouldnt want to allow any of them to flower... saves energy an all... not saying you cant just saying it may be a better idea not to.

if vft's and sarrs are what you want to grow and you only have the indoors as an option, there are ways to make it work. so try not to get too discouraged everyone here is only trying to offer his or her best advice :)

Chris
 
  • #11
thanks for all the help. Ive read about the refrigerator method of dormancy, and I think thats the way for me to go. but can anybody tell me if my lights are fine for this or do i need to upgrade? I have two 6500k compact flourescent bulbs, they sit about 5-6in above plants. i do have a 18in flourescent tube but its only 15 watt, not sure about the kelvin rating.
 
  • #12
individual results may vary!

put them under the lights and watch the growth, as long as you get good coloration and growth that'll be the best telltale sign of having enough light. if the leaves get wavy or seem very ill proportioned ( usually very very long leaves with tiny traps ) you'll know your not getting enough. it will take a couple weeks to really get going just fyi

good luck keep us posted
 
  • #13
the leaves are actually pretty long and the traps are decently big, but before i got them under the light i had a couple leaves get a black trip on the edges but it never got any worst. and also one of my traps that were growing/sprouted, as it was developing the traps size, one side of it got a black edge but the other side just kept growing and is nearly full size but the other one that was black just stoped in growth. is that bad?
 
  • #14
what i meant was, put them out a few weeks before dormancy naturally occurs, the get the plant used to the outside conditions, leave it outside for its dormancy and bring it back in during spring.
 
  • #15
what i meant was, put them out a few weeks before dormancy naturally occurs, the get the plant used to the outside conditions, leave it outside for its dormancy and bring it back in during spring.


oh! well that could work..but only if you have mild winters..
shadow hasnt said where he/she lives, so we dont know if that will work for him/her..

Scot
 
  • #16
Yeah sorry, my posts can be a quit confusing lol...it was just a suggestion, since i grow my plants outside, i havent come accross this issue, although for awhile my VFTs were inside, of course this being in my first couple of months of growing CPs lol
 
  • #17
i live in florida, winter isnt much, basically there is no winter, but randomly a few days a week will drop to like 30 and few days after its 80 again. thats why im thinking about the refrigerator method.
 
  • #18
i live in florida, winter isnt much, basically there is no winter, but randomly a few days a week will drop to like 30 and few days after its 80 again. thats why im thinking about the refrigerator method.

Shadow,
you dont need to use the fridge method in Florida! :)
you are fine for outdoor dormancy..yes, a bit warmer than ideal, but decreased temps and decreased photoperiod in winter will give your plants an acceptable dormancy..

just grow your plants outdoors 24/7/365 and you are golden! :)
the plants will naturally go dormant all by themselves every autumn/winter and come out of dormancy every spring..

Scot
 
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