Venus Flytraps for the tropics

[LiveRock]

Hi

I am new to CP and is interested to start on VFT.

Q1:
Is there a species that thrive in Asia? I live in Singapore where humidity is high and lots of sun and no winter.
I heard that there is this 'dormancy' period of VFT; there is no winter here and I do not want to use the fridge.

Q2:
What is the lifespan of VFT?

The rest of my questions I probably search thru the forum.

Thanks!

 

[mmlr38]

Hello LiveRock,

A1: I just asked a person on my forum from Singapore what he does for dormancy and he actually alternates between a "shady" dormancy one year and a "cold" dormancy the next year (via the fridge). You can see his answer here:
http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=132#p669

A2: They can live forever! Well, not the same exact plant, but because of the way they divide, the divisions can propagate the genetics of the plant forever. The oldest VFT I know of (I'm sure that there are older) in existence is the 1955 clone from Robert Ziemer. See the first photo in my blog post here:
http://www.flytrapcare.com/carnivorous-plant-blog/The-last-hurrah-.html

Matt

 

[Kayota]

So how long's a single plant live?

 

[LiveRock]

hey, thanks, Matt!
your site at http://www.flytrapcare.com/ is very informative!!

 

[mmlr38]

hey, thanks, Matt!
your site at http://www.flytrapcare.com/ is very informative!!

You're welcome! I'm glad you like the site. I hope to see you on the forums there too!

 

[adymitruk]

So how long's a single plant live?

It is hard to describe a "single plant". After one of my plants sent up a flower stalk and produced seed, it had not produced a new leaf for 2 months. It did have an off-shoot earlier that year. That off-shoot is now bigger than what the original plant is growing... so I guess the old plant is young again, judging by the size of the leaves.

Also, by this time, the off-shoot has had about 10 of it's own off-shoots.

The best way to propagate VFTs is to give them the environment they thrive in and watch them divide! I have 10 plants from a single one in 1 year!

 

[Not a Number]

I believe BobZ has a Venus Flytrap that he has been growing since 1955. I think Bugweed had one 40+ years also.