Should I transplant or wait for dormancy?

[taz6122]

I just recently bought a Dionaea Muscipula and it looks like there is two plants in one pot.It looks really crowded.I'm trying to figure out how to post a picture with no luck. Bingo!
The only black part of this plant is the tiny trap in the center and also a couple of yellowing traps also close to the center.Should I seperate now or wait till dormancy?

[ICPS-bob]

If the plant is healthy and growing well, I would personally leave it alone. I divide and re-pot my VFTs in early spring (or late winter) just as the plants are starting to come out of dormancy. The best time is when the roots are just beginning to elongate. In my climate in northern California, this is usually late February or early March. At that time, the plants readily divide. The rhizomes literally separate in your hand.

To post a photo, see the instructions at
icps.proboards105.com/index.cgi?board=photos&action=display&thread=1401

[taz6122]

Thnx again bob.Those pics should give you a better idea.

[ICPS-bob]

Your photos look like the plants are in a small pot. I grow my VFTs in 4-inch pots. The the smaller the pot, the more rapidly the soil can dry out. If you want to transplant into a larger pot, you can knock the soil plug out of the smaller pot and put it intact into a larger pot and fill around it with fresh soil without much disturbance. I would not worry about the plants being "crowded" so long as the pot is large enough.

Transplanting at this time of year (in the northern hemisphere) is usually not a problem. Although tender growth points and roots are easily damaged, which will set growth back some, with a period of adjustment in dappled shade for a few weeks, a transplanted plant should recover nicely.

[taz6122]

They are in the original container terrarium bottom from Lowes with the lid off.I keep it in my 10 gal terrarium.The container is only 2 in.I figured it was too small thats why I asked.I will try switching pots without disturbing the plants too much.Does a 1-1-1 mix of Peat,Ground Sphagnum and Perlite sound good for soil?

[mmlr38]

Jul 24, 2008 18:18:42 GMT taz6122 said:

Does a 1-1-1 mix of Peat,Ground Sphagnum and Perlite sound good for soil?

That mix should work fine. VFTs aren't too picky about their media. I think Bob uses pure peat moss for his. I mostly use a 50:50 mix of peat and perlite, but I am starting to get sold on just using pure peat.

[taz6122]

After transplanting in a larger pot and giving them room to stretch out you can definitely see two centers so I got two for the price of one.Yeehaa


Thanks all for your help.

[icemansyr]

It's best to probably wait until the VFTs go dormant. If you can't resist the urge and want to do it sooner I would suggest soaking the roots in SuperThrive.

[ICPS-bob]

Ah, SuperThrive rears its head again, and again, and again...

Take a look at
www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq3600.html
icps.proboards105.com/index.cgi?board=dionaea&action=display&thread=606
www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=11141

[taz6122]

They are not doing well. All but 4 of the leaves have died but there is new growth on both so maybe they will be alright.

[ICPS-bob]

They should do OK. Since your plants were grown in the container with a lid on, they probably were subjected to very high humidity. With the lid off, the humidity dropped rapidly and the leaves, being used to near 100% humidity, had to now cope with lower humidity. In addition, your transplanting probably disturbed the root hairs. With both changes, the roots probably could not absorb and translocate enough water to keep up with the increased transpiration demand from the leaf cells and the leaves died. Also, the light and temperature regime also changed. Any abrupt change can lead to cell or leaf death. That is why it is recommended to make changes gradually -- one change at a time.

On the bright side, a healthy plant can usually recover by producing new leaves. It sounds like your plants will do just fine, given a bit of time.

[taz6122]

One of the plants didn't make it but the other is doing well. Oh well I'm just glad that it wasn't a total loss. I have not had very good luck with store bought plants. They sit too long in undesirable conditions like poor light, lower temps and no water for long periods of time, so I think I will rely on buying on the internet from reliable growers. Thanks again and Happy Growing to all.

[jonnyq]

Well, I'm glad that at least one plant is alive... I hope it flourishes! Any recent pictures?

[taz6122]

Boohoo! The other plant didn't make it either. I suspect bulb rot as the small container they were in dried to quickly so I had to keep too much water in it. The good news is I have new plants in larger containers that are much healthier with rich color and thriving. The containers are still small but 2" deeper for better root growth and I can now use the tray method to water them. I have also replaced the CFL bulbs with 2 T5s and 2 T8 P&A. Some say they don't need the plant light but they get the Blue and Red UV in the wild so I figured if you are trying to duplicate the Suns rays then why not. I will post pics in a new thread since they are new plants