Transplanting my store bought VFTs

[tonge50]

Click-on image series:

New VTFs that I bought from Home Depot. They order these from Nurserymen's Exchange, so they come from many different growers. You can get quite a variety of typical form types.



I like to use the 4", fully glazed, ceramic pots for my individual plantings. I prepare them with a 1" layer of substrate material; pumice and sand. The peat is a 50/50 mixture of course sand and ground sphagnum. I set freshly prepared pots in distilled or rain water to moisten.



Its time to release the new trap from its container. I use sharp, pointed scissors to cut around the bottom of the container. The plant slips out without too much trouble. Aah, fresh air at last!



VFTs set in a tray of distilled water, waiting to be transplanted into their new pots.



The moistened peat scoops out like icecream.



I use an old pot to guage the hole size and depth. The hole is intentionally shallow.



Press on the bottom and squeeze around the sides to release the peat plug form the plastic pot.



Set the peat plug into the hole carved in the middle of the pot. I like to keep the crown slightly higher than the edges of the pot.



Tamp the peat plug gently, but firmly into the hole. A spoon with a wide handle is my favorite tool for this. Chop sticks are handy too.



The finished Transplant. The VFT has suffered the minimum of transplant shock and will respond well to its new environment.



The complete tray holds eight pots. Tray-O-Traps!



Happy traps in the morning sun. ;D

[mmlr38]

Nice tutorial with great photos!

The only comment I have is that it might be a good idea to get rid of the peat plug that the plant is currently in. The plants that I got from bloomrite were in pure peat that was somewhat decomposed. This retains a lot of water and promotes bacteria growth, which can cause root rot if the plant is kept too wet.

Also, Dionaea don't really get too shocked from being bare rooted. They seem to recover fairly quickly even (within a week or two if done in the spring or summer) if their roots are washed completely clean from soil before being transplanted. So I don't know if keeping the peat plug around the roots is worth the added risk of root rot.

[tonge50]

Thanks for the tip. I repotted the first tray much differently, removing the plants from the peat and planting them bare root. You are right, they didn't slow down at all after transplanting. That was during the early part of this year. I didn't really have a notion that planting the whole plug would be any better, just more convenient. To aliviate concerns of rotting, I plant with the crown elevated and they get plenty of fresh air and sun during the growing season. I will have to watch them closely this winter to prevent problems. The garage stays cold and I have a bench under a window that doesn't get any direct light. If I keep them moist but not wet, I think they should winter well. I have hopes for a good growing season next year. Thanks again, MT.

[mmlr38]

Sounds like you have a good plan for dormancy and you know about not keeping them too wet. Only other suggestion I have is that if you give them sun, it would be much better because they actually do grow a bit during dormancy and getting good light throughout the winter helps them get a jump start on the growing season.

This late in the year, you probably did the right thing by not bare rooting them when repotting. They don't seem to recover very well at the tail end of the growing season, though it's usually not fatal.