Fly traps wintering in the SF Bay area

[tonge50]

I was concerned that frost, freeze and harsh rain would ruin my Venus fly traps, so I moved them into the green house in late November. I thought they would be better off in there than outside and for a while this seemed to be true. They didn't require much attention and being out of view from the house, it was easy to ignore them. I noticed recently that a few of the plants were infested with aphids and that the peat was turning green in several of the pots. The greening of the peat was not from growth of sphagnum moss, but from something that looked somewhat unhealthy.



It has been raining a lot in the SF bay area lately. I decided to stop pampering my traps and put them out to experience the weather. The planting medium has been washed clean by the rain, the moss is spreading noticeably and I don't see any signs of the aphids. I hope this is the right thing to do and not a big mistake.


I'm still new and inexperienced at growing VFTs. They seem to be enjoying the rain for now. This is the hypothesis that I am working from now, that these plants will do better under natural conditions in this climate than under artificial conditions in the green house. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks, MT.

[ICPS-bob]

My climate is similar to yours (perhaps a bit cooler and wetter). Here is my experience. I grow my VFTs under a variety of conditions: an outside 4ft x 8 ft x 1.5 ft deep artificial bog, outside in pots in the open, outside in pots under a plastic roof, and in an unheated greenhouse.

The only problem that I have had was for those plants growing outside in pots in the open. This is because those pots became water-logged for long periods of time and the plants tended to rot. The adjacent plants growing under the plastic roof did just fine, as did those in the better-drained artificial bog.

[tonge50]

I think I understand. The green house is dry, but there is not enough air flow. It created favorable conditions for insects and rot. My pots are indeed saturated after all the rain even though I removed them from their deep trays. I can put them on a table against the west wall of the house where they will more protected form the rain and still get plenty of fresh air. The pots came with shallow ceramic trays about one quarter to one half inch deep. During dry periods, like the false spring we usually get in February, I can add a little water to keep them moist. I'll try this and keep a close eye on them. I was concerned that they might get beat up by wind and rain, but didn't think about how soaked they were getting.

I'm curious about what was growing on the surface of the peat/sand mix and also on the sphagnum top dressing that I used on some of the pots. It didn't seem to be mold, but looked more like algae. Could it be a photosynthetic bacteria? Thanks, MT.

[Aidan]

Maybe another moss - peat based media will always be colonised by mosses over time.

Or, if it appears jelly-like it could well be cyanobacteria.

[tonge50]

Yeah Moss! I have a variety of mosses starting in most of the pots. I have one pot that is just a moss pot and I started another pot with some sphagnum topdressing just to see what pops up. The green house is nice, but there are some drawbacks. Air circulation seems to be a problem and the temperature varies greatly. It really warms up when the sun hits it. I guess the answer to that is sun cloth and fans.
Click on images for larger view ;D

Moss in a pot.

Slightly different moss in a pot.

Moss in a stylish, electric green pot. You might call that (No, don't say it!) a hip pot-o-moss (Doh!)

[Alexis]

Looks like just the usual stuff that grows on peat in time. I usually replace the top centimetre of peat if it gets really colonised.

If your winters are dark, mild and damp problems are more common under cover because of the air circulation.

All my plants seem to be having a happier dormancy this year because the weather has been mostly very cold, dry and bright. No losses yet!

[tonge50]

Thanks Alexis, I had taken all the pots out of the green house and the rain washed away the greenish cast from the peat. I didn't take any pictures that showed what I was seeing. I'll put one of the prepared, unplanted pots back in the green house and let it turn green again. The moss in the planted pots is looking green and vigorous. Does this compact moss compete with and choke out the plants?



We got a break in the rain today. The traps are enjoying a bit of sunshine.

[Alexis]

The vast majority of mosses aren't big enough to choke out the plants. If it does, it'll grow less well in theory because of the lower levels of light, but it won't do much more harm than that.

It only takes a couple of hours to redo the top layer of peat every spring. I find it quite therapeutic!

[tonge50]

My traps have been out in the SF Bay area weather for over a week now and they all seem to be doing well so far.

I have kept them out of their trays of water for now. The weather has dried up some, though the temps have stayed cold with highs in the mid 50's and lows in the low 40's. In my more rescent transplantings the peat is mounded in the pot leaving the crown of the plants above the rim.

Some of the older transplanted pots, the peat has decomposed and the plants have sunk way down.

I am pleased to see that they all have strong center growth and I feel confident, barring calamity, that they will emerge this spring with great vigor. I will continue with this experiment in line with my hypothesis that the climate here is great for growing Venus fly traps. They haven't been exposed to frost or freeze yet. This reminds me of an old saying, something to do with putting eggs into a basket. How about, 'Fortune favors the foolish'. I like that ;D

[tonge50]

After a few days of rain the traps are enjoying some morning sun.



I was concerned for some of the traps that were attacked by aphids or spider mites earlier in the season while I had them in the green house.



They seem to be recovering and are pushing up new center growth. I was able to collect several trays of rain water from the last storm.



So far, the weather and climate in the SF Bay area are proving to be very hospitible for my vft's ;D



I will be taking these traps home with me this summer to northern California. I am planning to enter a tray of my best traps in the agricultural exibit of the Siskiyou Golden Fair in September. I have never seen any carnivorous plants exibited there and I think they will be a hit. I'm hoping for a blue ribbon

[tonge50]

Another week of wintering outdoors through conditions that span the gambit of bay area weather: rain, frost and some increadible sunny, spring days. The traps are still acting sleepy from the short daylight and cooler temps. After the summer petioles had withered and the rains beat the plants and peat, some of the pots looked like they needed a makeover.

I took Aalxis's suggestion and re-did the top layer of peat mix. It really is very therapeutic. The best tools for the job can be found in the kitchen. I like to use a chop stick to hold up the traps and a grapefruit spoon to scoop out the old peat. A butter knife is handy too.

Here is the pot before:

Here it is After:


It's like a new plant! I also took the time to scrutinize the plants with a 20X loupe, looking for aphids. I was on a search and distroy mission ;D

[tonge50]

Spring will not be denied. It is the middle of February and everything is in bloom It has been cool and foggy in the mornings, then bright and sunny all afternoon. I put out my new tray of Venus fly traps to enjoy the fresh air.

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The days are still short and there is a lot of cold, wet weather expected between now and June. So far my traps are doing well in this climate. This summer they should be awesom ;D

[mmlr38]

I too am just noticing the first flower stalks emerging! Exciting times! I can't wait for spring to get into full swing.

[tonge50]

The climate here in the SF Bay area is amazing. The weather has been very spring like for the past couple weeks. All my traps are showing strong, new center growth.

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The night time temps are in the low 50s to upper 40s. I even left my new tray of small VFTs out last night.

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They seem to be enjoying the weather too We have rain predicted for the next several days. I'll keep a close eye on my traps and play it by ear. I don't want the pots to get beat by heavy rain Hopefully I can collect plenty of fresh rain water

[tonge50]

Another week of changing weather. The last two days have been pretty stormy, lots of wind and rain. Today, the sun is out and the flytraps are enjoying themselves in the warmth and fresh air.

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The new babies are doing well

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Even the moss is enjoying the weather ;D

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