New VFT owner with some questions

[mmlr38]

Hello there,

I just picked up a few plants from Wal-mart the other day. I used to have VFTs when I was a kid, but I haven't had any in a while. I have been reading non-stop since getting the new guys and I think I have a pretty good grasp on caring for them.

However, I do have a few questions that I would like to get some feedback on from people who have had VFTs and successfully kept a plant alive for a few years.

Here is my list of questions in order of importance:

1) Is moving the plant daily a bad idea? I want to keep the plant plenty warm, and it is already getting down into the low 60s or 50s at night here, so I move the plants inside at night and put them back outside in the morning. Is this stressful to the plant?

2) Regarding winter dormancy, I live in Boulder, CO. Unfortunately it gets too cold here in the winter to let the plants winter outside. What is the best option of the following:
a) A cellar that will probably stay around 40 to 50 degrees in the winter (maybe a bit cooler), but will have ABSOLUTELY NO sunlight. I could potentially put some sort of plant light down there for them, but I would need advice as to what kind of light would be appropriate. I could also bring them outside for the warmest part of the day on days where it wasn't too cold. I don't mind babysitting my plants.
b) The refrigerator technique.
c) A cool windowsill.
d) An outdoor dormancy where the plant is buried? I read about this here:
www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109382
See post #8 that reads:
"This plant gets an outdoor dormancy from November to around March buried beneath pine needles, burlap, and a foot or so of mulch, pineboughs and eventually snow."

I have read that garages and basements are good places to allow VFTs to have their 3-4 months of dormancy, but I have also read that this is WILL NOT WORK. See here:
www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2462.html

What seems like the best option of the ones I listed above?

3) Does feeding a VFT actually increase the rate at which the will grow, as is stated here:
www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2280.html Again I have read differing opinions on this topic and I would like to hear some people's experiences and opinions about this.

4) In the spring, when the plant starts flowering, when is the best time to cut off the flower? I have read that you should do it as soon as you see it coming out here: www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2470.html

However, I have also read that if you cut it off then, the plant will send another flower out which consumes more energy than if you had just let the flower grow. Source = "Carnivorous Plants of the United States and Canada" by Donald E. Schnell
quote: "Cutting the scape before at least one flower appears, however, causes a new scape to initiate and begin growing, which uses even more energy reserves."

What is the right thing to do? Axe it as soon as possible, or let it grow a bit and then axe it?

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Matt

[locko]

I dont have much experience but I have 3 venus flytraps I have kept alive for a few years now. I barely look after them and they are looking better than ever. I have put a venus flytrap in the fridge for dormancy just to test it out and that worked fine but I keep them outside all year now. I usually cut the flowers off and most of the time there is a second one but it dosent matter I cut it off too. Lastly moving your plant shouldnt worry it I dont think and if your VFT is outside it should feed itself.

sorry for the messy all over the place awnsers.

[mmlr38]

Thanks for the reply Locko. Everything you said made sense, but I do have one more question for you.

How cold does it get in the winter where you live? I would like to leave the plants outside all year, but I think it just gets too cold here in Boulder, CO. It is in zone 5 and gets quite a bit of snow.

[Aidan]

1) The plant is hardy to well below freezing and it will be best left in one place until you have to bring it in for the winter.

2) 50F or lower is ideal. If you have a windowsill that will provide that sort of temperature, it would be fine there.

Refrigeration is not dormancy. It puts plants into a sort of suspended animation. I'd consider this a last resort.

3) Plants will normally catch all they require of their own accord. Occasional feeding is OK, just don't overdo it.

4) I don't know that there is a right moment. If I don't want flowers I will remove a scape when I notice it. But, removing the scape is no guarantee that the plant won't grow another.

[mmlr38]

Thanks Aidan. Your responses were very helpful. I will find a good spot to leave the plant until it starts getting cold here.

I am sure that I can figure out something with one of the windows here to keep the plant at around 50F or less for the dormancy period.

[locko]

Where I live it only gets to 0C 32F rarley. In winter there is frost alot and that dosent bother the plants. I would imagine that it probably isnt a good idea to leave the plants outside where you live in winter.

[wadave]

Hi Matt,

I've seen photos of VFT's that are sitting in a pot that has become a block of solid ice (cobraplant.com) with a follow up photo of them in full growth in spring/summer.

I would suggest joining your local CP club and confir with other members how they grow theirs. Try this one: www.coloradocarnivorousplantsociety.com/

Mine live in the greenhouse all year, though we don't get snow and ice here, our winters are very close to freezing at night with days in the low to mid 50's.

Once you get it right VFT's are surprisingly tough little plants, you may find that they can easily withstand flowering and producing seed when they are happy.

I'm sure we've all been where you are right now, infact it wasn't all that long ago that I was afraid to let mine flower and produce seed but I did just that last year and mine didn't die.

Give it a go and see what happens.

Dave.

[Hikenyura]

First, I recommend you growing your VFTs outside. You have to get them used to the sun and humidity first(you'll see sunburn and wilt if you don't slowly change the humidity). Your VFT's can also go freezing or a week and grow great next spring. If you have been growing your plants outside, then there is no need to cut the flower. Also feeding it is like fertiliing it a tiny bit. I'll organize this.

1. Changes of temperature and humidity can weaken your plants. Keep the plants out door all day and night. No terrainium or inside growing.

2. The main thing you need to worry about is dry arctic winds. If you live in zone 6, there is no problem. Zone 5, maybe you may need a little extra care. Zone 4, maybe some more care. As long as you protect them from arctic winds, freezing day temperatures, and over 2 week long freezes, contant freezing and thawing, then it'll be alright just to leave them outside.

3.Feeding is like fertilizer

4. As long as your vft grows outside, you sont need to cut off the flower.

All this information came from sarracenia northwest(www.cobraplants.com). I beleive they are the best. For begginers I recommend buying the e-book when it's on sale( almost all this information was from reading their e-book)

[mmlr38]

Thanks for the replies wadave and hikenyura,

I am definitely growing my VFTs outside, but I didn't do a great job of transitioning them. It has been pretty humid here since I got them (around 50% or so), but I put them in too much sunshine too quickly. A few of the leaves wilted, but the plants are sending out new, very healthy (deep green) looking leaves already, so I'm not too worried about it.

As far as winter goes here, I am going to try to weather them outside as much as I can, but I think it is just going to get too cold and there will be too much snow for them here.

Thanks for letting me know about cobraplants.com. I will check out that e-book.

[Clint]

Anything information you can get in that "e-book" you can get online for free a hundred times over with a little research.

If you want real books, spend your money on The Savage Garden and then Growing Carnivorous Plants after you've read the former. They're worth buying for the pictures alone!

[Hikenyura]

The savage garden is a great book I heard, it has tons of info, but I prefer the e-book. I really don't like digging around for info. Also the e-book has free updates. I hear people in a forum liked the e-book better.

In my opinion the savage garden is great but the e-book is better. The e-book would have more info on VFT's atleast. Also they tell you about expirements they do to bust myths like sundews need humidity to make their dew, which isn't even true, they also have tons of pictures on things like what they look like when sundews are dormant, VFT's in the snow, ect(the photo file is about 30 mb).Anyways it's good info and it cost less CURRENTLY than the savage garden.

I have to note I never read the Savage garden, this is current opinion. When I get the savage garden I'll make another judment.

Note: I don't want people saying NLJRWthnWR READ IT IT"S SO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT E-BOOK. I don't mind a friendly debate, but I don't want to be yelling at each other about your opinion and end up hating each other.

[Clint]

This isn't that kind of forum

[zpyder]

hikenyura said:

In my opinion the savage garden is great but the e-book is better.

I have to note I never read the Savage garden, this is current opinion. When I get the savage garden I'll make another judment.

I'm not trying to be funny here, but how can you have an opinion on a book you've not read yet?

It's a bit like saying I think Cheese is better than chocolate, but I've never tried chocolate, when I do I'll have a rethink - It doesn't quite work.

One of my biggest regrets is that I took my copy of Savage Garden to where I used to work, in an attempt to convince them to stock some hardy CP's in the Bog Section. I never got the book back. From my experience in other hobbies such as fishkeeping and gardening, the savage garden ranks in the top 3 books I've ever read on a "hobby subject". Not only is the information clear and easy to read and follow, but it is well illustrated. It's the kind of book that I found tended to end up off of my bookshelf more often than on it, as it was so useful for reference!

[Hikenyura]

I was noting it so that my opinion isn't as good as other people. My opinion is from what I heard from different peoplewho have tried both. Right now I'm thinking about getting The Savage Garden

[wadave]

I've got both and they are both excellent, I've currently read The Savage Garden through three times and I constantly go back to it when I'm getting a new plant I've not grown before.

I liked the interactive ebook, it dispells the myths which I think is important as most newbies come preprogrammed with them. Such as VFT's need to be grown in a terrarium and sundews need humidity to make dew!

They also give you some of the tricks of the trade, plus there is the website, and other cool stuff like plenty of good photos, plant give aways, quick reference cards, and their monthly newsletter.

The books that come highly recommended, I've got'em, read'em at least twice and keep going back to them to look at the pictures to drool over the plants I've not got in my collection. I'm a bit of a CP photo junkie, I just can't get enough.

Dave.