VFT growing wild in Jamaica!?!

[albert]

VFT growing wild in Jamaica, tropical island with no cool winter temps?
I read in Barry A. Rice's book and other places about an introduce population of
Dionaea muscipula.
Sounds like a great strain to get into cultivation--a possible no need for dormancy!

Albert

[Clint]

Without a winter dormancy, Dionaea will slowly decline and die. You can skip the first year out of TC but that's really as far as it goes. Let's pretend there was a clone like this. It would be great for cultivation (what a dream! And a lucrative clone!) but introducing it to Jamaica, or anywhere else in the wild, would be one of the most stupid and irresponsible things I've ever heard of. Naturalizing plants is NOT cool as it disrupts the ecology of the area. Planting a foreign plant on your property is one thing (very few of us only use native plants) but naturalizing a foreign plant in the wild is another matter completely.

But don't worry about a "tropical" Dionaea anytime soon.

[cindy]

In South East Asia, VFTs grown in pots of live sphagnum moss under full sun can survive for many years. These pots are submerged in water up to about 3/4 way. The plants receive either overhead watering or the rain depending on the weather.

The plants do no undergo dormancy at all but continues to produce multiple offshoots. The main plant sometimes dies but the offshoots continue to grow.

The plants that the growers have here are not of special strain but somehow the conditions allow the VFTs to continue multiplying quickly, thus the offshoots quickly replaces the main plant resulting in a larger clump over time despite the absence of dormancy.

[albert]

What i meant was that there is NOW VFT growing in the wilds of Jamaica, in that country's wet land. Introduced in 1969 and still growing there!!! www.go-localjamaica.com/readarticle.php?ArticleID=4390
There is also other documentation stating that Dionaea has been introduced to Jamaica, Rice's book being one.

Yes, a no-dormancy strain would be a big hit with all us growers and a possible trait to breed for though propagating the one growing now wild in Jamaica would be the fastest way....growers in Jamaica...hint hint

Albert

[Clint]

Cindy, your special conditions that allow the plants to multiply quickly enough that the loss of the mother doesn't matter sounds interesting. What do you think it could be?

Albert, is the land privately owned? Who is Ellis?

[Aidan]

The article may be seen in full here:

www.jamaicachm.org.jm/Article/PDF/html/March2005.asp

Clint - You need that blushing icon...

www.omnisterra.com/bot/cp_home.cgi?name=dionaea+muscipula&search=accepted

[Not a Number]

This bog is located 2500 feet above sea level. It would be interesting to see what the temperatures are like there.

www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20050322/life/life1.html

FYI -

Chart of temperature lapse rate for standard atmosphere
www.usatoday.com/weather/wstdatmo.htm

Lapse rate is 6.5 degrees Celsius per 1000 meters or 3.57 degrees Fahrenheit per 1000 feet. So 2500 feet would be approximately 8.925 F cooler than sea level

And even the tropics can get cold in the winter as anybody who has been to Hilo, Hawaii in the winter. I've been to Rarotonga, Cook Islands in the dead of winter and all the locals were wearing fleece jackets. I needed a heavy sweatshirt myself.

[Clint]

aidan said:

Clint - You need that blushing icon...

www.omnisterra.com/bot/cp_home.cgi?name=dionaea+muscipula&search=accepted

Latin! I feel so silly lmao ;D

I had a total "Duh" moment there

[Michael Catalani]

This is from Jamaica-Guide.info/weather

"Temperatures in Jamaica generally vary approximately 10 degrees from summer to winter. Nevertheless, you should be prepared for winter in Jamaica to be slightly cooler, especially at the higher altitudes. In the mountains, temperatures can dip to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius). "

I have found that temperatures in the 50's is more than adequate to satisfy Dionaea's dormancy requirement over the long term. So the temperatures they report for the mountains in Jamaica could sustain a flytrap population thru the winter. In fact, the would probably love it there.

It should be remembered that Dionaea have been transplanted outside of its range in many areas, including areas that are colder than its natural habitat. Some of these plantings have survived for more than a decade, only to be wiped out by a harsh, but not unheard of, winter.


The same might become these plants. If they encounter a series of winters where the temps remain in the 70'sF, they could end up dying off, even though they have endured at the location for decades.

There is the possibility that some of these plants will develop the ability to handle more of a sub-tropical to tropical year round environment. But if the reported temperature ranges in winter currently dip into the 40's, then it sounds like they would love it there just the way they are.

[cindy]

Clint, I think it could be the higher temperatures year round and very bright light. Growers in Malaysia as well as Singapore experience that when their VFTs are grown outdoors in a swampy conditions in live sphagnum moss year round, there are multiple offshoots produced.

The light intensity here at the equator is rather constant throughout the year compared to temperate places. The warmer temperatures also keep the plants growing and growing.

Another factor we noticed is that overpotting is necessary to keep the plants from going dormant. I am not sure of the actual reason for it to work but it seems that overpotting either keeps the roots from being too cramped or it prevents heat build-up at the root region.

The best grown VFTs here are the ones grown in large pots of long fibre sphagnum, topped dressed with live sphagnum. These large pots are placed in a trough with water up to the top of the media. When the rain come, it flushes away the minerals accumulated in the trough over time from overhead watering. We use our tap water for watering our CPs.

[mannyherrera]

I've been to this region of Jamaica. The temps are cool at night and cool during winter. I remember hearing about the VFTs, but was unable to find the location info at the time.

[kby]

cindy said:

In South East Asia, VFTs grown in pots of live sphagnum moss under full sun can survive for many years. These pots are submerged in water up to about 3/4 way. The plants receive either overhead watering or the rain depending on the weather.

The plants do no undergo dormancy at all but continues to produce multiple offshoots. The main plant sometimes dies but the offshoots continue to grow.

The plants that the growers have here are not of special strain but somehow the conditions allow the VFTs to continue multiplying quickly, thus the offshoots quickly replaces the main plant resulting in a larger clump over time despite the absence of dormancy.

Do the traps get bigger and/or maintain their maximum size? That would seem the biggest disadvantage of just having daughter plants and the mother plant dying off all the time.-kby

[cindy]

kby, the traps on the daughter plants get as large as the mother plant's. The mother plant does not die off very quickly though. Sometimes it takes a couple of years before it dies off, by then there are at least 2-3 offshoots which have reached adult size.

[venusflytrapfreak]

It is very interesting that Vft's grow in Jamaica!! Can someone tell me what zone they are??? Is Jamaica sub-tropical or tropical? What are there temps. like in Summer/Winter?

Thanks,
Ricky

[ICPS-bob]

Ricky, it would be helpful if you read the entire thread. Your questions are already answered just a couple of posts above.