Flytraps from Lowes

[cory]

Hey all,

I was at Lowes last night, and I picked up a VFT with HUGE traps.

Most of the ones I get are relatively small, or they start out large but then the new traps come out small. Has anyone had this happen? If so, do you know the cause of the traps to start getting smaller. I am thinking it is because they were matured through tissue culturing and can not maintain the high growth rate in a terrarium as in a tube. Any insight would be helpful.

Cory

[Clint]

The problem is they are in a terrarium instead of outside The plants you get at lowes are fresh out of TC; they've been grown out in high light before sale. A plant fresh out of the flask is not the most attractive sight in the world lol.

Terrarium growing CAN be done, but it's not practical if you can do it outside and it's not an easy thing to do.

[Aidan]

Under what conditions do you grow the plant. In general terms, terrariums provide less than ideal conditions for cultivating Dionaea.

[cory]

Why are VFT's not suitable for a terrarium? I mean, I like my flytraps living outside, but I am also setting up a large terrarium for a display at the school, and we all know that kids love the flytraps. What's a good solution?

[cory]

I am currently growing the flytraps about 8 inches from two standard 4 ft fluorescent bulbs. They don't seem to be lacking on light, and I'm using the tray method, so the conditions seem ok...what do you recommend?

[kby]

Did you have them long enough to go through dormancy and did you let them have it? Had they flowered (see Barry's section on flytraps in the FAQ)?-kby

[Aidan]

It is difficult to provide enough light in a terrarium setup and your 4' tubes may well not be sufficient.

Dionaea will suffer over the long term if not allowed to go dormant over the winter. Growth may become spindly and yes, traps will get smaller. Dormancy is induced by shorter daylength and reduction in temperature. 50F or lower is the ideal temperature.

Tropical rather than temperate plants are better subjects for terrarium culture. This includes many Drosera, Utricularia and Nepenthes.

[cory]

no, they have not started dormancy yet, and I only bought them last night, and the previous ones about a month ago. I will indeed place them outside to go through their dormancy, for probably 2 to 3 months.

They just start out with fairly large traps, and then the new traps come out smaller. They shouldn't be getting winter traps, as I haven't placed them outside yet.

[cory]

Well, I have a few tanks, and I planned on putting the sarracenias and dionaea in a tank that would indeed have a lower photoperiod and cooler temps to let them enjoy dormancy. I can't place the ones from the school outside anywhere in close proximity, so I'd like to keep them in a controlled environment. It seems a little early for them to be wanting to go dormant, especially as soon as I bought them in early september, or in all actuality, I may have purchased them in July or August. How much light do they need? I know the intensity fades proportional to distance squared, so do they need to be sitting 2 inches from the light. I have no problem doing that, I just don't want them getting burnt.

[kby]

I was mentioning [lack of] dormancy as a possible reason the ones you previously got might have gotten smaller, although what you mention for what you are going to do is OK. In terms of the lights, I don't have a good feel; for me it's usually more is better although you might have to work up to it. I would think they get shaded more late spring/early summer in their native habitat. I'm not sure what others were thinking, but I would feel that terraria are difficult due to dormancy. You can manage the reduced photoperiod pretty easily, the temp maybe (depends on the location, if the thing is small enough to move, etc.--probably can't move a 300gal tank around!), but you also normally want things to dry out more (not dry but not as wet as during growing season) and that is harder with an undrained tank.-kby

[Clint]

They really do need a lot of light, with full sun being the best.

Growing plants like these for a display where they A: have needs that probably can't be met, and B: will look half dead during the dormancy IF you can provide a dormancy in the first place in an indoor display aquarium at a school (kids don't like 50 degree weather!)

Most Sarracenia will require HID lighting because of their shape, with the prostrate species being "doable" under fluorescent lighting. You're really wanting to do something that's not practical (I didn't say impossible, just not practical) when you can have a tank with Nepenthes, Drosera, Heliamphora (maybe), Cephalotus(maybe), Pinguicula and a carpet of Sphagnum or flowering tropical Utricularia with your fluorescent (although I'd strongly recommend PC or T5 in a big display tank because it's going to be tall...good investment for your plants' color, too.) that will look fabulous year round, won't require a dormancy, and won't require any additional heating if you choose the right plants for your application.

I recommend Growing Carnivorous Plants by Barry Rice and The Savage Garden by Peter D'amato.

[ICPS-bob]

One alternative that seems to work well for classrooms is to rotate the plants -- have some plants at home growing under good conditions and once the classroom plants start looking ragged, swap them with the plants from home and let the ragged classroom plants recover, then swap them back later.

[cory]

I am liking the idea of having plants that do not require dormancy in the display, but I would like to grow the flytraps and sarracenia for myself, and the school does have a greenhouse. I am not sure if it is heated, but I think I could work around the dormancy issue by keeping them in a tank in a closet with about 50 degree temps. After I've let dormancy go on, I'd move them back to the greenhouse for the spring, summer, and fall months. Does this sound reasonable?

[kby]

As long as they get some (shorter photoperiod) light and it's cool enough there. Unless it's freezing you probably can't keep them completely in the dark.

If you have a sunny porch/balcony, I would your best choice would be in a small mostly/all uncovered tank.

The plants at the major stores are probably reasonably recent out of TC & haven't really started figuring out seasons yet, so I don't think anyone is saying they need to go dormant right now, or exactly when they will. You mostly need to be on the lookout for it, MAYBE start encouraging it slightly (shorter photoperiod if under lights; maybe slightly less water, cooler temps), but mostly if and when you see it happening, don't try to reverse it. Then give it the shorter photoperiod, less water, and cooler temps. An unheated [portion of] a greenhouse should be fine.-kby

[Brian Barnes]

MOST IMPORTANTLY...If they are in the classic "pure peat" mix that garden centers often sell them in..Get them out of there!! Your plants will die and blacken....1/2 sand 1/2 peat works good.