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ga_meteors

Various VFT questions

ga_meteors
17 years ago

Hi again. It's been a while since I posted. My 11 VFTs are surviving the winter quite well here in East Georgia. I'm wondering, if not TOO well. The winter has been relatively mild here, and while the VFTs appeared to go dormant, i.e. they stopped growing and about 20% of the traps blackened and were removed, by early January I noticed a bit of growth and since then they have been (slowly)growing a few new, small traps. (They were kept outdoors).

I suppose they didn't get a full three months of dormancy.

Every large trap has turned red. They look really good, but I worry that they may not have gotten enough cold?

Also, I was curious as I have received conflicted reports on when to repot them, is it during dormancy or in early spring?

Also, I saw a new shipment of VFTs at the local Wal-Mart and decided to "save" one. Should I go ahead and put it out with the others even though the temps are still quite cool, or might this cause to to have a false dormancy?

Thanks!

Comments (13)

  • petiolaris
    17 years ago

    Dormancy is comprised of many factors, the most significant if which is photoperiod, followed by temperature and then water and food supply. Also, dormancy doesn't necessarily mean no growth. It udually means slowed growth. There are many hobbyists from warmer locales, such as Southern California who grow them outdoors all year long. And while their temps don't come close to what their native North Carolina bring them, the lack of photoperiod is what provides the majority of cues for dormancy. So temperature is less of a factor than most people realize. Believe it or not, once winter solstice arrives, while temps continue to decrease for yet another month, the new growing season is at hand. Now is the time to anticipate the new season!

    You can repot them at any time, although a sleeping plant is the best time. But as long as you remove the plant with the soil media surrounding it, such as to minimize root disturbance, the plant won't know. If you can prepare the new pot first and gently coax the plant so all its contents may be removed as one unit, that would be the best.

    You can rescue the Walmart VFTs but I would be careful to not radically change its conditions too much; specifically, the temperature and humidity. It is likely that what is left over is neglected and weak, and will need to be nursed back to health. Its environmental cues will tell the plant which way to go, and in this case, with the lengthening photoperiod, it will be signalling growth. Keep us posted.

  • ga_meteors
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for the information; I had suspected that the photoperiod was quite critical, but it was just a guess on my part.

    I only want to repot the two, or perhaps three, VFTs that have obviously split into two plants. I'm sure this will require a small amount of shock, in getting them apart.

    I'd really like to post a photo of my sleeping babies, but evidently it's not allowed in this forum (?) although I've seen a few done from thread to thread. If it's possible in this forum, could someone describe for me how to do it?

    Thanks
    KY in GA

  • petiolaris
    17 years ago

    You can Email the pics to me and I can host them to my Photobucket account, or if you have one also, or something similar, there are 3 forms in which a picture can be brought to a forum or Email. For Photobucket, one need only click the hyperlink. associated with 'Tag'., and paste that to the message box. One could also copy & paste the picture link to the Optional Link URL. If all that doesn't make sense I can help ya through the process.

  • ga_meteors
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    OK, here goes nothing. Hopefully below you'll see photos of my VFTs during their dormancy last month. I've had these less than a year. You'll note the growth in the center of each plant.
    {{gwi:547108}}

    {{gwi:547109}}

    {{gwi:547110}}

    Here is a photo of the VFT above when it was first purchased last April(or early May)
    {{gwi:547111}}

    And here is the same plant at the height of its glory last Sept:
    {{gwi:547112}}

    Thanks for letting me share these, hope I didn't use up too much bandwidth!

    KY in GA

  • petiolaris
    17 years ago

    Okay, it looks like you've got it figured out!

  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    17 years ago

    They look fine to me!

    Tom

  • hunterkiller03
    17 years ago

    When VFT are dormant, they do grow a little but normally its smaller leaves and are sluggish to close. In my experience, that turns to be normal.

  • philipperv
    17 years ago

    Hi,

    I'm a regular on the hot pepper forum and I decided to order some VFT and pitcher seeds off of EBay. Haven't grown these since I was a kid and i'm now living in the Philippines so I have a few questions specific to my unique situation:

    1. I don't have access to perlite or peat moss here. Can I use regular soil out of the ground as long as I don't fertilize it?

    2. If you screw up and plant the seeds under the soil will it help to mix the soil up to keep the seeds near the top?

    3. Will my tropical climate adversely affect the plant by keeping it out of dormancy thereby shortening its life?

    Thanks alot!

  • petiolaris
    17 years ago

    You canot use regular poting or topsoil. The nutrients would kill them. I would at least buy long fibered sphagnum at Lowes or Home Depot and pool filter sand from a pool supply place. People in Southern California keep theirs outside all year long, where the temps don't get as low as their natural habitat. However, while temps are part of the dormancy, the naturaly reduced photoperiod is the dominat factor. The seeds may or may not germinate for you, even if they were on top of the soil. VFT seeds are pretty challenging. Slightly less chalenging is to attempt propogation from basab leaf cuttings... and you get a cluster of baby plants from just one leaf.

  • venusplantman
    17 years ago

    what excatly does it mean for VFTs to be asleep

  • petiolaris
    17 years ago

    That refers to the dormancy period for fall / winter, when the photoperiod is at its lowest and temps are coldest, as well as less water and food suply. They rest and rejuvenate.

  • bugman
    17 years ago

    Ummm.... do they even have a Lowe's or Home depot in the Phillippines?

  • petiolaris
    17 years ago

    Maybe there's something else...or a greenhouse / nursery or something in the Phillippines?

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