Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn't know the previous thread messed up. If/When the nighttime temps stay above the low 40s, it will be fine to leave them outside. They can tolerate temps in the 30s, but they fare better when the minimum temps stay 40ðF and above.

To extend the growing season, I'll place my plants outside in the mornings and bring them back inside in the evenings before it gets below 40ðF. Even after they have gone dormant. They can still photosynthesize while they're dormant, so letting them have sunlight enables them to store up that energy. It takes a little bit of effort doing this, but you'll be rewarded in Spring, when they take that stored up energy and grow like crazy. Since I've taken that pic that I posted, my flytraps have put out bigger, longer traps. As well as their flowerstalks. They have already been catching bugs all on their own, plus the ones that I catch and feed to them. I will snap another pic when the flowers open up. I look forward to cross-pollinating them and getting some seeds.

Growing flytraps from seeds is so much fun. I grew some last year. Baby flytraps are so darn cute, lol. Mine were doing really great, up until I made a rookie mistake and moved them outside into full sunlight before giving them time to adjust. They all got sunburned really bad and didn't make it. :/ Oh well, I just have to chalk it up as a learning experience and do better next time.

This post was edited by ToMMyBoY69 on Mon, May 26, 14 at 6:21

Just a follow-up...
You mentioned how you liked flytraps with a longer leaf blade. Flytraps tend to grow long leaves during the Spring & Summer. But towards the end of the growing season in Autumn, flytraps grow shorter leaves that lie closer to ground level. In my photo, most of the traps that you can see are the shorter leaves from Fall of last year. You can see the newer leaves emerging. Those have already grown taller and opened up. They're bigger than the Spring traps from last year's growing season.

If you're interested in growing flytraps from seed, I have a friend that sells flytraps online. He breeds all the different cultivars together and gets a great supply of fresh, quality seeds each year. It's the only place that I buy my seeds from. Plus he sells them for a decent price. That's what I've been waiting for, for him to harvest this year's seeds and post them for sale online.

Yeah, I plan on breeding my flytraps, but the ones I have are just typicals. He cross-pollinates all the different cultivars together, so the seeds from those give you flytraps with different traits. My seedlings from last year looked so diverse and interesting, (before I killed them). I can't wait to try my hand at growing them again. :)

Yea ive had some seeds but they still haven't spouted anything sooo I'm NOT sure they ever will, i also tried to grow a mix of cape and pitcher's and haven't seen ANYTHING from those yet either....and its been like 3-4 months SoOoOoOoooOoooooOoooOooOOOo I'm assuming they're not gonna grow.

My traps are throwing out there flowers now ones even about to bloom but one of my plants doesn't even have any traps on the plant just UN developed one's That died before they grew there traps (??) I also removed a baby plant that was on the side of it that has even weirder traps that aren't really developed right, but there growing new traps Now so we'll SEE (??)
My Dewey plants if you've read my post titled (my Dew convered plants won't eat!!) Or something like that are really acting strange and i thought they were doing well. ..till now.

I'll try and post updated pix here

This is the one growing the flower stalk but has no traps on the top of the leaves (??)
Its just starting to grow a few new ones but the traps are usually under developed and die off leaving just the green leave stalks

Here's the other weird one that came off the plant above with no heads

This is my babie crested petieol i got a while ago its already got like 3 traps and MORE comming! Still little and cute!

This was MY first VFT that didn't get destroyed by my lil sister, when i decided to give it another go at it. And other then the ant he's enjoying in one of his traps he had this to surprise ME with today below!!!

First VFT flower opened today!! WHAT a nice surprise! !!

Congrats on you flower! Mine haven't opened yet, but they're getting close. I'll post a detailed pic that explains pollinating a flytrap flower. Hopefully, it will help, if you wanna try getting seed.

Your flytraps growing leaves with little or no traps on them indicates that your plants aren't getting sufficient lighting.

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This post was edited by ToMMyBoY69 on Tue, May 27, 14 at 5:23

I don't know how THAT is possible? ?!?!?!
They ALL get full Sun all day then a grow light during less sunny days and sometimes at night. Its a 150 c.f. dadaylight bulb. I also have a incandescent lighting system with 5 fluorescent tube lights. So i don't think it's the lightning.. when i got the VFT i. Had NoOoOooOoo traps and the traps its making are very undeveloped an the traps that form die off an Just the leave stay green and alive. . Its been growing a flower stalk aswell...idk what's up with IT? ?!?

Your plant belongs OUTSIDE in FULL SUN. Acclimate it slowly to full Sun. And use only rainwater or distilled water. NEVER let it get dry, keep it in a shallow tray of the above mentioned water.

I don't think you're reading my post right.... they ALL get FULL SUN EVERYDAY they have a constant distilled water supply thru a dish under the pot that is filled Everytime it gets low, the medium is always moist.

They get a grow light or a grow light system on over cast days where the sun isn't out that bright, they don't get brought into my house unless it's too cold...but that hasn't happened yet. The lighting system is on my "Sun" porch. It has. Windows that get FULL SUN in EVERY direction. Light and water are NOT the problems HERE i can fully assure YOU that

Tommyboy, question about cross pollination, great info by the way... but how do you think i should get the pollen from the other Venus fly trap flower to cross it with my other one? Do you have any idea how i should do that and what i should use and how i can do it right?

Your flytraps should be fine, just as long as they're getting plenty of light and growing. With them flowering at the moment, they're probably just focused more on that for the time being. Afterwards, they should resume their normal growth.

As for pollinating them, you can simply use tweezers or something to pluck a stamen from one flower and dust the pollen on the stigma of another. You have to wait for the stigma to open up, just like it shows in the photo. That's when it'll be receptive and can be pollinated.

Okay thanks Im still waiting for my trapless VFT to open its flowers so i can TRY and do it lol

Okay one more question so i kno I'm gonna do this right...(Tommyboy) i don't pluck the middle stamen from the plant I'm trying to cross they other one with, ipluck of the one's That fall outward to reveal the streastamin...??? Or am i completely stupid hahaha!?!

The outer ones are the male part of the flower, the stamen. The one in the center is the female part, the pistil. Once the tip of it (the stigma) opens up and looks sort of fluffy, that's when you can try pollinating your plants. There are plenty of stamen to use to dust pollen onto the stigma. Plus, several flowers that open up one after another. So you'll have plenty of them to practice on.

I'm still waiting for mine to open up, too. I went ahead and took another pic, even tho they haven't opened. There are five flower stalks rising up. You can also see my two pitcher plants, and one of their flowers (in the upper right corner of the photo). The one on the left side, its flower is much taller and just out of range of the pic. I had to stake it up after some thunderstorms rolled thru and sort of knocked it over. In the background are some of my other plants, such as orchids.

WOW mine only got one stalk coming outta the whole plant btw u cant use the same plant's stmen from a diff flower on the same flower stalk to get seeds right, i think someone said THAT to ME but wasn't sure if you were saying i could by saying I'll HAVE ALOT of practice cause they open multiple flowers at a time, my other VFT hasn't bloomed yet and the one THAT has only has 2 more flowers left to open sooo if it can't be done like how I'm asking if it can be then i prob won't get any seeds this year

What are you two talking about? VFT can be self pollinate there is no such thing is female and male plants... please stop spreading false information:
for more information please ready this:
http://www.flytrapcare.com/propagation-of-venus-fly-traps.html

And remember, they don't come true to seed. A seeds from example "Big mouth" will not produce "Big mouth" VFTs.

Tommyboy i JUST got a few of those self watering pots you're using for your plant's in the picture YOU posted, i bought them for my CP's but NEVER used them for them cause they are bigger then my plant's are! How are they working for YOU? Have you noticedandifference between using them and just plain tray feeding? Cause is really like to use them for my CPs just worried I'll over pot them and they'll rootrot or die...
Btw i just checked on my seeds, no sprouts from the VFT/sundew mix i planted, but u see 3 little sprouts coming outta the butterworts/pitcher plant mix...to early to tell WHAT they are...but super excited!

No one is spreading misinformation. If people would go back a carefully read what I wrote, you'll see that I never once said there were male or female flowers. Of course they can self-pollinate. I never said they couldn't. I said the the male reproductive PART of the flower is the stamen, and the female reproductive PART of the flower is the pistil.

KittieKAT, my carnivorous plants love these self-watering pots. Even tho they hold water in the bottom, only the bottom "X" of the pot actually sits in that water. That "X" section is surrounded by ventilation slits, allowing the pot to still breathe. The pots that they're in right now are 6.8" in size. That's the minimum size pots that give flytrap's roots plenty of room. It's the size I'd recommend starting out with. Next year, I plan on repotting them into the same type of pot, but the next size bigger. That way their roots can grow even deeper. (Flytrap roots basically grow just straight down.) I love these pots. They're the only pots I use for almost all of my plants, except for my orchids.

If you go over to the FlyTrap Care forum, there are quite a large number of registered members, but only 20 "Super User" members. One of which is me. In order to obtain a Super User status, you have to offer knowledgeable, correct help to others. Never would I spread misinformation. I wouldn't go out of my way to help others if I didn't already know what it was that I'm talking about and sharing with them, so that they too can enjoy growing these wonderful plants just as much as I do. :)

God seems to be drama in some WAY no matter which forum I'm posting IN on GW, WHY would someone say something like that without properly reading WHAT YOU said first *SMH* ....as long as my plant's thrive i will try ANYTHING, sooo i guess I'll give the pots a try i mean i don't think it could do any harm...right?

HaHa, sorry for my part in it. I don't go looking to start anything, but when someone accuses me of deliberately spreading misinformation, I'm going to call them out on it. People should take the time to inform themselves on what it is they're going to try and criticize, before they go and do it. Anyways... ancient history by now.

Back to the subject, I highly recommend using these pots. I posted my pics to show just how good my plants are doing. I've cross-pollinated some of the flowers that have opened up. The petals on the very first ones have started to curl up, so hopefully they were pollinated successfully. *fingers crossed* :)

Oh i don't find YOU at fault for the drama, i Beleive YOU gave EVERY right to defend YOUR self, exspecially since you were right LOL!

I tried to pollinate myself got my fingers crossed aswell, any idea when they should be harvested if it has been done right. And i used one of the side stamen(?) On adifferent flower off the same plant to touch the middle of a different flower. ..will it work or does it have to be a different plants flower stamen(?) Thing to touch a diff plants middle of the flower. ..sorry i kno my explainingis confusing.

That's okay, that's what this forum's for, to learn and help others. You can use pollen on the same flower to pollinate. That'll work perfectly fine. The stamen are the thinner ones that surround the thicker one in the center, which is the pistil. Just dust the tips of the stamen over the tip of the pistil, once the tip of it opens up and looks fluffy. If they get pollinated, the petals will curl up. If the flower wasn't pollinated, I think it'll die back. But if it did, then the center of the flower will begin to swell up. You'll know they're ripe when the seed pod cracks open, just like it shows in the last pic of the diagram I first posted. I'm not entirely sure how long it takes tho. Since mine are outside, I think that some bugs have been helping to pollinate my flytraps' flowers, HaHa. I say that because I've seen bugs on the flowers, and I see pollen all over the flowers as if something has been crawling all over them.

If you do get some seeds, the best time to plant them is as soon as possible, while they're still fresh. They *don't* need to be refrigerated or anything. Just sprinkle them on top of the soil and keep them watered and covered with clear plastic, so they don't dry out. Baby flytraps don't get very big at first, so you don't have to worry about them growing close together. I have a spare self-watering pot ready and waiting. I use a 50% peat moss/50% silica sand blend, with a very thin layer of silica sand sprinkled on top. I don't use sphagnum moss for this pot.

VFT's grow VERY slowly. These are 3 years old now.

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