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thebonsaimarket

VFT in florida

thebonsaimarket
17 years ago

The posts don't completly answer my question, I recently bought four vft and recived them today,they look good appear to still be giving of more traps, the instruction said to put them in the refrigerator till spring, since it is fall now, and the winters wouldn't be as cold as it needs. Would i be better off leaving them outdoors to keep growing or putting them in the refrigerator to go dormant with no light?

Another question, I read that using LF Sphagnum Moss in the medium for pottting causes the roots to rot since it hold too much moisture, is that true or would i be better off leaving the LFSM in the medium.

I just got these bare root and didn't know what to do,

Thank you, hope i wasn't too confusing?

Comments (8)

  • petiolaris
    17 years ago

    Dormancy is classically thought of as being mostly a function of providing cold conditions. Actually, it is part of the whole picture, and not the most significant variable. Photoperiod (daylight hours) is. You could try the fridge method. Many people do. But it isn't a good idea to put a 70 or 80 degree plant directly into a 40 degree fridge. It should be done so gradually. If it were me, I would leave the plant outside and let nature dictate its dormancy. There are many in California who keep their VFT's outside all year long, even when living in areas that only go as low as the 50's.

    lFS is the best soil media for CP's (in general)and one that does well with VFT's. For CP's, appropriate soil media isn't a function of what type and concetration of nutrients it is comprised of, as it is with other plants. They need (generally speaking) to be in a nutrient free media. Instead, it's the texture and water retention qualities that best determine what media works best with what plant. LFS has the quality to allow drainage, retain moisture, and allow for root development. VFT's actually like it when their media is drier than that of a swamp. They need good drainage. In contrast, an American pitcher plant (most) like swampy conditions, sitting in water. So as long as your VFT isn't sitting in water all the time and has ample opportunity to drain, it will develop its roots and do well. Personally, I like to mix sand & sphagnum peat, and then overlay it with LFS, preferably the live LFS.

  • thebonsaimarket
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    The thing is that i just recived them bare root and just potted them, for today and tommarow it will be in the 60s then will return to the 80s(plants came from Massachusetts ) so the plants should be going dormant. I have quite a few question to ask.
    Should i wait a while after i potted them to get settled before putting them in the fridge?
    Do they need light during dormancy?
    Should i just leave them outside and skip the cold domant period?
    Will not letting them go dormant kill the plant?
    So many Questions, i think thats all of them for now.

  • garyfla_gw
    17 years ago

    hi
    I'm in zone 10 also and have used the fridge method with mixed results As petiolaris said the whole dormancy is not just cold but a whole set of conditions.
    Personally i think the best method for 10 is to start them in early spring,grow them as long as possible and get new ones in the spring.
    Even more ideal,though i haven't tried it is to grow them in winter,say start them out in Dec. This way you would avoid Aug,Sept. they really suffer during the hot nights.
    Of course the occasional drop in temps might trigger dormancy but you could bring them in the house.
    All things considered ,I think the best for 10 is to consider them annuals.
    gary

  • thebonsaimarket
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Im going to try to leave them outside and see what happens, since i just potted them im going to leave them to get setteled and hopefuly they will grow into their new pot. It's in the 60s today but later will be in the 80s, hope that won't confuse them. I should be moving to North Carolina next year, so by them i'll just leave them outside.
    If they need full sun, but the florida sun will be too hot, is that a problem or would i need to put it in shade?

  • xymox
    17 years ago

    the replies above are correct, If your plants arrived bare-root, they were probably dormant. Did you buy your bare-root flytraps from a Reputable carnivorous plant store or as an Ebay auction?

    most carnivorous plant stores on-line on-line have "ready to ship" dormant VFT bulbs. Everytime i ordered bare-root plants from an on-line store (such as www.flytraps.com )
    They would arrive wrapped in sphagnum. They were healthy, but dormant.

    Ebay sellers are regular growers who raise them to sell as ebay Items. But most ebay sellers are also still Sellers from reputable on-line stores that sells carnivorous plants.
    (Equilibrio sends their plants pre-potted, they are also from Mass)

    Did your flytrap bulbs looked small than you expected? such as small leaves with small traps? if so, the seller shipped them dormant.

    You did the right thing to plant your flytrap Bulbs. Just water them with purified water, keep their soils moist. as petiolaris said, Keep them Outdoors and see what happens, they may keep growing, Don't worry if it doesn't go dormant, it may go dormant next growing season's fall & winter (October 2007 through February 2008)

    Just keep your plants' soil moist at all times. Grow them under flourecent lights for the meanwhile, then slowly gradually introduce them outside. However, If you are planning to keep them in the fridge, as the advice above, do it gradually.. not all of the sudden, you may put your plant into deep Shock.

    whatever you do, wether putting them dormant or keep growing them during winter. Be patient. Time will reward you with beautiful plants.

  • xymox
    17 years ago

    i remember ordering plants from on-line too. flytrap bulbs during winter time. Once i ordered 2 Dente flytrap Bulbs from on-line, and kept it growing through winter. It kept growing as well, but it began showing dormant signs around late september, but it still survived.

    Just keep your plant outside, remember, do it gradually.. begin giving them light with flourecent lights for 16 hours daily.. then after 2 weeks, move them outside. good luck

  • thebonsaimarket
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Yes i bought them from Equilibrio but on ebay. I don't think they are dormant, some traps are short and another plant has very small traps, so far thay have shown no sign of growing, im guessing cause its too soon to tell. I read on Equilibrio's site that if you recive it in the fall to put it in the refridgertor till spring, but other people tell me not to force it into dormancy, this whole thing is so confusing, everybody says somthing different you don't know what to actually do.

  • xymox
    17 years ago

    oh!. the reason why they tell you to store them in the fridge is most likely because those flytraps they shipped you have been growing all growing season.. and now it's fall. That makes sense now.

    well what i would do is just pot the flytraps into peatmoss + perlite mix. keep the compost moist at all times and leave them outside in a bright location, even at nights, this way, your plants will acclimate on their own around their new surroundings.Yes, it's ok if your plants recieve some sunlight(atleast 2-3 hours in the beginning) so if they fall dormant outdoors then it will be a good thing. just do things slowly. dormancy is not only about temperature but about lighting as well. All plants decrease growth in nature due to shorter days, cooler nights. good luck.

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