I recently bought some Venus Fly Traps (VFTs) and a mixed assortment of carnivorous plants. I received two normal (but double) VFTs, a (double) dente VFT, and a (double) green dragon VFT. Two pitcher plants (I guess the nepenthes was unavailable), a butterwort, and a sundew round out the collection.
For some reason, three little–tiny–VFTs sprouted alongside one of the normal VFTs, the dente, and the green dragon. So small, I only found them as I was transplanting them all into a larger pot. Therefore, I got three bonus plants–so long as I can keep the little buggers alive. The mister really helps there. Pouring water on them is like the great flood. Did I mention how small these are? Strangely, to me, they form little traps no bigger than the tip of a ballpoint pen.
Some background–very brief. I killed several VFTs as a child. I watered them and fed them things like hamburger (the instructions said!). Anyway, they all died quickly.
I’ve learned many things about VFTs and carnivorous plants generally. The internetisgreat. Some vital bits:
Use distilled water only.
CPs only eat bugs. NO PLANT FOOD.
The soil–never allowed to dry completely out–must consist of a peat, perlite mixture.
So far, following these ?simple? rules,* they have thrived. The hot Florida sun seems to be agreeable to them. The experts differ on that.
The last couple nights I’ve actually turned on the porch light and stalked bugs to feed my preciou…plants.
Anyone else get hooked on these things?
*Butterworts need more humidity and are less heat tolerant. I’ve been doting on that one–and it lives in the shade.
Oooh, very cool, Beagle. I’m sorry that I didn’t look into this thread earlier. The links you provided taught me a new thing or two. Thanks for sharing!
I bought a VFT this summer at the beach for fun, and have watched its progress with glee. It’s the first one I’ve ever had, and is quite a novelty among my family and friends. I was surprised to learn that the VFT is native to my parts. It seems so exotic!
MY VFT is sitting out in the sun by my driveway as we speak. It has suffered a setback or two, I am sad to say. I had taken it inside during the coldest part of winter, and one of my cat had bitten several of its traps completely off! I felt so negligent. However, it has bounced back and grown many new traps that seem to be doing well.
I noticed a frustrating phenomenon right after I brought the plant home. The VFT kept catching Daddy Longlegs spiders. At first this was hilarious, though the twitching legs were a little gruesome. It was soon apparent, however, that the spiders were FAR too big for the VFT to digest. The trap would be so overwhelmed that it would turn black and die. I thought that after the first time, the VFT would learn but I was proven wrong. Every night for a week, I pulled an unhappy, still-struggling Daddy Longlegs out of a new trap. Finally, it stopped. I haven’t seen the VFT try to eat anything larger than itself in a long time.
Do you have a terranium or aquarium around your VFTs, to help with humidity? I’d never thought of that or heard of it until reading the sites that you found.
And where would I be able to find sphagnum peat moss? I’m considering transferring mine to a bigger pot. (It’s currently in the container that I purchased it in: a 3 in. deep and 3 in. wide bowl. It’s got 4 or 5 young, growing traps, with about four older, more sickly winter-grown traps beneath them, and several new ones on the way. It is set in a 6 in. by 1.5 in. bowl of distilled water/rainwater.) What are yours in?
In an amusing reversal of fortune, something ate the tops of my Cobra Lily yesterday - perhaps it was a large, mutant fly, out to avenge its lost brothers?
Searching for Truth, you can get spaghnum moss at any half-decent garden centre.
Instead of a terranium, you can use an (automatic) mister (eg, one o’ of them ultrasonic jobbies. Drop in water. Attach to timer. Sorted). Terraniums seem a bit rubbish to me … after all, how can the plant eat any bugs if it’s encased in a mini-greenhouse?
That bugged (sorry) me also. Check out these FAQs. That’s a good site.
One thing to know, the traps only open and close about a half dozen times before they die anyway. Therefore, traps will blacken and die all the time, moreso if they eat a big bug, are ‘tricked,’ or miss, whatever.
Terrariums I keep all the VFTs in one big pot with a tray. I mist them whenever I think about it. Distilled water bills may add up unless it rains soon. So far fingers crossed the humidity seems to be OK. Note: I live in Florida.
The automatic mister sounds like it is in my future. Thanks, BT. Love your music.
I’ve bought stuff from Petflytrap.com, and I’ve found that their messageboards are very good, and the mods there are the best for advice. I’ve kept several flytraps, and all of the ones in terrariums are dead now, so I don’t reccomend that, and I do reccomend feeding them small crickets from the petstore. I usually put the crickets in the fridge to slow them down so I have less trouble putting them in the trap. Let us know how things go with your new plants Beagle!
Better keep an eye on them–when they get a bit older, they may log on and start Star Trek threads.
Seriously, I always had trouble keeping flytraps alive when I was a lad. I’d probably have better luck now, with better information available, but my new environs are rather less bug-infested; I’m not sure what I’d feed them.
Haven’t been to their current location, but I have bought a few things from them at the old one. Neat place. And the owners book, The Savage Garden, is pretty decent.
The butterwort would yell, “It’s too hot to live!” Unfortunately for the butterwort, it’s too dry inside. I’d stick with pitcher plants, sundews (maybe, still looking good), and VFTs in hotter climes. Any plant that is heat sensitive just is not a candidate for Florida.
I should note, I have all these plants under a pergola/arbor. The most Florida sun each one gets is partial. I’ve tried to shade off the mid-afternoon sun entirely. Still, the sundew, pitcher, and VFTs are all turning very red, indicating they are getting plenty of, if not too much, light. Florida traditionally has a way of putting the “full sun” designation to the test.
Another interesting link. WARNING: MUSIC. Remember Twin Peaks?
