Carnivorous Plants

Most of the flytraps are putting out flowers now. Hopefully I'll get some seeds to try my hand at growing them up.

Been trying my hand at growing some sundews from seeds I bought off of Ebay. Looks like my Drosera regia is starting to sprout!

Excellent, one of my favorite species.

Sundews and VFTs lookin' good, Rich!

Actually the flytraps are doing better than the sundews. I think the sundews like the soil a bit wetter than the flytraps like, so maybe I shouldn't be growing them together like I am doing. Maybe there is a compromise I can figure out over time, though, to make them both happy.

Been feeding the heck out of the flytraps! Catching grasshoppers and caterpillars from the garden and showing them what it is like for the "eaters" to be eaten. Lots of the traps are doing their own catching as well.

Just wish they would catch mosquitoes and yellow flies. Especially the yellow flies right now. Those suckers are being a real nuisance lately. Connie and I were putting up some replacement ceiling fans on the porch and Connie's job was pretty much to smack the flies as they bit chunks out of my legs while I'm putting up the fans. No fun at all...... But at least the mosquito magnets take care of a lot of them. Got three of them running right now. If the flytraps would eat them, I would put little bog areas all around the yard to take care of them.

Originally Posted by Gordon c. Snelling

Excellent, one of my favorite species.

Got any tips for me to successfully raise these guys up to large size?

I've read that a lot of people have trouble growing them from seed because they will lose the small plants to mold. So I'm now setting the containers out to catch the morning sun without the lid that has been holding in the humidity.

Also got some extremely small D. burmannii popping up. Man, those seeds were ridiculously small. The plants (and seeds) make the regia look gigantic in comparison. So I probably have more per container than I should have. I had to put the seed onto the soil by simply laying my finger on the dust like seeds and then just pressing the finger on the moist soil to hope the seeds came off where I wanted them. I tried to get photos of them but I just could not get my depth of field correct using my close-up filter lens to get the plants themselves into focus. Have to try again and try something different, I guess.

This thread has inspired me to try my hand at growing some carnivorous plants. Lord knows we have plenty of meaty juicy flies for them to munch on. Is VFT the hardiest plant for a beginner?

Originally Posted by Celtic Constrictors

This thread has inspired me to try my hand at growing some carnivorous plants. Lord knows we have plenty of meaty juicy flies for them to munch on. Is VFT the hardiest plant for a beginner?

Well, I'm certainly no expert, but I think a lot depends on where you live. Here in north Florida, I believe they will do just fine outside as long as I use distilled or rain water, and a medium that is a mixture of sand and peat moss. They overwintered just fine last Winter. In Oklahoma, you may have to do something different for the Winter months. Remember that these things are native to the coastal area of the North/South Carolina border, so bear that in mind concerning temps.

My fly traps appear to prefer a damp, but not wet, medium to grow in. But the tubs I am using are apparently holding water in the bottom layer to keep the upper levels damp to the touch right below the surface even in the hot direct sunlight. Last year I think I was keeping them too wet and they suffered because of it. When I drilled deeper drain holes in the tubs they bounced right back, apparently happier with the conditions now. Maybe just keeping the tips of the roots from the bulb fairly moist, almost wet, is helpful.

Personally I find them fascinating. Just something real interesting about plants that turn the tables and actively eat insects, I guess. Wish I had gotten some a LONG time ago.

Oh these would deffo be indoor plants. We are too prone to droughts. On the plus side, my wife and I will be retiring to a condo in North Carolina in another 20-30 years. Then we can keep them outdoors. What's a good source to buy VFT?

Last year I got an order of several flytraps and a couple of sundews from http://www.petflytrap.com/StoreFront.bok. They all showed up in excellent shape and the packing was done very well to protect them. I would definitely order from them again.

But heck, I've bought some from Home Depot when they get in a fresh Spring shipment and they all have done fine for me. You just have to get them before the store kills them from neglect.

You can get them shipped bare root, and they will normally do just fine when you set them up. I bought a batch of about a dozen small traps off of Ebay that are a deep burgundy color that were all packed together bare root and they all are still thriving just fine.

Oh, these guys seem to really need some full sun, so bear that in mind growing them indoors. Most of the ones I got were apparently grown in a greenhouse, and got kicked back pretty hard when put in full sun right away. But the new growth came back, and apparently hardened off to protect from full sunlight and they are doing just fine even in this burning hot north Florida sunlight. Apparently the old growth does not become acclimated to increased sunlight, but the new growth does when it forms.

BTW, looks like some of the shops selling these critters are real low on stock and some sold out completely. But just get some generic forms and do your learning curve with them instead of the more exotic and expensive varieties that are sometimes available.