Most of the flytraps are putting out flowers now. Hopefully I'll get some seeds to try my hand at growing them up.
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Carnivorous Plants
- Thread starter Outcast
- Start date
Been trying my hand at growing some sundews from seeds I bought off of Ebay. Looks like my Drosera regia is starting to sprout!
Gordon c. Snelling
New member
Excellent, one of my favorite species.
LauraB
CLOSED ACCOUNT
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.
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.
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.
Celtic Constrictors
New member
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.
Celtic Constrictors
New member
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.
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.
Celtic Constrictors
New member
Awesome. Will do. Thanks Rich. Looks like I'm headed to The Deeper as my wife calls it.
Fly Trap seeds!!
I've got seeds!
Looks like I lost some during the rain that came through before I got home from being out of town, but at least they dropped into the bog tubs. So they aren't really lost, just that I was unable to collect them. I propped some of the flower/seed stalks up with some bamboo stakes that were leaning outside of the tubs, so good thing I did that. Otherwise those seeds would have been lost in the grass around the bog tubs.
I collected the rest and there are still a lot more to come. Looks like one of my smaller fly traps is putting out a late flower stalk, so I should have more, I guess, later on. Do they flower more than once a season?
The plants seem to have fared well through this stage, as they were all putting out new traps the entire time they were flowering and setting seed. Plus I was catching small grasshoppers out of Connie's garden to feed them, so I guess that helped. Sure wish they would catch yellow flies! They would have had bulging bellies this year.
Now I just have to set up some of the seeds to try to grow them and see how that goes. Should be pretty neat to see little tiny venus fly traps growing up if I'm successful getting them to sprout.
I've got seeds!
Looks like I lost some during the rain that came through before I got home from being out of town, but at least they dropped into the bog tubs. So they aren't really lost, just that I was unable to collect them. I propped some of the flower/seed stalks up with some bamboo stakes that were leaning outside of the tubs, so good thing I did that. Otherwise those seeds would have been lost in the grass around the bog tubs.
I collected the rest and there are still a lot more to come. Looks like one of my smaller fly traps is putting out a late flower stalk, so I should have more, I guess, later on. Do they flower more than once a season?
The plants seem to have fared well through this stage, as they were all putting out new traps the entire time they were flowering and setting seed. Plus I was catching small grasshoppers out of Connie's garden to feed them, so I guess that helped. Sure wish they would catch yellow flies! They would have had bulging bellies this year.
Now I just have to set up some of the seeds to try to grow them and see how that goes. Should be pretty neat to see little tiny venus fly traps growing up if I'm successful getting them to sprout.
The seeds from my venus flytraps are beginning to sprout!
Looks like some of my sundews (burmani) are coming along too. Still small as all get out, but at least they are alive.
Looks like some of my sundews (burmani) are coming along too. Still small as all get out, but at least they are alive.
Surprisingly enough, the venus fly trap seeds are nearly all sprouting. I decided to snatch some pics of them before Connie moved them into the two tubs with the other larger plants. I guess I may have to move some of them around and maybe set up more tubs when they get bigger. Hopefully they will do OK out there.... But I couldn't keep them where they were much longer as the sundews I set up seemed to succumb to mold. Figured I had better move these guys why they were still looking strong.
After putting the baby fly traps in the mini bogs, it looks like most of them are doing fine and making little traps to catch their own meals.
And of course I took some pics of the older fly traps while I had the camera in hand..... 
Celtic Constrictors
New member
Very nice work! Thanks for sharing the progress. I've never actually seen them grown from seeds before.
MassModz
New member
Got any extra seeds to send?
Sorry, but I planted them all. From what I have read, the seeds don't stay viable for very long anyway.
Not sure how the small plants are doing because lately I have had cattle that escaped from the neighbor walk through one of my mini bog tubs and nibble on the flytraps, and then recently had something (probably small armadillos) partially get through the fencing I put around the mini bogs and dug around the perimeter. Obviously I'm not real happy about the wildlife around here lately....
Not sure how things are going to be looking when Spring comes around.
MassModz
New member
Damn, sounds like a Greek tragedy I'm sorry to hear that :/
Were you growing then in containers with 100% humidity? Also, can you tell me what you use for substrate and percentages for each? I'd be greatful for that info
Were you growing then in containers with 100% humidity? Also, can you tell me what you use for substrate and percentages for each? I'd be greatful for that info