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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Carnivorous Plants

I thought I posted pics of how I am growing these things. The seeds were covered with a plastic lid, so yes, 100% humidity. Once I put them in the mini-bog tubs, they are open to the air and the humidity is whatever it is outside. We've got a cold snap coming through with a forecast low of around 20 degrees Tuesday night, so not sure how they are all going to fare. I might have to throw something over top of them. Last Winter I didn't cover them at all and they all fared well, but the Winter was pretty mild even for north Florida. But not sure how the baby plants would fare with this sudden VERY cold night coming on. The plants just haven't had a chance to harden off naturally to the cold.

As for substrate, 50% sand and 50% peat moss seems to work well. Just make sure you get peat moss that doesn't have fertilizer additives included. A lot of people will recommend perlite instead of sand, but I just don't like that stuff. Oh yeah, ONLY use distilled or rain water. Water from your household tap will likely be death to these plants. The VFTs seem to like the substrate moist but not wet. I think that if you err, err on the side of being slightly dry than slightly wet.

Just remember that these are NOT tropical plants. They are naturally found in the coastal Carolinas right at the North Carolina and South Carolina border. So treat them as such and you should be fine.
 
It took about a month for my VFT seeds to start sprouting. But that is going to be dependent on soil temperatures, I would imagine.
 
Spring appears to be sproinging..... :) Here are the sundews bouncing back...

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And the venus flytraps likewise coming to life...

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BTW, you can also see the pollen season is starting to kick into high gear around here.... :(
 
Thanks! It looks like nearly all of the baby VFTs I raised from seed last year are still doing really well. In one of the pics above there is one of those babies that just seems to be HUGE compared to all the others. Maybe that one will grow large enough to be able to catch squirrels for me. :hehe:
 
I actually remember seeing the dew plants here in Delaware years ago around a sandpit turned into a pond, ( i may have to see if i can find any later in spring if i get enough time lol.) I seen the VFt seed kits in store as kid projects i may have to get one and try it out ( wonder if would be good to caught the little nats the gliders food seems to attract.
 
Sundews can be very common in local areas. I remember when we used to go up into the New Jersey pine barrens that the thread style sundews were very common in spots. I think the sundews would actually be better for catching gnats than the venus flytraps would be. If you can't find them locally in a place where you can legally collect seeds or plants, you can find as many as you want very cheaply on Ebay. I have read that sundew seeds can remain viable for as long as 50 years. Venus flytrap seeds, not nearly as much.
 
More photos!!

Yeah, I know, most of you are probably really not interested in these things, but I'm really enjoying growing them and watching the traps develop. There has been some substantial growth just since the last batch of photos.

First off, I have a strange one that developed. I thought one of the smaller VFTs was putting out a pretty big flower stalk really early, but it just looked really strange. Then it started to unfold leaves. And some of those leaves developed traps on them. More and more of them all the time at the top of that stalk. Well, I'm a newbie at this, so maybe it's just normal, but I've never seen any photos of a VFT developing in this way. :shrug01:

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Looking good, having recently relocated to an area more amenable to growing these things I suspect I will be starting some seeds soon.
 
Gordon c. Snelling said:
Looking good, having recently relocated to an area more amenable to growing these things I suspect I will be starting some seeds soon.
Click to expand...

The VFTs seem to be VERY easy to grow from seed. Just try to get fresh ones, as from what I have read, they apparently lose viability pretty rapidly.
 
The Venus Fly Traps started blooming a couple of days ago. The sundews have already been going nuts putting out flowers.

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Venus fly traps are beginning to flower in earnest now.

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Another one of the venus fly traps is doing something weird this year. This one is growing some traps right on the side of it's flower stalk...

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Not sure I'm going to get many, if any seeds this year, though. It's been extremely dry here the past month, and I may have let the bogs get a bit too dry. The plants look OK, but maybe more water was needed to develop the seeds. What should be seed pods are just turning brown and looking dried up. Oh well, live and learn....
 
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