10 replies to this topic

[bugmuncher]

hi guys i have just been to my local garden centre and they had just had a delivery of plants so me being as nosey as i am i had to have a look to see what they had, i noticed a tray of venus fly traps so picked the nicest one , while i was on my way back to the car i stupidly dropped it and all of the traps closed. will it be ok or have i just killed it?
cheers
dave

[0rmus]

It should be fine. The traps will reopen in less than 24hours. Just make sure the rhizome *the white bulb at the base of the plant* is burried.

[bugmuncher]

as soon as i got it home i tidied it up a bit and put the compost back in the pot so the rhizome is covered. glad it should be ok i was a bit worried that i had killed it as i have read that triggering the traps without food in them can kill them

[0rmus]

Triggering the traps expends energy in that individual trap.  I think I read that one trap can close and reopen on average 4 times before dieing off *don't quote me on that*.  So yeah it’s not a good idea to trigger the traps needlessly and repeated triggering will cause the trap to die off early.

Triggering traps doesn’t kill your plant but early death of the traps and leaves will mean less photosynthesis and less chance to convert insects into nitrates which will stunt your plant.

I've dropped my VFTs before, other than a few dented and closed traps they were fine.

[bugmuncher]

ok thanks for the info. there was a few scruffy looking traps so i removed the leaf and popped them into a pot of damp sphagnum moss, what are the chances of these producing new plants, do i need to cover the pot or should i leave it open to get air to it and avoid the chance of fungus?
thanks
dave

[alexa]

Tbh, the chance are pretty low. You take leaf cuttings you need to get as much of the lower part (the white bits of the bulb) of the trap as possible, then do as you say, raise the humidity. Its worth a try though, and good luck.

Cheers
Alex.

[mantrid]

bugmuncher, on 15 June 2012 - 17:44 PM, said:

ok thanks for the info. there was a few scruffy looking traps so i removed the leaf and popped them into a pot of damp sphagnum moss, what are the chances of these producing new plants, do i need to cover the pot or should i leave it open to get air to it and avoid the chance of fungus?
thanks
dave

Ensure the leaves have some white tissue from the rhizome at the bottom otherwise you could have a long wait.

The live sphagnum makes acid and has an antifungal/bacterial property that will protect your leaves

[0rmus]

I can't give you exact odds on ur pullings success. I can tell you that the healthier the plant and the leaf is, the more likely it is to form callus and that its not recommend to use older leaves for pullings.

High humidity helps with cuttings and pullings so yeh, cover the pots in cling film or something to keep the humidity high.  Give it as much light as you can so speed up the process.  It can take as little as two weeks and aslong as two months for a callus to form.

Good Luck!

[bugmuncher]

thanks for the tips guys , i dont think it will work as i just snipped off the leaves that didnt look too tidy and didnt get any of the white part of the rhizome , i might just leave them in the shed and see if anything happens and maybe try again sometime soon
thanks again
dave

[mantrid]

bugmuncher, on 15 June 2012 - 18:21 PM, said:

thanks for the tips guys , i dont think it will work as i just snipped off the leaves that didnt look too tidy and didnt get any of the white part of the rhizome , i might just leave them in the shed and see if anything happens and maybe try again sometime soon
thanks again
dave

All is not lost. Go back to the plant and locate the leaves you trimmed and gently pull them downwards (you may need to move some of the soil out of the way) until they break off. Put these in the sphagnum with the white bits buried and the green bit laying on the surface and throw the others away.

About clingfim - be careful with covering plants without ventilation and putting in direct sunlight as they are likely to cook. It isnt necessary anyway in live sphagnum that is kept moist as there will be a very humid microclimate in and around the moss and your leaf pullings will be mostly buried in it

Edited by mantrid, 15 June 2012 - 18:58 PM.

[0rmus]

i didn't realise you just snipped a bit of leaf off. As alexa mentioned, when taking a pulling, the leaf needs to be pulled or peeled from the rhizome, getting as much of the white bit at the base of the leaf as you can.  Theres still a chance you will get a strike all be it a rather slim one. I also heard using clonex helps but many have great success without.