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FlytrapRanch

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Everything posted by FlytrapRanch

  1. That is a beautiful Venus Flytrap and a beautiful photo. Thank you for posting it.
  2. This has been a very interesting discussion to review. I had no idea that there is one or more fake Dracula clones being distributed, and the one I grew, which I commented on in the second post in this thread, was evidently one of the fakes. Its leaves were more upright and thin than the Dracula in Trev's photos. And Trev, your photos of Dracula are stunning, really beautiful.
  3. Another photo taken several days later of the same trap and trigger hairs, after the trigger hairs were tripped to see if the trap would close (it did, very quickly) and the trap reopened.
  4. Some are, some aren't, and some have one or two trigger hairs that are like that, or a less extreme version of that.
  5. FlytrapRanch

    B52?

    No, the seeds will all be genetically different from their B52 parent, and genetically different from each other. Each seedling will be genetically unique. Yes, you need to obtain a clone or a division from a B52 to have a B52 (or any other named Venus Flytrap clone). None of the seedlings will be B52, and all of them will be "typicals." However, one or more of those "typicals" might mature into a plant that seems special in some way, and at that point you could name it and propagate it by divisions and/or cloning for further distribution under the name you give it.
  6. I swear Venus Flytraps just go out of their way to be different sometimes.
  7. Thanks, Matt. I had heard that Alien, as incredible as it looks, had a little difficulty closing the traps.
  8. Matt (or anyone else who grows Alien)-- Can Alien capture its own prey? Are the traps fully functional?
  9. Yes, a very nice-looking plant. Thanks for posting the photo, Matt.
  10. Short-toothed Venus Flytraps often have thinner, longer teeth (marginal spines) when they are young, and develop the "dentate" characteristics as they mature. Regarding Dracula, the coloration that the plant is sought for, made famous by a few very nice photos, can be as capricious as it is for so many other Venus Flytraps. I have grown Dracula and UK Sawtooth II of approximately the same level of development and maturity, side by side in identical (and controlled) lighting and conditions, and the UK Sawtooth II ended up looking more like Dracula (the ideal version in the photos) than Dracula itself. Edited and added weeks later-- My comments in this post may be inappropriate, as I was possibly (perhaps likely) growing a Venus Flytrap that was not a genetically identical clone of the original plant, but another plant with some visibly different characteristics that was distributed under the same name.
  11. But it does alter its fate. --And to die after flowering and seeding, like many plants. Fortunately, Venus Flytraps also reproduce themselves asexually (like many plants), concurrent with (or even before) their flowering and seeding, so their genetic legacy continues.
  12. Certainly from a genetic point of view the UK Sawtooth II Venus Flytraps I have growing outside my home in New Mexico, US, and any UK Sawtooth II plants that you may care for, may be considered as the same plant despite different locations and growing conditions, although any one of these plants (or rather, divisions of the same plant) can suffer the same fate as the Venus Flytrap in the original post of the discussion. I personally think that the combined stress from several factors, including flowering and seeding, caused the plant's death, but that's just a guess of course.
  13. A Dionaea rosette often seems more like a biennial to me, growing one year and then usually flowering, setting seed and dying the next, but like many plants, even though the parent plant tissue dies the divisions or bulbs or other types of asexual plant reproduction cause the plant to persist. Flowering and setting seed, which use substantial resources of the plant, could lead to the death of the plant if a rosette is already suffering stress from other causes (insects, fungi, bacteria, low light but too much water, for example) so that the plant has few resources left to produce divisions or is already succumbing to whatever's causing the additional stress. Just one view.
  14. Be sure to desalinate the coir thoroughly first-- http://www.venusflytrap.info/gloss-coir.html Coir is not ideal for germinating and growing Venus Flytrap seedlings, because of its physical properties-- http://www.venusflyt...-from-seed.html (see note under "what type of soil in that article?") A general germination guide (each grower has his own technique or variations) is at the webpage above. Good luck.
  15. In my own experience, Big Mouth was a nice, large trapped plant, but its size was exceeded both by Low Giant (still my favorite large-trapped clone, but the original Low Giant, not the different clone that began distribution in Europe under the same name and then spread elsewhere, which I have also grown) and B52, which is not nearly as colorful as often as the other two, although its traps can be slightly larger in size than those of Low Giant. That said, there are certain years or long spans of months when B52 can look very ordinary, in cultural conditions that are not very favorable to any Venus Flytrap, if the pot is crowded with too many divisions and the rhizomes are having difficulty growing to full size, etc.
  16. Regarding the white substance, it makes me want to ask the question about how you water your plants. If you always water from the bottom and never flush the pots from the top to leach out dissolved material (minerals, tannins from the sphagnum moss, etc.) then regardless of how "soft" your tap water is, minerals and other solubles will slowly accumulate, and although your plant looks very healthy now, such a buildup could make the plant suddenly take a turn for the worse at some point in the future. Venus Flytraps often look healthy even in stressful situations, until the stress becomes too much and the plant appears to "give up." Anyway, very nice looking plant. Thanks for posting.
  17. You might try growing the Venus Flytraps not so wet, allowing them to dry until just moist (not excessively moist) between waterings. This type of regimen, with plenty of fresh air, can greatly help to discourage mold.
  18. Venus Flytrap seedlings, though tiny, are not particularly sensitive to being transplanted and not harmed by being transplanted shortly after germination. One could argue that it might be better to transplant them at a young age, rather than when their first root or two have become long enough to potentially be damaged by doing so. I sometimes transplant Dionaea seedlings just days or weeks after germination, but if not, I often wait a year before doing so, and because the roots are developed by that time, I don't dig the young plants from their community pot, but rather take out sections of the soil and soak it in water, allowing the soil to drop away from the plants, so that I can gently rinse the plants before transplanting. Good luck. Have fun.
  19. In direct sunlight, translucent or clear glass might cause a lot of heat to accumulate around the rhizome, potentially baking it (in my own arid, high-altitude-sun climate, that's seems like almost a certainty). Making a potting mix that has plenty of air and is well drained, but opaque, might work better. However, if you do try the experiment, please let everyone know what the results are as you become aware of them; it's an interesting idea--
  20. A goal for Venus Flytrap dormancy would be to keep the plants cooler but not freezing, drier than in summer but not completely dry. Fungus and bacteria that thrive in cold, wet conditions or anaerobic (airless or water saturated) conditions are often more destructive than those that prefer warmer, moist conditions. Although the electric incandescent light bulb idea is a good one for generating some heat and has been used successfully by many people for a large variety of plants, to protect them from freezing, an electric heat tape might be a better idea, especially if one can imagine water coming into contact with the open contacts between an electric bulb and the socket it's placed in. Be sure to open the area to fresh air on days that are relatively warm during dormancy, for a change of air, the fresh air replacing the fungal-spore-laden air inside. :)
  21. Beautiful Venus Flytraps! They look very healthy and happy. Thanks for posting such a nice photo.
  22. I'm hopeful that the local authorities in Wilmington, North Carolina and vicinity, and throughout the small Venus Flytrap natural habitat, will install security like night-vision cameras. I suggested in the comments at one of the news-item webpages that they really need only use heightened security for a few weeks each year, that's all, during the flowering phase of the Venus Flytrap seed-setting process. It is the flowerstalks, topped with their bright white flowers, that are like flags to poachers. Most times of the year the Venus Flytraps, growing low to the ground amid higher growing grass and other plants, are hard to spot. So if the authorities could simply concentrate their security measures during the 4 or 5 weeks of active flowering each year, they could probably catch or at least get surveillance images for the majority of poachers.
  23. Venus Flytrap flowering season is a prime season for poachers who want to steal the plants from their natural habitat. Over the Memorial Day weekend in May, 2013, more than 1000 Venus Flytraps were stolen from the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden in North Carolina, U.S. This is Venus Flytrap flowering season, and the bright white flowers make the Venus Flytraps easy to spot. Links to news stories about this poaching-- More than 1000 Rare Venus Flytraps Stolen Daughter of Carnivorous Plant Park Gardener Reacts to Venus Flytrap Theft Flytrap Thieves Steal Rare and Special North Carolina Plants For those in the U.S. and Canada, please keep your eyes open for anyone selling Venus Flytraps that doesn't seem like a long-term, reputable dealer. Whoever stole these natural-growing Venus Flytraps is going to want to sell them, so be alert to suspicious dealers at Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist, etc., and if you see something suspicious, Stanley Rehder's daughter, Julie Rehder, has asked to be notified. She'll help local police authorities in and around Wilmington, North Carolina, in the heart of the Venus Flytrap's very limited natural habitat, to try to catch this thief or thieves. Julie Rehder Wilmington, NC [email protected] Anyone with information about the stolen plants is asked to call the Wilmington, North Carolina Police Department's non-emergency line at (910) 343-3600 or send an anonymous text at: TIP708 and the message to CRIMES (274637). --- Here is a quote from an email I received from Julie this morning (Saturday, June 1, 2013, to Steve Doonan, Flytrap Ranch, New Mexico US)
  24. In most climates the perlite will dry very quickly, and I'm guessing it won't wick water from the bottom by capillary action nearly as good as sphagnum peat moss. A pure perlite medium will be very light, and unless the containers are heavy (not plastic) they may be subject to easily blow over in moderate to strong wind; if that happens, the perlite will be inclined to spill out. The perlite will also be inclined to splash out of the container in rain and wash away. It may tend to move a lot when watered from above, exposing parts of the rhizome or roots. Just a few potential issues.
  25. In my opinion, you were told wrong. Although Venus Flytraps can be grown in pure sphagnum peat moss in certain climates, conditions and under certain care regimens, it can be problematic. The medium in your plants' pots is too dense and too wet. Pure sphagnum peat moss tends to hold too much water for too long, not drying out fast enough, especially in humid climates, and sphagnum peat moss will compact over time and can cause anaerobic conditions in the soil when it's wet that can easily promote destructive bacterial and fungal rot. Adding sand or perlite (or other inert, insoluble material such as plastic foam pellets) to the growing medium displaces some of the sphagnum, allowing the medium to dry more quickly; adding that other material to the spagnum also introduces air into the medium, helping to avoid destructive anaerobic conditions. The surface of the medium, if too wet for too long, can host growths of mold that can attack one of the Venus Flytrap's most vulnerable areas, the growing point in the center of the rosette from which very tender new young leaves sprout. Keeping this growing crown dry while watering the surrounding soil helps, as does allowing the surface of the soil to become fairly dry. Pure sphagnum peat however tends to wick water all the way to the top, sometimes making it hard to allow the surface to be dry while allewing sufficient water to the root zone below the rhizome. Growing Venus Flytraps with too much water but not enough light and air movement can exascerbate the problems with fungal or bacterial infection. In cases of too much water and too little light, the leaves can grow thin, weak and spindly, more susceptible to infection. I don't know whether it would be helpful, but there is a section on growing medium (soil) and problems, including fungal and bacterial problems, at VenusFlytrap.info-- http://www.venusflyt...traps_soil.html http://www.venusflyt...d-problems.html
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