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Took it upon myself to carefully track detailed information on how Venus Fly Traps grow from seed as seedlings since it seemed like many do not grow from seed and little about their growth at those stages is documented (believe me, I spent hours trying to find info on this). The parameters are based on watering amount (I've made up my own metrics for this based on the amount and different methods of watering per week), # of traps (.5 meaning a trap is either dying off or ailing), height, and width. This may not be typical for all, but you can find individual plant data as well as their corresponding charts for growth attached. As you can see, some have had a hard time this winter, though a few are showing signs of shaping up while some may simply not bounce back (which I've heard could occur... however you can see my growing conditions and more details on that in my other post here if you have any advice: https://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/61263-vft-mystery/&tab=comments#comment-403981). I didn't begin tracking until they were 4 months old; but I have more seeds on the way, and I will be sure to do the same for those from the start. If you have Excel, please don't hesitate to use the spreadsheets, as well, to input your own data and parameters. The pdf's are for those who don't but wish to view and do a side-by-side comparison if you so wish. Feel free to let me know of any thoughts or feedback - and enjoy! VFT #1 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #1 Growth Data.pdf VFT #1 Growth.xlsx VFT #2 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #2 Growth Data.pdf VFT #2 Growth.xlsx VFT #3 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #3 Growth Data.pdf VFT #3 Growth.xlsx VFT #4 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #4 Growth Data.pdf VFT #4 Growth.xlsx VFT #5 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #5 Growth Data.pdf VFT #5 Growth.xlsx VFT #6 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #6 Growth Data.pdf VFT #6 Growth.xlsx VFT #7 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #7 Growth Data.pdf VFT #7 Growth.xlsx VFT #8 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #8 Growth Data.pdf VFT #8 Growth.xlsx VFT #9 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #9 Growth Data.pdf VFT #9 Growth.xlsx VFT #10 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #10 Growth Data.pdf VFT #10 Growth.xlsx VFT #11 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #11 Growth Data.pdf VFT #11 Growth.xlsx VFT #12 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #12 Growth Data.pdf VFT #12 Growth.xlsx VFT #13 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #13 Growth Data.pdf VFT #13 Growth.xlsx VFT #14 Growth Chart.pdf VFT #14 Growth Data.pdf VFT #14 Growth.xlsx

Greetings all, Starting again on this forum like a few others are (unfortunately all of my posts & my account were gone, but we're moving onward!) I hope everyone gets back on their feet alright after the data loss upset. However, I have perused and perused posts for hours trying to figure this out... So, before I get to the mystery itself I will let you know the conditions which my VFT's are currently experiencing: I have about 12 VFT's grown from seed. They are 8 months old and about only 4 mm tall/wide, but some with anywhere between a few and up to 15 traps on each plant. They are planted in a large, wide tray with glass walls, insulated around the outside where the soil is with cardboard, and a ventilated / half-open top. The medium is 8-10 inches (20-25 cm) deep of 60/40 peat moss and black silica sand with a loose gravel bottom layer. They are "injected" (I simply use a needle-less syringe / eye dropper tool to squeeze water near each plant) about once a week and occasionally top watered with a spray bottle every now and then in between injections. The soil is typically moist and very rarely completely dries out before I water again, but just enough. Temperatures are kept at about 76 - 78 degrees F (approx. 24 - 26 C) when the lights are on, and about 74 - 76 degrees F (approx. 23 - 24 C) at night when the lights are off. They receive 16 hours a day of artificial light from 2 long T8 Full Spectrum FloraMax fluorescent lights that are about 8 inches (20 cm) away from the plants as well as at least a few hours a day of sunlight (as long as it is not terribly cloudy) through the glass door they stand beside. For outdoor temp zone reference, I live in Indiana, USA. SO, here is the mystery: I have a few plants that simply have wanted to give up in the last several weeks, specifically once it got colder, with many traps just turning black on an every-other-day basis at times for some plants. Yet, they are right next to plants that are thriving and doing fantastically! For instance, I had 2 plants that are planted not but 1.5 inches (4 cm) apart, and one is doing amazing (very green) with over a dozen traps on it - but its direct neighbor who up until recently had just as many traps looks wilted and has had its traps almost all go black in a matter of a very short time (about 1-2 weeks for this one.) There are others in the same environment but doing the same thing - near very well-performing plants but have been struggling like none other for some reason since winter cold, and I can't figure it out... Why would some be doing so very well, but others next to those ones be ailing and not creating new growth as old growth dies off? Could it be that the medium needs refreshed, they're trying to go into dormancy for some reason, competition or simple natural selection, change in closeness/amount of light, or is it the fact that they had been eating some aphids in the late summer/fall before I took care of the issue and they haven't eaten since (or ate too often before to help the newer growth thrive?) It seems so complex to me, and I keep reading differing opinions on what this could mean... Any help and feedback would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Like the prodigal son I return the the place it all started to throw myself on the wisdom of my betters. My D. capensis are looking very sorry for themselves, I have tried flushing the media through with clean water, I have changed the media, I have moved some to other brighter locations but no matter what I do all new growth comes up looking... odd (see images) even in the growth stage you can see it is going to come up odd and then I get this pointed formation that browns and dies back. I have in the same pots a few that are not showing this odd formation. I let them grow for a bit as I know they can do strange things but all new growth for about 5 months has been like this. So does anyone know the reason behind this.

As I type this hail is battering at the window, Well it has been a little while since I added a page to my blog. My little plants are still doing well and feeding like mad but due to the low light levels growth has all but stopped. Each plant now has about eight leaves and two that have yet to unfurl. All in all the plants look like they have gone into a slow growth phase. I now see the importance of light for them, not that I don't know that all plants need light my ficus is also slumbering waiting for longer days but it does go to show that without light feeding of Drosera is little close to pointless. On the note of feeding one of my little seedlings has caught its first big prey, a fungus gnat. It is also the first time I have seen all of the tentacles come into contact with a trapped insect and the curl to engulf it. The leaf in question is only approximately two millimeters wide by four long and I am still having to observe any action with a magnifying lens. The dew on the seedlings comes and goes, some days it is heavy and visible with the naked eye, others it is only a very thin film over the glands only discernible with magnification. This has also let me see that the glands on the outer tentacles are on the side rather than on the top as in the ones closer to the middle of the leaf, I do not know if this is a trait of Drosera capensis and I will have to look into this. I have seen something the same in pygmy Drosera and labeled as 'snap tentacles' although the ones on the D. capensis do not show any faster movement than their counterparts. I wait like the plants for longer days so I can again see the rate of growth...

Getting bigger and feeding well... I have seen a slow down in the growth but I have this down to falling temps and light levels (still growing on windowsill). I just hope it doesn't get too clod for them but from what I have been told they are somewhat bomb proof. As you can see the little springtails have little chance, they are deep in the moss but from time to time must come up and get stuck in the tentacles.