a few questions on my VFT
 

hey guys just wanna sk a few questions.

these few days, its been raining heavily and theres not much sunlight, perhaps only about 2 hours of sunlight a day. is it still okay to leave my VFT with the water tray outside in the rain? im worried of root rot.

another thing, how come when i water the vft, when water touches the traps, it closes?!

btw, how often do you malaysian VFT owners water your VFTs?

im sorry for asking such peculiar questions but yeah. hope you guys can explain this :2thumbup::1thumbup:

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

Hi i have a VFT to i put them in a tray of water i use filtered water btw and i water them from the top around 2-3days or when the water inside the tray evaporates till theres nothing left.Which part of malaysia do u stay im from KL I wouldn't worry to much about the root rot just keep the water level about 1 or 1/2 of an inch above the bottom of the pot.Hope this helps

Ken

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

Hi Malowie,

I placed my VFTs outside all year round, they are OK with the rain. Water your plant only whenever the water in the tray is empty. When you add water, try not to water on the trap as the strong water flow may trigger the trap to close, that exhaust the plant.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

hi malowie,

first thing great to hear that you own VFt as well. not to worry leave your VFT outdoor with strong sunlight. But do remember moist the media all the time...

the trap will close if it sense something is move in the trap. What i suggest is use water tray method instead of pour the water to the plant.

Happy VFT+ ING~~~

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

I don't even water my VFT or put it in a water tray. I only water them when its very very hot. My sphagnum is very damp and it rains often. I just leave it outside.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

Hi Aaron,
Yes, your VFT will be OK outside without watering during rainy season, but that is very risky in hot days.
When sphagnum moss is damp, it gets wet very easily after watering, but if it is dry, it takes time to get damp/wet again, that can be normal for CPs gets toasted in hot days because normal watering may not be enough to wet the moss when the moss is dry. The worst thing is we thought we've already watered the plant but in fact, the water flew out thru the dry moss pretty fast, but the moss is still not thoroughly wet yet. It gets even worse in the next day if it's still a very hot day, end up you have a dried crispy VFT in your garden.
It's always safe to have a tray underneath your VFT (if you are growing it in pure sphagnum moss) because the water will be sucked up the sphagnum slowly after watering, and we don't have to worry about plants being toasted at all.
This was my experience with VFT growing in pure sphagnum moss. :smile:

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

im from PJ.. hehe. guess the climate is exactly the same.

thanks for sharing! btw, how many VFTs u have?

no wonder.... suddenly most of htem close at once. i was like :crying: wth?!

haha. anyway, thanks.

yup.. i use water tray now. hehe thanks! :2thumbup:

oic. which part of malaysia are you from since it rains often?

im nigel lah. now aaron. haha.

yeah. so far the VFT is doing okay during the rainy season. gosh, it rains everyday non stop!

i have heeded your advice by putting it in a water tray so as not to get it toasted! haha.

thank you !:2thumbup:

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

Rainy season here in Manila too, usually in late afternoon there is a big downpour, so when there is rain I am happy that I don't have to water the plants. I have newly acquired VFTs, and they are now thriving even with not so strong sunlight. They are in water tray as well just like the rest of the suggestions. I also collect rainwater in a big bucket and in very hot days, I just water the medium (dried sphagnum) just to make sure there is no overheating, but that is not so much concern during rainy season. Yes they do close if they get rained on directly, I am not too concerned with that myself. :)

TTFN
Arvin

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

Hi

I have actually only 1 VFT becoming a 2 soon my VFT is showing signs like its going to dormancy.I thought some VFT dont need dormancy????The leaves and traps are getting shorter but redder 0.0 it used to be pure green now it has reddish colouration in it.Last few weeks during july 2 weeks never rain oh siao,but this few days raining heavily almost everyday.

Ken

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

All vfts will eventually become dormant. Some may take up to 3 years for it to eventually exhaust itself due to no change of season.

As for me, I have about 40-50 vfts of 5 varieties so I hardly notice if one is going dormant. But yes, they do become dormant eventually.

next question : what to do when they become dormant ?

TS will have to reply as I have very bad experiences with dormancy procedures. But it mainly involves isolating the vft, clean up the bulb, keep it mostly dry & in a dark place for about 90 days. TS : correct me plse if i`m wrong.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

I agree all VFTs will eventually need to go into dormancy, sometimes forever (dead). In my opinion, though some varieties doesn't do it, the signs of dormancy is that the leaves are broader and they do not stand up but lie flat on the medium. But some varieties are like this all the time so be careful. Another giveaway I think is very very slow closing of the traps.

I am still unsucessful with my dormancy, I have had 2 VFTs die on me already. But that being said I now have approximately 20 VFTs of different varieties. The red color leaf and traps I think does not really show that it is going into dormancy, in fact I feel it shows that it is "happy".

TTFN
Arvin

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

Hi Tarence, I ignore my VFTs for their dormancy lately (lazy method), they do as well. But one must be very careful of the condition of the plant by keep checking on the dampness of the media.

I grew them in perlite & peat, I didn't sit them in water tray, the media is drier. So I don't have to worry about the root rot problem caused by the water logged.

For those who grew VFT in pure sphagnum moss, must remove the water tray during dormancy, keep them drier, place them in bright place without rain, water the plant when media is dry. If the media is real dry, you may place the tray back to let the water to suck up, remove the tray when it's done, let the water drains. Remember always keep the media DRIER. Keep this for at least two months.

Change the growing media with new one after two months, place the pot back in the original place (where you placed during dormancy) for two to three days, then transfer it to full sun. They will wake up by then.

For the lazy method I used, you may find the post here. :tongue:
https://forum.petpitcher.net/showthread.php?t=1006

Haha Arvin, two VFT died is consider "little" for us tropical growers, I lost many many plants before, then slowly gained some experience each time they die on me.

Ya, you are right, the red color leaf and trap is actually showing they are happy, normally they appeared very urgly when they go dormant.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

oh no.. then dont tell me i bought a VFT thats about to go into dormancy?!

the leaves are a bit short, and are growing lying on the ground. (its as if theres a big clump of them growing out)

but surprisingly, there are a lot of traps.

wait.. ill post pics soon so that VFT sifus here can help me..

please help me!!! lol haha. im new to VFTs.:2thumbup:

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

okay. is my vft going into dormancy? the leaves damn short lah..!

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...e/100_5772.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...e/100_5773.jpg

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

this is the variety with the short petioles. no, it is not going into dormancy.

test one trap to see if it shuts fast. it should.

it looks very healthy & dormancy-shy to me.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

ah ic!...

i thought it looked cute thats why i bought it..

do you think that there are at least a few plants inside it? when can i separate them?

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

it looks like a cluster of 4-5 plants. you can wash off all the medium. then you`ll see the white bulbs. each bulb is a diff vft plant. just snap them to separate & you`ll have your individual plants.

each bulb should have roots.

replant.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

Your VFTs are very happy, try expose to more sun to bring out the colour.
It really up to you to whether seperate them or not. If you seperate them now, then you will probably get many seperate plants, but a single plant will never look as nice. It takes years to grow to a clump like what it is now. I normally leave the pot alone until I change the potting media after dormancy unless you really want many plants. :2thumbup:

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

ah ic....

well, if the VFT was yours, what would you do? would it bebetter to replant or leave it as it is and wait for it to grow bigger then only replant?

im spoilt for choice now...

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

haha. thanks.

they in full sun, but these days, or perhaps since the time i got it, which was last week, its been raining heavily every single day and at maximum, theres only about 4 hours of sunlight a day.

yeah true. i thought they looked good clumped up as compared to the rest that were for sale.. they only had 2-3 plants.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

They look cute together.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

yeah. they look cute together right? but if i dont separate them they wont really grow so big..

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

Haha, other plants may not grow big if many plants are grown together due to insufficient of nutrients in the growing media and root spaces. But VFT is different, they don't get nutrients from the media but the prey they catch, and their roots are so little. Don't worry about the plants being retarded that caused by crowded plants, unless they are really too packed.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

I don't water my vft at all because it's been raining almost everyday!

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

me too!! It rains everyday.

Re: a few questions on my VFT
 

haha. one of you from johor, one of you from perak. me? selangor.. all experiencing rain everyday. monsoon ah?