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

[kentosaurs]

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

[TS]

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.

[edmund83]

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~~~

[plantlover]

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.

[TS]

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.

Originally Posted by kentosaurs

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

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

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

Originally Posted by TS

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.

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

haha. anyway, thanks.

Originally Posted by edmund83

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~~~

yup.. i use water tray now. hehe thanks!

Originally Posted by plantlover

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.

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

Originally Posted by TS

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.

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 !

[arvin555]

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

[kentosaurs]

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

[Tarence]

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.