What should I do first?

[heiditan]

Hi everyone!

I just got my first VFT yesterday. I'm still very new to this and have been reading up on how to take care of it. Just need some pointers as what I should do first.

I know VFTs love sunlight but since it's new, should I leave my VFT in a shaded part of my house outdoors and expose it to direct sunlight a few hours a day? (I'm staying in a terrace house btw.) I did that this morning, around 10am I placed the pot under direct sunlight and after 3hours I moved it back to a shaded place cos I was worried.

And since I'm still new to this, I've been reading up on the whole dormant thingy and I'm still not sure (inexperience to be precise) on how to tell if my VFT is going dormant. Would be nice if someone could help me out since I really don't want to make mistakes and stress it out even more. Thanks in advance!

[tzestan]

When I got my first plant, I left it next to a hibiscus plant so that it got about 50% shaded direct sunlight from 11.30am-5.30pm. After a month without seeing burnt leaves, it is now completely unshaded.

In partial shade, the traps are all green. In full sun, it turns red, which looks much better.

This should give you a reference on how to gradually introduce to full sun without negative effects. Many people said that putting the plant in direct sunlight immediately may burn the leaves, but won't kill. Need to make sure the soil never dry. It will put out new leaves. I understand you do not want to take the risk. Gradual exposure is good idea.

By the way, I don't think your plant needs dormancy yet.

[heiditan]

Thanks for the info tzestan!!! :D
(Especially on the whole dormancy thing...since I'm most confused about that.)

Awesome, I'll do the whole gradual exposure to sunlight for the first month then put it out in direct sunlight once it's acclimated.

[arvin555]

If we had a poll about VFTs all over the net, I think the really biggest and top most frequently asked question for new VFT keepers is about Dormancy. At least those who know their stuff and is beyond.. can I feed it meat? Or will it bite me?

After a few years of keeping them, Heck I am still confused with it. I have openly admitted that now I keep VFTs like Annuals, if they die after a year, I accept it... of course I still hope that I can find a way to beat or go with the flow with this dormancy thing.

All I know is that the VFT is not happy when it is very slow to close already, in fact at the point you are in a bit of trouble already. I have so far only experimented with 1 Bulb in the Ref for dormancy, nothing yet coz it's just there 1 month. Anyways search this forum for VFT Dormancy, you will be filled with so many info, you will go crazy. for us in tropical countries, the alternatives are to do dry dormany (do a search on that here as well) or the Ref method, unpot, clean stick in Sphagnum moss and stick in the ref for a few months, then repot after that. I would say I am doing the Dry dormancy without even thinking about it, and get mediocre results in my case only.

As for the acclimitization, I feel that if you can find a good place for it, put it there and find a way to slightly shade it. In my opinion only, going back and forth like what you described is not only tiring, it also changes a lot of other environmental factors like humidity, temperature, etc. For me often new VFTs are put where they are going to be permantly located, they do fine, they take 1 week or more to start growing new leaves, then you know they are becoming happy. Good luck!

Oh and I agree with Tseztan, your plant is far from wanting dormancy yet

TTFN
Arvin

[marvin1997]

Where did you get it? it looks so nice!

[heiditan]

Originally Posted by arvin555

If we had a poll about VFTs all over the net, I think the really biggest and top most frequently asked question for new VFT keepers is about Dormancy. At least those who know their stuff and is beyond.. can I feed it meat? Or will it bite me?

After a few years of keeping them, Heck I am still confused with it. I have openly admitted that now I keep VFTs like Annuals, if they die after a year, I accept it... of course I still hope that I can find a way to beat or go with the flow with this dormancy thing.

All I know is that the VFT is not happy when it is very slow to close already, in fact at the point you are in a bit of trouble already. I have so far only experimented with 1 Bulb in the Ref for dormancy, nothing yet coz it's just there 1 month. Anyways search this forum for VFT Dormancy, you will be filled with so many info, you will go crazy. for us in tropical countries, the alternatives are to do dry dormany (do a search on that here as well) or the Ref method, unpot, clean stick in Sphagnum moss and stick in the ref for a few months, then repot after that. I would say I am doing the Dry dormancy without even thinking about it, and get mediocre results in my case only.

As for the acclimitization, I feel that if you can find a good place for it, put it there and find a way to slightly shade it. In my opinion only, going back and forth like what you described is not only tiring, it also changes a lot of other environmental factors like humidity, temperature, etc. For me often new VFTs are put where they are going to be permantly located, they do fine, they take 1 week or more to start growing new leaves, then you know they are becoming happy. Good luck!

Oh and I agree with Tseztan, your plant is far from wanting dormancy yet

TTFN
Arvin

Hi Arvin! Thank you so much for sharing. I have come across people asking if VFTs would eat meat. haha. I did read up on the dry dormancy technique which seems to be the preferred method in Tropical countries. Thank you again, looks like I won't have to worry about dormancy stuff for the time being, but I'll keep reading up on the methods and techniques. :D And I'll look into finding a permanent spot for my VFT (thanks for the advice), a bit tricky at the moment cos there are cats in my compound and I wouldn't want the cats to start playing around with my VFT. hehe.

Originally Posted by marvin1997

Where did you get it? it looks so nice!

Hi Marvin! Strangely I got mine from a stall in Midvalley selling indoor and outdoor plants. haha. :P Bought this pot for RM25. They have some really nice Neps there as well but they don't seem to know much about CPs. Cos the lady told me that my VFT is an indoor plant to help me catch mosquitoes...