Question
My sundew and N. ventr
Hello,
First I'd like to say thank you for your most recent advice, my Sarracenias are both doing well and making new leaves, and my flytrap is putting up a flower. :)
But, now for my questions... first of all, I am planning on letting my flytrap complete its flowering, because I have read that a healthy flytrap in good conditions will not suffer a critical loss in energy, unlike those grown in terrariums. What i want to know, though, is how do i go about collecting the seeds and letting them grow? I have heard some things about "cold stratification..." but I have also heard that they can germinate naturally within 3 weeks if just left outside in good conditions and good soil. What should I do? Mine is a fairly young flytrap (your small, 3-inch pot one) and so what im planning on doing is getting a bigger pot or tray (open or closed? as far as drainage goes) and putting my flytrap in there... Bah, I don't really know what i'm going to do, i'm just giving you the ideas I had had. I just want to know the best way to get flytrap seeds from the flower, into the ground, and make a mass of baby flytraps.
My second question is: Both my cape sundew and my N. ventricosa have grown a lot since I got them梐nd now appear rather tall. In fact, my D. capensis is now so tall that it is tipping to one side. This doesn't seem good. It is so frail that if I put just a tiny bit of pressure on one side of the base of the plant, it tips very far in that direction. It is like... Well I don't know what it's like. It is just very.. unsturdy, i think is a good word. What should I do? My N. ventricosa is also rather tall and bare underneath, but it is much more sturdy and i am not too worried about it besides how tree-like it looks. What should I do to fix this? I thought about repotting them and pushing them further into the ground, but right at the beginning of the growing season I know is not a good time to repot. And plus, it seems I have little baby cape sundews growing at the base of my sundew from when it flowered, so repotting it , i would think, would destroy those little seedlings unless done very carefully. And plus I don't know a good medium to repot Nepenthes in. So I really need some advice in this area.
And one other thing: I have my nepenthes growing in the same light conditions as my two sundews: full afternoon sun. I have heard this is not very good for Nepenthes, as they prefer bright, filtered sunlight throughout the day. It is a westward window that doesnt get any sunlight until about high noon, and then it gets full sun till the sun sets. Now... should I move this plant? It is currently not producing any pitchers that i can see, and the ones it started to put out have already started to turn black early on. I've felt the side of the pot in the early evening when it's gotten lots of sun and.. it is rather hot to the touch. This seems not to be a good place for it to be, but i wanted to get it plenty of extra light so it could grow a lot this summer. Can you tell me what to do?
Thank you SO much for your help, I've included a photo of my sundew and my Nepenthes, so tell me what you think. Thanks again!! (oh and by the way I live in northern Michigan, about zone 4)
Speaking of which, I may as well get this asked too while I'm at it... I have searched on your website on winter care tips for cold regions such as where I love, and have found not very much. Not very much detailed information. I would like to know what to do with my new Sarracenias and my Flytrap when old Jack Frost comes around. Can you give me some detailed advice and instructions?
AnswerHi Jasen,
Your Welcome! We want people to be successful with their plants. Also, thanks for sending the photo. That always helps us.
I'm going to take your questions in sections here.
1. Venus Flytraps. When your flytrap blooms you may need to give it a little help by taking a paint brush and moving pollen from one flower to another. This will help maximize seed set. The seeds develop rather rapidly. You should see the pods turn black, then a thin black membrane will pull away. You'll see the shiny black seeds exposed on the top of the seed pod. Just get a white piece of paper and gently knock them onto the paper.
Venus flytrap seeds can be sown immediately. They don't need stratification. They tend to ripen in the summer, unlike Sarracenia which don't tend to be ready until fall. Just use standard peat/perlite standard cp mix. Sprinkle the seeds sparsely, and barely cover them with peat. They should germinate in about 3 weeks.
2. Tall Skinny Plants. With your Cape Sundew, it's definitely time to repot. It would't hurt with your N. ventricosa either. With the sundew you can put the stem down into the soil. In nature Cape sundews can have a scrambling habit. With the N. ventricosa repot it at the same level, but use a wide pot. Nepenthes often form long vines over time. You can find addtitional information on soil, etc... on our caresheet pages at: http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets It's perfectly ok to repot at this time of year.
If your Nepenthes isn't pitchering you could try a couple different things. The repotting may help. A wider pebble tray like you're using would help with ambient humidity. Also try fertilizing. Use a good quality orchid fertilizer at 1/4 strength every two weeks. This will give it a good boost. I looked at our Nepenthes ventricosa in the greenhouse today while I was watering, and the ones with more pitchers are slightly shaded. Your window may be a little to bright for it. (It's great for the sundew, however.) See if you can move it to an east window if possible, or provide a little shade by putting another plant in front of it. Nepenthes light requirements tends to be species by species. A window like you currently have is ideal for N. sanguinea and N. maxima hybrids.
For addtional information on winterizing plants in colder climates, consider purchasing our e-book. We have an entire chapter on this subject with different options. It allows you to choose which option would work best for you. This subject is a little too involved for the Allexperts format.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
