Question
QUESTION: Greetings Jeff & Jacob:

I have received my shipment of 3 VFT's early last week.  They all looked great.  I have them in a tray of distilled water outside in full sun 6+ hors per day.  The 'Red Dragon" variety is not doing so hot, but the others are in excellent condition.  They have all produced flower stalks which have not bloomed just yet (some have 2-3 stalks in one pot).  The 'Red Dragon' variety has a single flower stalk, two completely dead traps and leaves, and two semi-healthy traps and leaves.  Please advise if I should remove the flower stalk from the Red Dragon to save the strength of this plant for self-repair and new growth.  If so, should I remove the stalk at the base (just above the rhizome) or just below the flower buds?  Please note that we in Bethlehem, PA are in the middle of a 4-day heat wave (daytime highs are about 95*F and nighttime lows are around 70*F; plus extremely high humidity).  Thank you for your time in this matter, and I look forward to your reply!  =)

Best Regards,

Jennifer


ANSWER: Hi Jennifer,

The Red Dragon is a peculiar plant.  It's leaves have a shorter lifespan than the Dente or typical, so it usually has fewer leaves at one time when compared to the others.  It's not at all unusual for the plant to have only two or three traps in early season.  Much of our current stock has only three traps.  As the season progresses, it will produce leaves at at faster rate, so you might end up with five or six traps at one time.  (I know this doesn't sound like a lot, but that's the nature of this variety.)

In any regards, certainly cut off the flower stalk if you prefer to have more traps.  Make the incision near the base.  

If you can also upload a clear close-up photograph of your plant, I could assess the overall health of your plant and compare it to what we have in stock.  

Please keep me posted about your plant in the next few weeks by submitting a follow-up.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Red Dragon VFT Picture   QUESTION: Greetings Jacob:

Thank you very much for the quick response to my question (as is usual).  Here is the picture of my Red Dragon VFT which you requested.  I will remove the flower stem as you instructed in your response.  Thank you for your time in this matter, and I will keep you informed!  =)

Best Regards,

Jennifer


Answer
Thanks Jennifer for the photo!  It looks perfectly fine for this time of the year.  Many of our Red Dragons look just like that.  Continue giving your plant lots of sunlight and water.  By July it will be at peak size for the season.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin