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By bananaman
Posts:  2059
Joined:  Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:54 am
#340595
So I mentioned this a few times here and I’ve even got a whole thread about it on the sarracenia forum, but I thought it’d be good to make a write up here.

For years, I’ve had problems with my flytraps during mid-summer when they much afternoon sun. I don’t have a location with enough morning sun for them, so I just lived with the fact that my flytraps looked terrible in July and August.

Thinking the problem was the heat because I didn’t have issues until July/August, I finally decided to do something about it. Last year, in August, I built a shade structure for my flytraps from 30% shade cloth and some PVC and zip ties. I noticed my flytraps began looking better almost immediately, but I hadn’t seen if it would keep them good looking.

This year, I put my shade structure out around the end of May, and I’m very, very pleased with the results. In the past, by this time of year, all my flytraps are putting out smaller traps no more than 3/4" and only hold onto a few leaves in each growing point. They continue to grow, but they lose most of their coloration and the traps get burned.

This year, my big seedgrowns are still pushing out traps over 1" long and my plants have better coloration, despite being shaded. This is by far the latest in the year I’ve had traps this big: that has stopped in early June in the past.

The structure itself:
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Some mature seedgrowns with big traps (these all flowered this year and are in standard gallon pots):
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Seedlings from 2017:
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Rocket farms typical:
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All red seedgrown:
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It’s even kept some Drosera capensis and D. paleacea happy, despite highs close to 100°F with warm nights in the mid 70s.

I’ve been very, very happy with the results.
bananaman liked this
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By optique
Location: 
Posts:  1893
Joined:  Fri May 24, 2019 11:15 pm
#340598
was comparing our locations not a huge difference unless its humidity. my vft's are very happy in full sun.

Image
By bananaman
Posts:  2059
Joined:  Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:54 am
#340599
optique wrote:was comparing our locations not a huge difference unless its humidity. my vft's are very happy in full sun.

Image
I’m just going off of what I’ve observed in my flytraps. There’s a few explanations for the differences we notice. The heat here is somewhat more intense and longer duration. August, not July, is the hottest month here with an average high of 97°. Our heat lasts quite a bit longer than yours: average highs are over 90° from May 30 until September 18, and average highs break 95° from July 7 until September 1. Looking at the normals for Greenville, average highs don’t break 90° until June 27 and go back below 90° on August 8. Austin averages 119 days a year over 90° and 66 over 95°. Those numbers for Greenville are 46 and 14. Our nights are somewhat warmer, too. I tend not to notice many issues until we get more than 2 weeks of highs over 95°F.

In terms of humidity, we swing back and forth between very humid and very dry during the summer, which has something to do with it. We’re also at a somewhat more southerly latitude, so the sun is higher during mid-day.

Many plants struggle with direct afternoon sunlight here during the summer, not just VFTs. I figured that what works for other plants may work for flytraps, too, and I was right.
By yardleyq1987
Posts:  171
Joined:  Sat Dec 29, 2018 1:31 pm
#340608
bananaman wrote:
optique wrote:was comparing our locations not a huge difference unless its humidity. my vft's are very happy in full sun.

Image
I’m just going off of what I’ve observed in my flytraps. There’s a few explanations for the differences we notice. The heat here is somewhat more intense and longer duration. August, not July, is the hottest month here with an average high of 97°. Our heat lasts quite a bit longer than yours: average highs are over 90° from May 30 until September 18, and average highs break 95° from July 7 until September 1. Looking at the normals for Greenville, average highs don’t break 90° until June 27 and go back below 90° on August 8. Austin averages 119 days a year over 90° and 66 over 95°. Those numbers for Greenville are 46 and 14. Our nights are somewhat warmer, too. I tend not to notice many issues until we get more than 2 weeks of highs over 95°F.

In terms of humidity, we swing back and forth between very humid and very dry during the summer, which has something to do with it. We’re also at a somewhat more southerly latitude, so the sun is higher during mid-day.

Many plants struggle with direct afternoon sunlight here during the summer, not just VFTs. I figured that what works for other plants may work for flytraps, too, and I was right.
Thanks for this experimentation idea. Definitely going to give it a go next growing season with half of my vfts and plan to report findings as well. My B52's are just now showing hints of red coloration on the interior of traps.
By Fieldofscreams
Posts:  1315
Joined:  Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:14 am
#340620
Try using white pots and NZLFSM, at minimum as a top dressing.

Keeps the roots waaaaaay cooler.
User avatar
By optique
Location: 
Posts:  1893
Joined:  Fri May 24, 2019 11:15 pm
#340628
just a idea that is a wood deck your plants are on or table? i could cook an egg on my deck at high noon on most days. I only keep cactus on it. but mine is darker also.
User avatar
By Artchic528
Location: 
Posts:  662
Joined:  Sat Aug 15, 2015 8:13 pm
#340643
I recall the deck we used to have in our backyard being at fry the bottoms of your bare feet levels of hot. As in you couldn't walk on it with bare feet lest you get heat blisters. It was torn down several years ago and a porch put up in it's place. Now I have no further fears of the soles of my feet becoming well done on the wood.

I keep my flytrap pot on the ground in a patch of dirt and mulch by my garage door. It's the only place with enough sun and they seem extremely happy there, even in the 95F heat.
By bananaman
Posts:  2059
Joined:  Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:54 am
#341576
Fieldofscreams wrote:Try using white pots and NZLFSM, at minimum as a top dressing.

Keeps the roots waaaaaay cooler.
I’ve been in the hobby long enough that I have tried that and a variety of other methods. While I love LFS and white pots, they have enough disadvantages for me that I don’t use them. Plus, they still suffered in the afternoon sun with that. Basically the only thing that had worked was no sun after like 2:00 during the hottest part of the day, but that’s not feasible anymore because of tree growth.

I’ve come to the conclusion to use shade cloth after about 10 years of experimenting to see what works. So far, it’s worked well for me. My largest flytraps are still pushing out traps 1-1.25" long and my younger flytraps are holding color very well even though it’s late July. Admittedly, this summer has been a bit cooler than the past few: I mean, we even had a cold front a few days ago that smashed record lows (Mabry got down to 63 and the airport recorded the first ever sub 60 July temperature) and gave us highs in the low 90s. In July! That’s very, very unusual. But we’re still pretty close to normal in terms of heat. I’m curious to see how the shade cloth will keep them come mid/late August when my flytraps are usually look their worst for the whole year, but I’m cautiously optimistic.
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By Fieldofscreams
Posts:  1315
Joined:  Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:14 am
#341583
Do what you think works.

This is some my results from what i do. Last year pics.
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This year some divided so much so fast that i had to put them in bigger pots.
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By mouthstofeed
Posts:  477
Joined:  Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:07 am
#341586
I am skeptical of shade for VFTs. These are direct sunlight plants. They should be beasting out in the July and August sun.
By steely_phil
Posts:  12
Joined:  Wed Jul 03, 2019 6:24 pm
#341589
Thanks for the info! Think this could be useful for acclimating younger/newly ordered nursery grown CPs. Where did you buy 30% shade cloth? I have only found one vendor where I can maybe buy 30-50% cloth in a small enough quantity. Lowes and home depot near me either have too high blockage percentages and or are sold in huge amounts that I wouldn't come close to needing.
By bananaman
Posts:  2059
Joined:  Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:54 am
#341592
mouthstofeed wrote:I am skeptical of shade for VFTs. These are direct sunlight plants. They should be beasting out in the July and August sun.
Again, I’ve grown them in full sun here for a long time. It’s only OK if they get shade during the hottest part of the day from 2 to 5. If they get direct afternoon sun, by early August, even flytraps with large growth points that will have 15+ leaves with one inch traps in the spring are usually are only holding onto a handful leaves with small traps. The only way at I’ve found around that is by using afternoon shade: I’ve tried different media and different pots and different watering and different locations. At least for me, my VFTs look awful during the summer if they don’t get afternoon shade.

There’s plenty of other full sun plants that appreciate and do much better with afternoon shade here during the summer like chiles and tomatoes and beans. This is especially true for plants in pots. Plus, at my house, the only real options are dappled shade with a couple of hours of morning sun or many hours of direct afternoon sun and morning shade.

I do agree that most people shouldn’t need to use shade in the summer, but due to the duration and magnitude of the heat here, it seems to be necessary for me if you can’t grow with morning sun. The duration is a factor: I mostly notice they start looking bad once we’ve had over 2 weeks straight of highs in the high 90s (and lows in the high 70s). That’s basically all of July and August here: August is the hottest month. Our heat is more intense than their native habitat and lasts for longer: we run about 10 degrees warmer than their native habitat for most of the year.
Fieldofscreams wrote:Do what you think works.
I don’t deny that white pots and LFS are great: I have had wonderful success with them in the past, but my plants still looked bad if they got direct afternoon sun. Also, literally every single pot I’ve had with LFS has been uprooted by animals, it’s expensive, and I personally find it more finicky to water than peat. I do think that if you put in the extra money and care that LFS requires, your plants can be healthier. But you can have very healthy plants in peat, too. Peat is a more forgiving medium with respect to watering than LFS in my experience: I’ve found that during the summer, plants in LFS have a tendency to go from appropriately wet to too dry pretty fast, while it’s much slower with peat. My plants are also healthy and grow fast and divide lots: they aren’t that much less happy than plants in LFS have been for me. To me, the small-ish difference in health between peat and LFS isn’t worth the extra time and expense, but I’m not surprised that some people do find it to be a valuable gain.

I do wish white pots were easier to find, not just for flytraps, but for all my plants. I’d love to grow everything in white pots, but they’re not readily available. It’s just not worth me switching because they’re hard to find, they’re more expensive, and I have tons of 1 gallon black pots already from all the other stuff I grow. It would take a lot of cost and effort to switch to white ones.
steely_phil wrote:Thanks for the info! Think this could be useful for acclimating younger/newly ordered nursery grown CPs. Where did you buy 30% shade cloth? I have only found one vendor where I can maybe buy 30-50% cloth in a small enough quantity. Lowes and home depot near me either have too high blockage percentages and or are sold in huge amounts that I wouldn't come close to needing.
I found some on Amazon, IIRC. It’s a bit hard to find because 30% is not really high enough to cut out extra heat inside of a greenhouse, which is the main use of shade cloth (and why you find it in such gargantuan proportions).
By Fieldofscreams
Posts:  1315
Joined:  Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:14 am
#341599
How is it more finicky to water?

It isn't any different than peat.

There is no extra care.
By bananaman
Posts:  2059
Joined:  Sat Jan 01, 2011 2:54 am
#341654
Fieldofscreams wrote:How is it more finicky to water?

It isn't any different than peat.

There is no extra care.
As I mentioned, I find that it tends to go from an appropriate moisture level to way too dry very fast for me. Peat takes longer to dry out, leaving you with a bit more wiggle room for stuff like missed waterings. I also find that I tend to go through somewhat more water with LFS, probably because the airier media leads to faster evaporation. Water is the single most limiting factor for my cp collection.
By steely_phil
Posts:  12
Joined:  Wed Jul 03, 2019 6:24 pm
#341710
bananaman wrote:
mouthstofeed wrote:I am skeptical of shade for VFTs. These are direct sunlight plants. They should be beasting out in the July and August sun.
Again, I’ve grown them in full sun here for a long time. It’s only OK if they get shade during the hottest part of the day from 2 to 5. If they get direct afternoon sun, by early August, even flytraps with large growth points that will have 15+ leaves with one inch traps in the spring are usually are only holding onto a handful leaves with small traps. The only way at I’ve found around that is by using afternoon shade: I’ve tried different media and different pots and different watering and different locations. At least for me, my VFTs look awful during the summer if they don’t get afternoon shade.

There’s plenty of other full sun plants that appreciate and do much better with afternoon shade here during the summer like chiles and tomatoes and beans. This is especially true for plants in pots. Plus, at my house, the only real options are dappled shade with a couple of hours of morning sun or many hours of direct afternoon sun and morning shade.

I do agree that most people shouldn’t need to use shade in the summer, but due to the duration and magnitude of the heat here, it seems to be necessary for me if you can’t grow with morning sun. The duration is a factor: I mostly notice they start looking bad once we’ve had over 2 weeks straight of highs in the high 90s (and lows in the high 70s). That’s basically all of July and August here: August is the hottest month. Our heat is more intense than their native habitat and lasts for longer: we run about 10 degrees warmer than their native habitat for most of the year.
Fieldofscreams wrote:Do what you think works.
I don’t deny that white pots and LFS are great: I have had wonderful success with them in the past, but my plants still looked bad if they got direct afternoon sun. Also, literally every single pot I’ve had with LFS has been uprooted by animals, it’s expensive, and I personally find it more finicky to water than peat. I do think that if you put in the extra money and care that LFS requires, your plants can be healthier. But you can have very healthy plants in peat, too. Peat is a more forgiving medium with respect to watering than LFS in my experience: I’ve found that during the summer, plants in LFS have a tendency to go from appropriately wet to too dry pretty fast, while it’s much slower with peat. My plants are also healthy and grow fast and divide lots: they aren’t that much less happy than plants in LFS have been for me. To me, the small-ish difference in health between peat and LFS isn’t worth the extra time and expense, but I’m not surprised that some people do find it to be a valuable gain.

I do wish white pots were easier to find, not just for flytraps, but for all my plants. I’d love to grow everything in white pots, but they’re not readily available. It’s just not worth me switching because they’re hard to find, they’re more expensive, and I have tons of 1 gallon black pots already from all the other stuff I grow. It would take a lot of cost and effort to switch to white ones.
steely_phil wrote:Thanks for the info! Think this could be useful for acclimating younger/newly ordered nursery grown CPs. Where did you buy 30% shade cloth? I have only found one vendor where I can maybe buy 30-50% cloth in a small enough quantity. Lowes and home depot near me either have too high blockage percentages and or are sold in huge amounts that I wouldn't come close to needing.
bananaman wrote:I found some on Amazon, IIRC. It’s a bit hard to find because 30% is not really high enough to cut out extra heat inside of a greenhouse, which is the main use of shade cloth (and why you find it in such gargantuan proportions).
Thanks, that's quite helpful to know. I spotted something on Amazon that may work, or digging a bit more I pulled up this website https://www.shadeclothstore.com/. Seems like they specialize in different kinds and frequently sell in large quantities, except for some options where you can specify a custom length in feet (so I'd be more than set with something like 6'x1', 12'x1', but it wouldn't be as excessive as some other bulk offers I've seen). I don't have many plants to acclimate at this point, but again think this could be a worthwhile experiment next time I expand my bog collection.
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