FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi!!

I’m Maxene (or Max). I live in Portland, OR and have obviously found a new obsession.

I got my first VFT on July 4th. I named him Melvin and - after doing extensive research before hand - I ‘rescued’ him from a nearby garden store where he existed in his death cup. Even just in the past few days I’ve seen him perk up, traps open up, and just overall look happier and healthier! First attempt. So far so good!

I got my second VFT in the mail today from Jeremiah on another website. He arrived with bare roots wrapped in moss and I got him transplanted right away. He’s currently existing in a shady spot that will get very brief evening sun so I can acclimate him back into full sun. I did the best I could to gently unwrap his roots. I think I did okay, but I worry. I couldn’t find any information anywhere regarding unpacking them. We shall see!

I’ve loved gardening for years and years, but have finally begun to indulge my nature-documentary-obsessed childhood and couldn’t be happier.

On the 23rd I’ll be going to the open house at Sarracenia Northwest to get pitcher plants, too!

So much excite.

Here is my rescue, Melvin!

What do you think? He seems happy to me!

And here is Calvin. He’s the VFT I just got in the mail today.

Haven’t ordered online before. How does he look?

They look healthy. Peat/ perlite and rain or distilled water?

Welcome to the forum! Make sure to check out the seed bank! It's a completely free way to start your collection. Both of your plants look great! Especially Melvin as he was in a death cube. Did you get a cultivar or a typical from Jeremiah?

Bluefire wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 4:56 am They look healthy. Peat/ perlite and rain or distilled water?

Thank you!!

And 50/50 plain peat moss and perlite. Distilled water w/ no minerals and such. Tray of water on our hot and sunny days, and dry tray when we're overcast and as a result more humid.

Home depot only had 3 cubic sq. feet packages of peat moss so I have a billion pounds of the stuff now stored in a storage tub. I'm ready to start a massive colony apparently hahaha.

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:05 am Welcome to the forum! Make sure to check out the seed bank! It's a completely free way to start your collection. Both of your plants look great! Especially Melvin as he was in a death cube. Did you get a cultivar or a typical from Jeremiah?

Okay I definitely will! That sounds exciting!

Thank you!! I watched so many videos and read so many articles on VFT care before I went to buy him. I was determined to do it right the first time if at all possible. So far so good I'd say!

I got a Dionaea Muscipula Ginormous from him. Which I'm assuming is a cultivar. Does it look like it shipped okay? One of the traps has a crack of sorts in the indent where the two sides meet and kind of bend in a bit.

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:14 am

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:05 am Welcome to the forum! Make sure to check out the seed bank! It's a completely free way to start your collection. Both of your plants look great! Especially Melvin as he was in a death cube. Did you get a cultivar or a typical from Jeremiah?

Okay I definitely will! That sounds exciting!

Thank you!! I watched so many videos and read so many articles on VFT care before I went to buy him. I was determined to do it right the first time if at all possible. So far so good I'd say!

I got a Dionaea Muscipula Ginormous from him. Which I'm assuming is a cultivar. Does it look like it shipped okay? One of the traps has a crack of sorts in the indent where the two sides meet and kind of bend in a bit.

Yes, best to do it right the first time! 'Ginormous' is a cultivar that gets very big traps! Venus flytraps (VFTs) are only one species (Dionaea Muscipula). Anything labeled other than Dionaea Muscipula or Dionaea M. 'typical' is a cultivar. I have Dionaea M. 'red dragon' for example.

It looks like your plant shipped quite well! Minor damage to traps is to be expected. Expect to have very slow growth from your VFT as they HATE being shipped during the active growing season and sometimes need years to recover (Although it usually doesn't take that long). If it is indoors, keep the humidity as high as possible to help it recover. If it's outdoors, don't bag it to keep humidity high as the greenhouse effect will destroy your plant. If you have grow lights, put it under them with the plant in a bag. Also, Melvin could use a lot more light! They take almost any light you give 'em! Let me know if you have any more questions!

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:22 am

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:14 am

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:05 am Welcome to the forum! Make sure to check out the seed bank! It's a completely free way to start your collection. Both of your plants look great! Especially Melvin as he was in a death cube. Did you get a cultivar or a typical from Jeremiah?

Okay I definitely will! That sounds exciting!

Thank you!! I watched so many videos and read so many articles on VFT care before I went to buy him. I was determined to do it right the first time if at all possible. So far so good I'd say!

I got a Dionaea Muscipula Ginormous from him. Which I'm assuming is a cultivar. Does it look like it shipped okay? One of the traps has a crack of sorts in the indent where the two sides meet and kind of bend in a bit.

Yes, best to do it right the first time! 'Ginormous' is a cultivar. Venus flytraps (VFTs) are only one species (Dionaea Muscipula). Anything labeled other than Dionaea Muscipula or Dionaea M. 'typical' is a cultivar. I have Dionaea M. 'red dragon' for example.

It looks like your plant shipped quite well! Minor damage to traps is to be expected. Expect to have very slow growth from your VFT as they HATE being shipped during the active growing season and sometimes need years to recover (Although it usually doesn't take that long). If it is indoors, keep the humidity as high as possible to help it recover. If it's outdoors, don't bag it to keep humidity high as the greenhouse effect will destroy your plant. If you have grow lights, put it under them with the plant in a bag. Let me know if you have any questions at all!

Yay! I'm happy to hear it came in in good condition. Unless it was clearly damaged and visibly doing very poorly I wouldn't necessarily know what to look for.

I've got him outside. Currently in a shady spot with a few brief hours of evening sun to slowly acclimate him to full sun. When he's ready I have a super-sunny spot that should give them all of their sunshine needs according to the things I've read they need. As impatient I can be at times to get immediate gratification I'm totally willing to be patient with recovery. Even if I do check on it and stare at it a million times a day and tell him he's doing wonderful.

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:28 am

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:22 am

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:14 am

Okay I definitely will! That sounds exciting!

Thank you!! I watched so many videos and read so many articles on VFT care before I went to buy him. I was determined to do it right the first time if at all possible. So far so good I'd say!

I got a Dionaea Muscipula Ginormous from him. Which I'm assuming is a cultivar. Does it look like it shipped okay? One of the traps has a crack of sorts in the indent where the two sides meet and kind of bend in a bit.

Yes, best to do it right the first time! 'Ginormous' is a cultivar. Venus flytraps (VFTs) are only one species (Dionaea Muscipula). Anything labeled other than Dionaea Muscipula or Dionaea M. 'typical' is a cultivar. I have Dionaea M. 'red dragon' for example.

It looks like your plant shipped quite well! Minor damage to traps is to be expected. Expect to have very slow growth from your VFT as they HATE being shipped during the active growing season and sometimes need years to recover (Although it usually doesn't take that long). If it is indoors, keep the humidity as high as possible to help it recover. If it's outdoors, don't bag it to keep humidity high as the greenhouse effect will destroy your plant. If you have grow lights, put it under them with the plant in a bag. Let me know if you have any questions at all!

Yay! I'm happy to hear it came in in good condition. Unless it was clearly damaged and visibly doing very poorly I wouldn't necessarily know what to look for.

I've got him outside. Currently in a shady spot with a few brief hours of evening sun to slowly acclimate him to full sun. When he's ready I have a super-sunny spot that should give them all of their sunshine needs according to the things I've read they need. As impatient I can be at times to get immediate gratification I'm totally willing to be patient with recovery. Even if I do check on it and stare at it a million times a day and tell him he's doing wonderful.

Ok, for the best recovery, give him LOTS of humidity though. He'll will probably be fine without it but he will greatly appreciate it! Also, 'Ginormous', hence the name, gets huge traps! Up to 2 inches across! Melvin could also use some more light. Make sure you acclimate him to more light too though as he had been in a big box store for who knows how long with very little light.

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:33 am

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:28 am

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:22 am
Yes, best to do it right the first time! 'Ginormous' is a cultivar. Venus flytraps (VFTs) are only one species (Dionaea Muscipula). Anything labeled other than Dionaea Muscipula or Dionaea M. 'typical' is a cultivar. I have Dionaea M. 'red dragon' for example.

It looks like your plant shipped quite well! Minor damage to traps is to be expected. Expect to have very slow growth from your VFT as they HATE being shipped during the active growing season and sometimes need years to recover (Although it usually doesn't take that long). If it is indoors, keep the humidity as high as possible to help it recover. If it's outdoors, don't bag it to keep humidity high as the greenhouse effect will destroy your plant. If you have grow lights, put it under them with the plant in a bag. Let me know if you have any questions at all!

Yay! I'm happy to hear it came in in good condition. Unless it was clearly damaged and visibly doing very poorly I wouldn't necessarily know what to look for.

I've got him outside. Currently in a shady spot with a few brief hours of evening sun to slowly acclimate him to full sun. When he's ready I have a super-sunny spot that should give them all of their sunshine needs according to the things I've read they need. As impatient I can be at times to get immediate gratification I'm totally willing to be patient with recovery. Even if I do check on it and stare at it a million times a day and tell him he's doing wonderful.

Ok, for the best recovery, give him LOTS of humidity though. He'll will probably be fine without it but he will greatly appreciate it! Also, 'Ginormous', hence the name, gets huge traps! Up to 2 inches across! Melvin could also use some more light. Make sure you acclimate him to more light too though as he had been in a big box store for who knows how long with very little light.

How can I attempt to increase humidity outdoors? I'm very excited for the very large traps. It's one of the things that really drew me to him!

Okay I'll adjust Melvin! I have him in a spot that gets almost full-sun allll day long but I wanted to give him just a bit more time to adjust but I think it's time. His death cup was like maybe a foot at most from the door of the store which is a full glass sliding door and I believe facing a lot of sun so I think he got a decent amount of light most days. He was forming some new traps and started a new rhizome of teeny babies that will probably not make it since they're so young.

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:41 am

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:33 am

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:28 am

Yay! I'm happy to hear it came in in good condition. Unless it was clearly damaged and visibly doing very poorly I wouldn't necessarily know what to look for.

I've got him outside. Currently in a shady spot with a few brief hours of evening sun to slowly acclimate him to full sun. When he's ready I have a super-sunny spot that should give them all of their sunshine needs according to the things I've read they need. As impatient I can be at times to get immediate gratification I'm totally willing to be patient with recovery. Even if I do check on it and stare at it a million times a day and tell him he's doing wonderful.

Ok, for the best recovery, give him LOTS of humidity though. He'll will probably be fine without it but he will greatly appreciate it! Also, 'Ginormous', hence the name, gets huge traps! Up to 2 inches across! Melvin could also use some more light. Make sure you acclimate him to more light too though as he had been in a big box store for who knows how long with very little light.

How can I attempt to increase humidity outdoors? I'm very excited for the very large traps. It's one of the things that really drew me to him!

Okay I'll adjust Melvin! I have him in a spot that gets almost full-sun allll day long but I wanted to give him just a bit more time to adjust but I think it's time. His death cup was like maybe a foot at most from the door of the store which is a full glass sliding door and I believe facing a lot of sun so I think he got a decent amount of light most days. He was forming some new traps and started a new rhizome of teeny babies that will probably not make it since they're so young.

Maybe you could bag him and poke holes in the bag to let heat out? Be slow with Melvin as well. Don't rush the process. He would probably be fine but you never know.

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:54 am

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:41 am

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:33 am
Ok, for the best recovery, give him LOTS of humidity though. He'll will probably be fine without it but he will greatly appreciate it! Also, 'Ginormous', hence the name, gets huge traps! Up to 2 inches across! Melvin could also use some more light. Make sure you acclimate him to more light too though as he had been in a big box store for who knows how long with very little light.

How can I attempt to increase humidity outdoors? I'm very excited for the very large traps. It's one of the things that really drew me to him!

Okay I'll adjust Melvin! I have him in a spot that gets almost full-sun allll day long but I wanted to give him just a bit more time to adjust but I think it's time. His death cup was like maybe a foot at most from the door of the store which is a full glass sliding door and I believe facing a lot of sun so I think he got a decent amount of light most days. He was forming some new traps and started a new rhizome of teeny babies that will probably not make it since they're so young.

Maybe you could bag him and poke holes in the bag to let heat out? Be slow with Melvin as well. Don't rush the process. He would probably be fine but you never know.

Omg a bag sounds terrifying. I'd need an extremely detailed step-by-step for that one because that, too, sounds like a mega death trap. ;_______;

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:55 am Omg a bag sounds terrifying. I'd need an extremely detailed step-by-step for that one because that, too, sounds like a mega death trap. ;_______;

Here's a great guide for it!
https://curiousplant.com/carnivorous-plant-acclimation/

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 2:13 pm

Littlemaxbigworld wrote: ↑Fri Jul 08, 2022 5:55 am Omg a bag sounds terrifying. I'd need an extremely detailed step-by-step for that one because that, too, sounds like a mega death trap. ;_______;

Here's a great guide for it!
https://curiousplant.com/carnivorous-plant-acclimation/

Omg this is the best thing ever. Thank you!!!!