FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I’ve seen a bunch of different ways y’all here germinate your VFT seeds. I would like to have a thread where a bunch of people post their seed-starting media, and maybe say how long they keep them in that, and what they transfer the seedlings to later, if anything. Since there are so many options, I think it would be helpful to collect them all in one place.

My preferred method is to fill a pot with my standard carnivorous plant mix (3:1:1 of peat moss, perlite, and coarse sand) then add a thin layer of LFSM on top. I water the pot, scatter seeds across it, and give it another quick watering to let the seeds settle into the nooks and crannies. Keep the pots warm, damp, and humid (mine are outdoors in eastern North Carolina), and the seeds start sprouting in just a couple weeks. For light, the pots get direct sun from dawn until around noon. When the seedlings get crowded and it's time to transplant, they go into the exact same setup, with each plant getting a square inch (25mm) for room to grow.

1:1 peat:perlite topped with a thin layer of finely chopped sphagnum. Covered with a humidity dome or plastic bag and under lights for 16 hours at about 80 degrees.

Sarrs and Drosera, 1:1 Peat: LFSM, fine. Covered using humidity dome. Under lights 22 hours a day between 84 to 86 degrees. Transplant when ready to 1:1 Peat and medium LFSM. Under lights 22 hours a day without humidity dome.
VFT's: Fine LFSM only. Cover and light same as above. Transplant when ready to medium LFSM under lights 22 hours a day and remove dome, 84 to 86 degrees.

Note: I just started using 14-20 mesh sand, about half the amount of peat and LFSM I am using. I will post results if there is any difference.

As simple as sprinkling seeds on peat and perlite with a peat topping and leaving them for a month I’ll usually skip first dormancy and take them out in the spring as to not shock the seedlings

For VFTs, I don't know why but I use old media for the seeds, I seem to have read it somewhere, but where I just can't think now. The pots are 4" square x 5" deep with the media being normally peat and pine chips in a pot with about 1/4" pure peat over the top, if the media is damp I spread the seeds and mist spray to settle the seeds. I grow them in this for a year or so then pot up into pure live or dead Sphagnum.
Sarracenia on the other hand are always sown in pots with new media with 1/4" pure peat on the top. Repot when desired, a minimum of 1 year, more often than not after 2 years.

I have never bothered in the past to think why, its just something I have done for so many years that its origins are lost, it's just something I have always done. It may not be optimal but I always get high germination rates and the plants grow OK, I don't fertilise in any way, I don't need instant results or gratification, I can wait!

Cheers
Steve