Curious Butterfly and My Little Flytrap

[rajah]

My baby VFT, planted from seeds on March 9, 2007. Out of dozens of seeds only one germinated, perhaps because I didn't give them any cold treatment?

[artificialive]

Haha! very cute rajah only one germinated? i dont have experience growing vft from seeds. perhaps other members have experience on germinating vft seeds..?

[zakhren]

If the seeds are more than a week old they need a cold stratification. Plant them on damp peat moss:perlite 1:1, cover the top of the pot with cling film or put the pot in a tied plastic bag and place in the fridge for 4 weeks.

And 7 years from now that flytrap would be eating the butterfly~

[rajah]

Yupe, and I water it like this:

[rajah]

Zakh, I'm gonna do that fridge method, how much temp should I set on the fridge?
I'm putting it under bright shade (under the roof), but should I begin to expose it to full sunlight?

[zakhren]

What is that? The pot only has to sit in a ½ inch of water with a roof so it can get full sun without being hit by rain. But if you cover the pot completely direct sun would cook anything inside. Seedlings no matter how small need 8 hours direct sun. That looks complicated.

Don't send the seedling that germinated into the fridge it may die, only seeds. The temps should be below 10°C but above 0°C. Make sure the peat is damp but not soaking wet.

[rajah]

No, that plant covered with plastic is actually a sick Nepenthes plant that has recently sent to me bare-rooted from Sumatra. The VFT pot is on the left, sitting exactly in a 5 cm of water from the pure water put out from the aircon. First the water drops onto the Neps pot, down to the red plastic container which keeps the water surface steady at 5 cm everyday as required by the VFT pot.

[zakhren]

Ah I see. Though it doesnt have to be 5cm deep in water. 2cm would do. I'm suprised it actually germinated without cold stratification haha.

And yes more sun. Slowly though. Over 2 week increase the direct sun time. to at least 8 hours. So 4 hours this week then 4 hours next week. Don't worry about the water "boiling" or something. I keep all my plants sitting in water in direct sun.

[rajah]

Yes I mean I'll get the seeds into the fridge.

As for the seedling it currently receives morning sunlight only... I guess I'll have to provide transparent plastic cover and move it out under 8 hour direct sunlight then...Zakh have you ever tried growing VFT from seeds before...any problem, things to avoid etc?

[Robert]

well the vfts seeds i received from the US were sow straight with peat moss and they grow without stratification. Maybe it's a different form.They are the size of RM0.50 coin now.

[zakhren]

I do have 3 seedlings now, not from seed but they were in the pot. The biggest one is only 1cm across. Just watch for fungus covering the media, remove it by peeling it off or with a toothpick. Rain would bury the plant. But besides that it's just like an adult plant and treat is as such. Keep a 4 inch deep pot in ½-1inch of water. Though adult plants can take direct rain.

Just realised. 300th post~!

[rajah]

Thanks for the tips man ;D

[zakhren]

Most likely if you ordered them from overseas they gave them stratification already. So they would germinate without one readily.

[cactustts]

I have germinated many VFTs from seeds since five years back, none of them need stratification. Some of the infos from the web are wrong or the wheather is different. For germinating of VFT seeds, I have just writen an article under Dionaea Muscipula Article, so far the seeds germinated well with this method for me, from what I experienced I think this method suits our climate.

[zakhren]

For the seeds you germinated, were they more than a couple weeks old?

Because you say some of the info is wrong. But like 90% of sources says they need cold stratification if the seeds aren't fresh.

[artificialive]

Zak, sumtimes theory is not the same as practical thats why experience is very valuable. 90% sources that you refer are most likely from US and Europe, which have different weather and climate from us in Malaysia..

[cactustts]

Zak, yes I admitted I'm not totally correct, that's why I said "some" of the infos are wrong, maybe that's their experience and that particular method worked for them, but I have followed many ways from the web since, I found some of the them just don't work for us and I lose many of my precious plants. As for the seeds I received, I should say they were all at least more then a week, because transportation already taken up a week.
Anyway, this is only my experience, you guys could just make a try. Good luck and happy trying.

[David]

Hey, I have the same experience too. Bought some VFT seeds from overseas. It took about a week to reach me. I just sowed them on chopped up sphagnum moss and place them in my terrarium without stratification. about 50 to 100 seeds germinate for me. This is the green typical form.

TS, thanks for the article on germination of VFT seeds.

[zakhren]

When I ordered seeds they said they had already been stratified. So oversea seeds are most likely already stratified and they will germinate even if it takes a few weeks to get here.