Venus Flytrap seeds to swap or for sae.

[Flytrap]

I am harvesting a number of Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) seeds at the moment.
I will give some away free (for a s.a.e.), although I wouldn't mind swapping for any interesting chilli seeds.

Please note: these fresh Venus Flytrap seeds should be sown a.s.a.p. they lose viability fairly quickly. They need to be sown onto sphagnum moss peat/course horticultural sand or sphagnum moss peat/pearlite or pure sphagnum moss. Only water with rain water and never tap water (unless it is very, very soft). Never let them dry out. Never fertilize, it will burn/rot the roots and kill the plant.
They will take years to grow to a reasonable size but will grow tiny fully working traps soon after germination.

Anyone interested? Not sure how many seeds I have yet, but will gauge the response and decide how many to send each person. First come, first served.

Cheers.

[Capsid]

I grow VFTs, but I propagate them in spring by splitting off the new plantlets from the base.

[Flytrap]

Hi Capsid. so do I but little VFT's seedlings are fascinating to grow and I don't want to let the seed go to waste if someone else wants them.

[Iwantgreenfingers]

Are they a plant that needs to live in the house or is a greenhouse more to their liking?

[Flytrap]

Well, I keep mine outside most of the time. They thrive on sunshine (not that we get much in the UK these days). They go dormant in winter and I usually put them in my shed window to protect them from the worst of the weather and keep the substrate just moist, even so they do freeze solid.
So I should think a greenhouse would be good and they would get an early start in Spring. As long as they don't overheat too much in the summer. I think over 40 deg C may not be too good for them.
They can be kept on a well lit window sill but usually suffer due to not getting a proper winter dormancy (central heating causes problems).
At my old house they did very well in an unheated (quite drafty) conservatory.

[shushkin!]

Hi Flytrap
I to grow a variety of carnies and still waiting for them to set seed. I have some in the greenhouse, some dotted around the garden and a few in the house! They do a great job and are thriving. I seem to be splitting them up all the time as they outgrow their pots.
The sarracenias have the strangest and most attractive flowers but I have had none this year as I was hoping for a crop of seeds! One of my big pitchers managed to catch a wasp when I was in the greenhouse the other day and I felt quite sorry for it in end! The big pitchers can catch quite big insects.

The droseras have been flowering well though and I am hoping they will set seed.
I find them all very easy to grow and would recommend them to anyone. That's what
you truly call a natural chemical free bug killer!

[Flytrap]

Hi Shushkin,
Sarracenia are my favorites, especially leucos. I love the pitchers and the flowers.
I didn't bother to pollinate my sarras this year (they seem to struggle if left to their own devices) so probably won't have much if any sarra seed, but you never know.
Haven't got as many drosera as I used to these days. Unfortunatly, I didn't collect my D. binata seed in time and it all blew away in the wind and rain. That means all my sarras will have binata's in them next year.
I really like my all red variety of VFT 'Akai ryu', shame they don't grow true from seed. My 'typical' VFT often catch slugs which makes me chuckle.

Happy growing

[sez]

If you have any left I'd love a couple of these. I've never really developed any interest in 'normal' houseplants but love the interesting ones like cactus, chillies, aloe and whatnot.

Unfortunatly the only chilli seeds I have are jalapeno, or loads of fruit on a bolivian rainbow plant I could pilfer for seeds for you

... and where does one find spagnum moss?

[Flytrap]

Hi Sez,

Yep, plenty left. Only had two other takers so far, so can send you lots of seed.
Yes please, I would like some of the Bolivian Rainbow seeds. That would be great.

I'll PM you my address and if you PM me your address I'll get them in the post straight away.

Sphagnum moss can be bought from garden centres, often used to line hanging baskets. This can be live and green or dried out. They both work fine.
Be careful that it is actually Sphagnum moss and not any other kind. Sedge moss will kill the VFT's.
Sphagnum moss peat is very cheap, if you can find it as a lot of garden centres have stopped selling it. Peat bogs were being cut back just so gardeners could chuck tons of the stuff on their flower beds to improve the soil.
Whereas, carnivorous plants actually grow in peat bogs and only small amounts are used.
Again it must be Sphagnum moss peat and not any other kind.

Actually here's a link to a carnivorous plant site that can explain how to grow VFT's better than me. ICPS Seed Bank

Flytrap

[miss_corerupted]

Hi flytrap. i thought you would have loads of people biting youhand off for these tbh. Reading the thread do you think i should put my sundew and pitcher plant ouside now for the cold?? I didn't realise they needed cold at all so all still on my window ledge.

I only bought them a few months ago so not sure what to do

[Flytrap]

I would leave your sundew and pitcher plant where they are to be honest.
The sundew is probably a D. capensis or D. aliciae and will be killed off by our winters (although D. capensis will grow back from the roots).
The pitcher plant may not be hardy enough to put out this late in the season if it's spent it's life indoors. Some pitcher plants are hardier than others. For example Sarracenia purpurea are very hardy whereas S. leucophylla are less so. Having said that I keep all my Sarracenia outside all year.
It's only the Venus Flytraps that tend to suffer for not getting a decent winter dormancy. Seedlings are probably best kept indoors as well this year anyway.

Hope this helps.

[miss_corerupted]

Hi Flytrap thanks for the info. Just got the labels out of pots. I have a Drosera capensis sundew and a Sarracenia x hybrid. Both say just damp in the winter so i won't refill there containers.

thanks again for the help

[Flytrap]

I have a Drosera capensis sundew and a Sarracenia x hybrid.

Ah, D. capensis is very good at catching small flies. The long sticky leaves actually roll up around the fly (very slowly). Facinating!
Which one do you have? Thin leaves, broader leaves, green with very pale sticky tentacles, green with red tentacles or red leaves?

Sarracenia x hybrid could be a mixture of anything. Hope it's got some S. leucophylla in there as they give wonderful veining with clear windows (my favorite).

Flytrap

[miss_corerupted]

I'll takr a photo tomoz and post it up for you to see they are quite small plants

[stevemac]

Sorry to bump up an old thread But:

Are these carvivorous seed plant kits on Ebay likely to work?
If as Flytap says "they lose viability quickly" then when would be the best time to buy these seeds/plants?

I am intrigued by the various carnivorous plants and would like to grow some but don't want to be buying "dud" kits.

thanks for any help
Steve