Many people are giving lots of advice, which is great, but things happen like this and different climates/settings require some people to use different methods of ensuring their plants are healthy... Great video btw!👍👍
Hi Micheal thanks very much for your comment. They do happen and even after years things can catch you by surprise. I find winter always a risky time, especially because i keep my plants outside all year, i reduce watering alot. Like you said it is just getting used to where you live and your climate. The plants are doing great still, i recently re-potted after such a long time and now using Coco pith fiber, its a real great media but needs alot of leaching and washing before use. Ill have a vid out soon on that topic.
I use long fiber spagnum moss in mesh plastic pots because of the mold issue, it really let's them breathe and because you got more airspace than pot you can easily see the first signs of mold from the top, sides, or bottom in time to spray them with alcohol.
I prefer pots with holes in the side for my Nepenthes, as it helps air circulation and i just water more regular. not heard this for VFTs though. I will be repotting all my VFTs soon as the last time I did was when I made this video and they long over due. Ill be using Coco Pith fiber as my new medium, i just need to rinse it one more time. Thats a lovely light airy medium, i know they will love it. Peat moss is impossible to get hold of here.
One of my first experiences with the plants, I was told to water them with rain water. there was no explanation why this was. I didn't worry about it as I usually watereed all my plants that way, They died after about 3 weeks. Some time later I learned that the reason you want rain water as that the plants need soft water I already knew at the time I got them that our local rain was about 50,000 ppm. I didn't know at the time that this is unusual and the reason you are told to use rain water oddly my city water at the time was less the 10 ppm. It would have been better to use tap water in that case.
Rob Blackburn thanks for the input. I'll have to check your plants out if you have them on your channel. The mold issue is sorted now, and half the plants have recovered very well. I lost the other half, we had a string of bad rainy weather and the plants were left out a couple if nights and the fungus made a comeback. but lesson learned.
I think this video makes keeping Venus fly traps much more stressful than it really is. All you need are spring tails! They eat fungus and mold! If you want fungal gnats to disappear all you need are drosera and pinguicula! They specialize in eating fungas gnats and any micro insects!
lol, well that's the thing when your newer at carnivorous plants everything seemed more dramatic and difficult. Then as time goes on, it seems impossible to kill them and you think how the hell did I ever seem to mess it up in the start, lol. Yeah I always have a few Cape Sundews growing and they do catch a few Gnats, maybe I need to plant some more. I'd love to get a few more different types of sundews, would complement the vfts nicely. Drosera Britannica would be cool to get, a British native!
My twopenneth worth....they look healthy enough, but drawn, that is lacking strong light indicated by the long leaves and smallish traps, but, then again you are in Yorkshire;-)
no! only the accent. I'm living in South Spain. my plants get alot of sun. just recently repotted them and they are doing beautiful in the Coco Fiber substate. Will make a video soon how you can prepare Coco pith fiber. its great
Well it was a very long time ago since I last had a few small Bonsai. I really like Bonsai and quite fancy having one again, maybe just one but I found here that keeping them outside in summer was a real nuisance when the tree was in a particularly small pot it could dry out very fast... And it only takes once and the tree suffers dramatically or dies, depending on its drought tolerance. I had some for years when i was in my 20s but ultimately lost them do to them getting dried out from lack of consistency. I'd love to get a Japanese maple or cherry, but a nice sized one in a bigger pot. Yeah it's normal that the insect in the trap can mold after but not usually while it is still digesting though. Good air flow and light are important to help prevent mold
thats what Ive done this year! and they growing very well in it. You have to be very very carful though. Coco pith coir needs soaking and washing before use. Ill have a video on that oneday, its half compleate. 6-7 soakings of 8-12 hours in rain water or RO water, the later is just more expensive so I choose to treat the coco when we have lots of rain that i can use. empty out each soaking and refil with pure water. I love the media, its light, great water retention with great aireation. I use 4 parts coir to 1 part silica.
i forgot to add you will need a TDS meter also to test water between soaks. Once the water the coco is soaking in tests below 30ppm after 8-12h then you will be good to go. the longer you let the coir soak the better!
Its how they grow in summer, the petiole grow upright and reach out higher like they reaching for the sky, it keeps them cooler. In winter they hug the ground and grow very low as its warmer. yes i keep them outside year round.
it as a sulfur-based one. make sure it's not got copper in it! Ive found Sulfur and a reduction of water allowing the top to dry between waterings to work well.
Mold and rot can be devastating if not caught quickly, it will basically rot the plant away until nothing is left. But yes the best thing to do is remove or pick off all the rot and infected areas, and keep it as dry as possible until it has fully recovered, that's the hard part, as they still need water, so better to bottom water and not too much as you want to aim for the top soil to be nice and dry. Most of the plants have recovered nicely and are showing some nice growth.
nice recomendation, seems like it works very well for VFTs. Here a more info for anyone else that wants it www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/steroids-for-fly-traps-t39124.html
Victoria Brown Frank I've come to prefer white plastic pots as they reflect the sunlight better keeping the roots cool. Clay pots are perfectly fine as long as it's hard fired clay! And not the partially fired one that's air dried, that type will leach minerals into the soil. Glazed clay pots are normally hard fired, and if you get one that's in a white glaze it will do a nice job keeping roots cool.
thanks for your in-put. I know many do water from the bottom, but it's not something that I prefer. I've watered from the top for years, i find it helps to flush out any TDS build up in the soil on a regular basis. As long as you don't get the crown wet, or water early in the morning and it has a chance to dry between waterings my plants have done pretty well. when sumer roles in, its so hot her that ill use thr tray method, as they dry out too quick otherwise
Many people are giving lots of advice, which is great, but things happen like this and different climates/settings require some people to use different methods of ensuring their plants are healthy...
Great video btw!👍👍
Hi Micheal thanks very much for your comment. They do happen and even after years things can catch you by surprise. I find winter always a risky time, especially because i keep my plants outside all year, i reduce watering alot. Like you said it is just getting used to where you live and your climate. The plants are doing great still, i recently re-potted after such a long time and now using Coco pith fiber, its a real great media but needs alot of leaching and washing before use. Ill have a vid out soon on that topic.
@@GreenthumbsGarden that's awesome, good luck!
I use long fiber spagnum moss in mesh plastic pots because of the mold issue, it really let's them breathe and because you got more airspace than pot you can easily see the first signs of mold from the top, sides, or bottom in time to spray them with alcohol.
Eric74 net pots?
Eric74 how much alcohol do you spray them with?
Eric74 how much alcohol do you spray them with?
I prefer pots with holes in the side for my Nepenthes, as it helps air circulation and i just water more regular. not heard this for VFTs though. I will be repotting all my VFTs soon as the last time I did was when I made this video and they long over due. Ill be using Coco Pith fiber as my new medium, i just need to rinse it one more time. Thats a lovely light airy medium, i know they will love it. Peat moss is impossible to get hold of here.
One of my first experiences with the plants, I was told to water them with rain water. there was no explanation why this was. I didn't worry about it as I usually watereed all my plants that way, They died after about 3 weeks. Some time later I learned that the reason you want rain water as that the plants need soft water I already knew at the time I got them that our local rain was about 50,000 ppm. I didn't know at the time that this is unusual and the reason you are told to use rain water oddly my city water at the time was less the 10 ppm. It would have been better to use tap water in that case.
I use 2 peat 1 perlite and top it of with spagnum moss I have over 214 carnivorous plants and that has been the best for me and I don't get much fungi
Rob Blackburn thanks for the input. I'll have to check your plants out if you have them on your channel. The mold issue is sorted now, and half the plants have recovered very well. I lost the other half, we had a string of bad rainy weather and the plants were left out a couple if nights and the fungus made a comeback. but lesson learned.
@Stay Awesome68 AHHHH woah man watch your language
I put sphagnum moss on the bottom keep soil from being wash out over time
nice tip!
I think this video makes keeping Venus fly traps much more stressful than it really is. All you need are spring tails! They eat fungus and mold! If you want fungal gnats to disappear all you need are drosera and pinguicula! They specialize in eating fungas gnats and any micro insects!
lol, well that's the thing when your newer at carnivorous plants everything seemed more dramatic and difficult. Then as time goes on, it seems impossible to kill them and you think how the hell did I ever seem to mess it up in the start, lol. Yeah I always have a few Cape Sundews growing and they do catch a few Gnats, maybe I need to plant some more. I'd love to get a few more different types of sundews, would complement the vfts nicely. Drosera Britannica would be cool to get, a British native!
My twopenneth worth....they look healthy enough, but drawn, that is lacking strong light indicated by the long leaves and smallish traps, but, then again you are in Yorkshire;-)
no! only the accent. I'm living in South Spain. my plants get alot of sun. just recently repotted them and they are doing beautiful in the Coco Fiber substate. Will make a video soon how you can prepare Coco pith fiber. its great
I got my first plant and when it catches flys they mold a little I wanna know why you stopped bonzai too much care?
Well it was a very long time ago since I last had a few small Bonsai. I really like Bonsai and quite fancy having one again, maybe just one but I found here that keeping them outside in summer was a real nuisance when the tree was in a particularly small pot it could dry out very fast... And it only takes once and the tree suffers dramatically or dies, depending on its drought tolerance. I had some for years when i was in my 20s but ultimately lost them do to them getting dried out from lack of consistency. I'd love to get a Japanese maple or cherry, but a nice sized one in a bigger pot. Yeah it's normal that the insect in the trap can mold after but not usually while it is still digesting though. Good air flow and light are important to help prevent mold
love the videos
can you repot them in coconut coir substrates? thanks!
thats what Ive done this year! and they growing very well in it. You have to be very very carful though. Coco pith coir needs soaking and washing before use. Ill have a video on that oneday, its half compleate. 6-7 soakings of 8-12 hours in rain water or RO water, the later is just more expensive so I choose to treat the coco when we have lots of rain that i can use. empty out each soaking and refil with pure water. I love the media, its light, great water retention with great aireation. I use 4 parts coir to 1 part silica.
i forgot to add you will need a TDS meter also to test water between soaks. Once the water the coco is soaking in tests below 30ppm after 8-12h then you will be good to go. the longer you let the coir soak the better!
@@GreenthumbsGarden even if its 100% clean?
@@GreenthumbsGarden cuz i bought cocoa coir with perlite mix
@@GreenthumbsGarden and can i repot them now, during summer? Thanks!
are they kept outside? they look a bit leggy
Its how they grow in summer, the petiole grow upright and reach out higher like they reaching for the sky, it keeps them cooler. In winter they hug the ground and grow very low as its warmer. yes i keep them outside year round.
What anti-fungal solution or mix are you using?
it as a sulfur-based one. make sure it's not got copper in it! Ive found Sulfur and a reduction of water allowing the top to dry between waterings to work well.
Are you able to grow Sundews or Pinguculas ? Those are great fungus gnats catchers 👊🦗
yes I have a few Cape Sundew and they do great catching the Gnats. I would love to add a ping to my collection and a few other dorsera types
mold isn't that bad just pick it off and replace the soil
Mold and rot can be devastating if not caught quickly, it will basically rot the plant away until nothing is left. But yes the best thing to do is remove or pick off all the rot and infected areas, and keep it as dry as possible until it has fully recovered, that's the hard part, as they still need water, so better to bottom water and not too much as you want to aim for the top soil to be nice and dry. Most of the plants have recovered nicely and are showing some nice growth.
Dr GreenThumb if you regarly inspect your plant it's not a problem if you can remove it Early that's how I stop mold
Greenthumbs Garden I picked one up from home depot so sad I don't think any of the traps are even good all rotten
scotts disease ex
nice recomendation, seems like it works very well for VFTs. Here a more info for anyone else that wants it www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/steroids-for-fly-traps-t39124.html
I saw where you should never use clay pots.
Victoria Brown Frank I've come to prefer white plastic pots as they reflect the sunlight better keeping the roots cool. Clay pots are perfectly fine as long as it's hard fired clay! And not the partially fired one that's air dried, that type will leach minerals into the soil. Glazed clay pots are normally hard fired, and if you get one that's in a white glaze it will do a nice job keeping roots cool.
You using too large pots, water from below, never top ;)
thanks for your in-put. I know many do water from the bottom, but it's not something that I prefer. I've watered from the top for years, i find it helps to flush out any TDS build up in the soil on a regular basis. As long as you don't get the crown wet, or water early in the morning and it has a chance to dry between waterings my plants have done pretty well. when sumer roles in, its so hot her that ill use thr tray method, as they dry out too quick otherwise
Are you welsh? I can’t place your accent. Great video!
From Yorkshire, lol, very different accents. Thanks! I'm going to get around soon to doing a few VFT care videos.