Re: New VFT grower

Nexus User elliott (elliott@nexus.edu.au)
Mon, 13 May 1996 20:02:43 +0930

Stefano,

Don't worry about feeding your VFT. Nearly everyone I know doesn't
bother, and neither do I. Also, never give them dead insects,
especially if they have been sprayed with an insecticide. Feeding
plants meat is not on as it is too rich for the plant, decomposes
before the plant can digest it, rots the leaf, and if you do it too
often can kill the plant.

As for the leaves rotting when they reach the moss, this could be
because of old age, as the leaves do eventually die after they have
reached the end of the useful life. As for your plant growing on one
side, it is possible it may be light induced, but their may also be
something wrong with your mix. If you want your VFT to reproduce, the
best method is to divide the plant after it has around 12 to 13 leaves.
You should then find two or more growth points at the base of the rosette.
Another productive method is to use the flower stems when the come up,
as I found out quite by accident. Trim them off when they are an inch
or two high, and dip the end in a root producing hormone. Place it
in a 50/50 peat sand mix, and place it in a humid environmnment.

Hope this helps,

Russell Elliott

elliott@nexus.edu.au