Feeding VFTs

From: de Waal Cobus (WaalJ@namwater.com.na)
Date: Thu Feb 12 1998 - 04:08:05 PST


Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 13:08:05 +0100
From: de Waal Cobus <WaalJ@namwater.com.na>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg566$foo@default>
Subject: Feeding VFTs

Hi, I've recently joined the CP mail list. I live in Namibia which is
just Northwest of South Africa. Our humidity is very low here (we have
the oldest desert in the world (the Namib), in our country), but I've
managed to keep my 2 VFTs (which I bought in South Africa) alive and
well for a few months now.

I've planted them in a 50 : 50 mix of sand and dried moss. I'm not sure
whether the moss is Sphagnum, because I have seen it in the 'wild' in
South Africa. The moss is sold at nurseries as an esthetic ground cover
for pot plants. I've tested its pH and it is very acidic.

My questions: 1) Does sphagnum moss only grow in Canada, the USA and
Australia, or can it be that they are indigenous to South Africa as well
?

1) Can a VFT survive without food ? If not, how long ? What would
happen if it gets too hungry, will its growth slow down ?

2) I've seen pictures of VFT where the leaf length : trap length ratio
is about 1.5 : 1. Mine is about 3 : 1 to 4 : 1. What determines this
ratio, could it be light intensity ?



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