Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 12:40:23 -0800 From: "Ermine!" <ermine@aimnet.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg215$foo@default> Subject: VFTs, d.capensis flowering Qs, fungus, and more!
> From: bergrd@valunet.com (Richard T. Berg)
> Subject: VFT's Responding Well?!?! =)
> At feeding time 2 plants of similar size had started putting out a new
> leaf... After about 2-4 days the one plant that did get fed had grown
> thiis new leaf nearly twice as fast as the one that did not feed... WoW!..
> This really made me grin with delight!... Just wondering if anyone
> (I'm sure you
> have) has noticed this or even done a study on the effects of outside
> nutrients (insects) play on the speed a plant develops/lives...
I haven't done any sort of peer-reviewed study, no. (I've only been into
CP for the last few months myself!) But I've definitely seen a
difference in fed plants versus non-fed ones. I had a large clump of
VFT seedlings I got from Home Depot, and teased all of the intertwinded
plants apart. A couple of them I found insects smell enough to feed,
but the rest went without until they had larger traps (Or I could find
more small bugs.)
Within a month, the fed plants were twice the size of the others, and
putting out large traps rapidly.
After that, I take care to keep my VFTs fed! I also notice the same
reaction from S. purpurea and my one Nepenthes. Each of them began
growing and pitchering much larger and faster after the first time I fed
them.
==============================
Now, on a personal note to the rest of you, *I* have some questions. :)
First, I've got a d.capensis that's flowering. I know, I know, most of
you wonder why I didn't snip the scape so 'that weed' didn't spawn, but
I am new to the whole hobby, and really wanted to let it flower. I get
seeds this way, too - and that's the question.
Right now, all but one of the flowers has opened and closed. how long
should I wait before snipping the stalk and bagging it for seeds?
Should I wait till the seedpods turn brown or black? Everything is
still green yet. Any help would be appreciated.
Second question! I've got a fungus among us here.. At least two pots,
one with a VFT and one with a newly-potted plant are showing a lot of
white, cottony fungus. In the newly potted plant, it looks like the
soil itself that's suddenly bloomed into white fuzz. The same sort of
thing happens to any insect on my d.adelae - within two days of being
ensnared, it looks like a cotton ball from fungus.
What is the recommended procedure? I've never used a fungicide or
anything of the sort, and don't want to hurt the plants. Help?
Thank you!
Matt O.
ermine@aimnet.com
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