Some major photo updates on my plants...

Just updating my overall VFT with heavy photos.

"Santa" is gone for good. I cannot revive it after leaving it in NZLFS for more than a month. The entire LFS turns green with algae too and I see no sign of VFT seedling. All the In-vitro has no progress. So I clear them out. I still have "Rojak" batch but no germination. "Fittest" is still growing. I think it's on it's 6th trap and should be putting it's 7th soon?

Here are the Photos of overall:

The last newly acquired cultivar "Cupped Trap" it's not entirely mine. The one has change hands at least 3 times that I know of, and it's origin from CZplant


Typical from World Farm, its other diversion rotted away in the earlier post.


Shark's teeth, from Triffid August 2012



Red Piranha from Flytrapstore about a year ago


RP clone when I re-potted, also "Fittest" at the corner!


A Typical from World Farm, I like it's big reddish traps



Typical VFT - Big Mouth X Big Mouth Seed grown


Typical VFT - Dantate X Dantate Seed grown


"Fittest" my very first seed grown VFT


Drosera Tokaiensis still recovering from repot


Cephalotus Follicularis

Major rotting and Fungus Gnat attack on rhizome!

If you remember about a week ago, I bought a typical VFT, what seems like Dantate from World Farm Nursery. I re-potted the plant in to 2 pot and 1 of them seems like it wasn't growing and turning black, thinking not to let it grow fungus/mold. I remove the dead traps but after a few easily attempts, the entire top came off easily. What seems to be was the bottom was rotting away and I thought I saw something moving, and I saw more! I suspect they were fungus gant. 

Here's a photo of what it looks like before re-potting and the rotting soil video.

Gotten myself a few more Carnivorous plants

I have obtained another 3 more CPs. A Drosera Tokaiensis, and the other 2 is of the same VFT plant but have split. It's a cultivar which was bought from CZplant by the original seller. 1 was a full plant and the other was just a small rhizome and a long root.

I didn't like the last minuted potting so I've re-potted them. Any advise on how to keep a Drosera would be helpful to me as this is my first.

Didn't like how it was potted, the rhizome was exposed.

After Re-potted

Rhizome and long root. I potted this in a 4 inch peat/perlite mix, hope it'll strike

Drosera Tokaiensis

VFT Shopping Spree...

I went to World Farm Nursery, see some very nice VFT and could not help myself taking 2 pots home. They are typical but has very unique traits. One with very big traps and long cilia, very similar to a "Low Giant". The other has cilia which look like the "Dantate". I just can't help myself comparing and taking the biggest home.

Visit to World Farm at Bah Soon Pah road , Singapore

I was told by a friend there is a nursery where they sells a lot of CP. I went there to find out, I also bought myself 2 VFT there. I was hoping to see some cultivar there. I didnt not set my hopes high knowing that cultivars are not highly seek in my small country/Island.

I was quite happy when I started seeing CPs. There were indeed many. But you know I prefer VFT. Was very happy to see some nice VFT and start asking the staff what cultivar they were. Later, was disappointed when I already knew there won't be any. So they are all TYPICALS.

BTW, these CP were imported from Malaysia, a nursery(YG) in Cameron Highlands.

After looking very closely at the VFT for a long time. I conclude that they probably were clones or seeds from 2 very obvious traits. 1. Big traps like the giant - Low giant/ Big mouth 2. Dantate, look at the cilia! I pick 1 from each and brought home some of the biggest traps I can find there.
Also, did you notice many of the flower stalks were cut/snip off? Either itchy hands or the owner decide to let the VFT grow.

Bought another New VFT in a far away land

I've bought a new VFT from FTC, Clayton's Red Sunset, it's now with my friend in Idaho. But he randomly took a photo of the bonus typical plant and sent it to me....

This typical is beautiful!

Some Repoting & Pullings

As you see, I'm always not happy with something and I need to fix what I think I need to. I dislike the greenish slimy algae on some of the top soil of those new VFT and bottom of the pot. I also wanted them in bigger pots and am thinking of doing some pulling as well. This is going to be a long post. I'll try to keep it short, posting same stage of my procedure. It would make comparing much easier. Here goes...

Some of my thoughts before I started off was, to keep them in 100% dead sphagnum or Peat/Perlite. I tested both soil with the water I've soak them and the were both below 15PPM. I've decided on Peat/Petlite coz sphagnum looks too messy on the surface.

First, I took them out of the pot to inspect the soil, I've observe that only the top and some bottom were algae rich, but not the middle. Sphagnum breaks open easily but I hate how the roots were tangled in some of those moss twigs/stem. I was also in for a little surprise...

I've started off with Dantate X Dantate Seed Grown. I didnt think how roots these plant would have, it was a little thick too.


Next I remove Big Mouth x Big Mouth Seed grown.


I was in for a little surprise when I saw another small white part. Didn't think they divert at a year growth from seed.


Last was the Red Piranha clone.


Double happiness for another small whitish rhizome observed.



The next step was to very carefully removing as much sphagnum in the roots as I could. There was more effort in this as some roots were really thin like hair, fragile too. I have some back ache after I finish the last plant.  :o

Dantate X Dantate Seed grown, boy the rhizome was long! I wonder why it didn't divert out a part or 2. Could it be uniquely different? Or was it the growth condition that it didn't think it was ready to divert out.


Big Mouth X Big Mouth Seed grown, after carefully cleaning it I was taken back when I see another small rhizome drop loosely. This one has 2 diversion! Nope! I didn't break it.


Here are some individual photos of the 3 Rhizome
1


2


3



And the 2 Rhizome of Red Piranha




And of coz I took some effort to measure the entire plant length too, this will give be some views on how they were all grow in same pot in sphagnum and later for me to compare again in the peat/perlite I'm going to use for them.

Dantate X Dantate: The entire plant length was about 11 cm from plant top to root bottom


Big Mouth X Big Mouth: There were about 10, 11 & 14 cm long.


Red Piranha: 2.5 & 8 cm long, now this makes me wonder if bigger traps has longer roots. :?:



And as you would have already thought or guessed, I took this opportunity to do some leaf pulling and even use a scalpel to cut off a part of a rhizome that has no leaf but only root attach. Some attempt were not good as some leaf didn't bring along part of the rhizome. But I'll try to grow it in 100% LFS anyway.

Dantate X Dantate Seed grow, I think this is a good part as it took along some rhizome, but the trap could have been already settle instead of a young growing trap which I think makes a batter pulling.



Big Mouth X Big Mouth seed grown, a leaf pulling which almost didn't have a part of rhizome and a rhizome that didn't have any leaf but has a long root. I'm eager to see how these 2 turns out later.


A Closer view on the rhizome, some old leaf has died off, so I'd use a scalpel to cut off this part of the rhizome



And the Red Piranha, I took 2 leaf pull. 1 came off well with a small part of rhizome, the other didn't take any. So let's see how it goes later.



They are now a little stress from repoting, lets hope they will recover in a few days time.
Dantate X Dantate has no clone, so this is the sole pot



Big Mouth X Big Mouth, this is the biggest of the 3



This is the smallest of the 3 if I remember correctly



And this clone, my friend will be taking it later, I've decided to give him the nicer orientation of the 2 small pot



Red Piranha, this is the bigger of the 2



The smaller one goes back to the same pot it came from because of it's short root and small size.



I also took the opportunity to pull off the biggest leaf of my cephalotus, it didn't reach down the rhizome and I couldn't see it too.


Now these babies are sitting in this container to keep them humid with a cover.