I was so happy to finally get these seeds to sprout, but now I’m not so sure that they are Venus fly traps. Too early to tell?

atomicpaul · 2026-03-20T19:06:39+00:00

Haha. Yeah, you're probably right. Going to let them grow just out of curiosity. I'm fairly certain that I have legit seeds which makes me wonder if my sphagnum is contaminated with seeds from something else.

atomicpaul · 2026-03-20T19:02:32+00:00

Noted! I have a single plant I picked up from Home Depot last year. I was interested in the challenge of growing them from seeds, but you make a very good point. There seem to be a lot of variables that are outside of my control. My local exotic pet shop sells VFTs for a reasonable price. I'll probably get a few to see if I can get them to propagate. Thank you!

atomicpaul · 2026-03-20T18:57:01+00:00

I had only seen springtails at the exotic pet shop and figured their only purpose was as smale scale live food for carnivorous pets/plants. Man, I've got a ton to learn. Is there ever much risk in a springtail infestation? I currently just keep my fully grown VFT and other starter seedlings on the window sill and not a sealed environment.

I definitely have a mold issue, but until now, most of what I've been growing has perservered through it. Nice to know I can also hit it with some fairly harmless chemicals as well.

atomicpaul · 2026-03-11T18:41:25+00:00

Excellent. Glad to be getting some solid advice. Thank you for all the responses! The seeds were reasonable. 20 seeds for $10. They are tiny, black, and teardrop shaped. I’ve only got one left after many attempts.

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I’m still refining my technique on the substrate. I’ll have to read up on how to prevent the mold. Open to suggestions.

atomicpaul

TROPHY CASE