FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey guys, I'm new to the forums and I'm hoping to hear from some people that can answer a few questions that I'm getting mixed answers on from my heavy amounts of research I've done. My main question is with watering. I see most people say to not leave your VFTs sitting in a tray of water at all times. However, some say if you live in a really hot and dry environment then leaving it in a tray of water at all times is good. Well I live in Austin, TX where yes it gets extremely hot here in the summer (approx. 100 deg. sometimes more), but we have extremely high humidity. I haven't found an answer for hot areas with high humidity? I've read it also depends on many variables so I'll try and explain my situation more. I have one plant in the standard flytrap store cup they send it in and I have a few in a larger container that is 8 inches wide and 8 inches tall. Both are in long fibered sphagnum moss and are outside on my patio where they get 4 hours of direct sunlight. Would also love any other help you Texas growers could offer me or anyone else with experience growing in really hot temperatures. Thanks!!

Use the tray method, put my plants in a plastic box and fill it with water.


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And acclimated your plants to the Texas sun by not putting them in direct sun
, then after a while they should be use the sun then put them in full sun.


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Thanks for the reply. By tray method do you mean have it stand in water at all times? Or just for an hour or so and then take it out? Also approx how many inches high should the waterline be if the tray isn't much larger than the pot? (12 inch tray for 8 inch pot)?

All the time in spring and summer. Winter light watering .


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No I said acclimate it direct will do the trick but it will burn the leaves.


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Where at man I'm over on the east side by Springdale and airport

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Nice I'm fairly close. I'm on Stassney Ln just off I35.

I leave mine in a tray with an inch or more of water all the time. Actually in the summer I come home from work and all the water will be gone so I fill it back up every day. We have hot and humid days just like Austin. Ironcore21 can help for sure. He has a great looking collection. I saw it a few weeks back.

Cool your close to that Lowes and Fiesta mart huh? Yeah kk is right just keep them in full sun and at least 1 inch of water I use like 10 inch pots so mine last 2 days before I water again

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The tallest Styrofoam cups I could possibly find they work perfectly here in austin

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I lived up in Avery Ranch off 183 for 6 years and mine had a hard time outside. Mostly due to pests...squirrels, birds, & some kind of unseen mites. But once it starts hitting 97/98 you can consider leaving them in a tray of water daily. The goal is for the soil not to dry out by the end of the day so if there is water left over, by nighttime, try using a little less until your media is still moist but the tray is empty at the end of the day. They will also appreciate some mid-day shade if you can offer it...like in the shade of a tree from 1-4. Without that, they may look a little stressed from July-August, but they should be ok.

Flytraps left standing in water all the time will not be optimally healthy. But it is an easier way to grow them and requires less attention to watering. Because, if allowed to dry out completely, they will die.

Easiest way to grow them and keep them at a near-ideal moisture level is to use a very large and deep pot (over 10 inches deep) and keep them sitting in an inch or two of water.

If growing in a shorter pot, and left sitting in water at all times, flytraps will not be able to reach their full potential, but can still grow quite well and look great.

ATXflytraps wrote:Thanks for the reply. By tray method do you mean have it stand in water at all times? Or just for an hour or so and then take it out? Also approx how many inches high should the waterline be if the tray isn't much larger than the pot? (12 inch tray for 8 inch pot)?

i would not use a tray that's deeper than your pots
if it rains your plants will be fully submerged
when it rains, my trays fill to a max of about 2.5 inches

My luck using pots with built-in watering trays has been good to me. I fill them all the way to the top and let the water sit like that for a while until I see the medium wont soak up any more. Then i discard whats left over, and store it for later use or water other plants with it. If i can take a pinch from of the top soil and ring water from the medium, then its too wet (imho). I like it just damp but never dry, or too wet. Now in our hottest Texas summers, water stays in their trays day and night. I really dont grow vfts as much as I do drosera and sarracenia. I may only have about 60-70 common vfts no cultivars, but theyre all green and look okay to me...