FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

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By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
#280581
Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum and new to carnivores plants. It all started with a purple picture plant and snowballed from there. I got a kit from lowes with a Ft and a picture plant in it. I know not the best choice but I wanted to give growling some from scratch a shot. I'm not sure if the going to work I've had them about a month and a half now and I see no growth at all . The pitcher still has no leaves and the FT still has only the two thin leaves it came with - with no traps. I just got a small Nepenthes yesterday and am still trying to figure out best care for it. In reality I'm trying to do that for all my plants but hay it's a start. Glad to be here have a good one .
By Grey
Posts:  3255
Joined:  Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:48 pm
#280584
Hey Hungry Plants and welcome to the forums! :-)

It does take time to get to grips with how to grow a variety of carnivorous plants, but I'm absolutely confident that you will learn plenty here. If you have any questions at all about the care for your plants, please feel free to ask! We're here to help however we can.
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By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
#280601
Grey wrote:Hey Hungry Plants and welcome to the forums! :-)

It does take time to get to grips with how to grow a variety of carnivorous plants, but I'm absolutely confident that you will learn plenty here. If you have any questions at all about the care for your plants, please feel free to ask! We're here to help however we can.

I do have a few questions. The trap i got in the kit has 2 leaves on it but no traps. should I dtrim the leaves to promote new growth? The other is the place I got my purple pitcher plant said the keep all there CP in a tray of water. im now reading you should not do that. what is correct or does it differ from type of plant. I have 2 FT, 2 Sarracenia and a Nepenthes.
User avatar
By boarderlib
Posts:  1641
Joined:  Fri Dec 04, 2015 1:13 pm
#280604
The Sarracenia (pitcher plants) will appreciate being in a tray of water during their active growing season. The fly traps I don't leave in a tray of water unless it's above 90°F. There are many growers here that do leave them in a tray, and are successful with it. I think a lot of it boils down to the media you use, and your specific conditions.

Also a picture would help us determine a good course of action for your fly trap. I'm not going to say you should do something without at least seeing the plant first.

http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/board ... 30434.html
http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/board ... 31990.html
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By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
#280610
boarderlib wrote:The Sarracenia (pitcher plants) will appreciate being in a tray of water during their active growing season. The fly traps I don't leave in a tray of water unless it's above 90°F. There are many growers here that do leave them in a tray, and are successful with it. I think a lot of it boils down to the media you use, and your specific conditions.

Also a picture would help us determine a good course of action for your fly trap. I'm not going to say you should do something without at least seeing the plant first.

http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/board ... 30434.html
http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/board ... 31990.html

Thanks! This is what I have for now I hope it helps...Well atleest I got a link to work sorry

ImageNepenthes by disturbed_in_ct, on Flickr[/img]
Imagepurple picher pland by disturbed_in_ct, on Flickr[/img]
By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
#280796
HeliamphoraWalnut wrote:That is actually a very beautiful purp! I love the colors on it
Thank you. It was about half that size a few months ago when I got it. It's wat made me get the CP bug. Now I wish my FT and my pitcher pant bulb would do something
By Grey
Posts:  3255
Joined:  Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:48 pm
#280809
I wouldn't recommend trimming off the Venus fly traps' leaves as the plant can use them for photosynthesis. :-) It looks quite dark in colour so I think it could do with getting more light. May I ask, what kind of conditions do you give it? Light, soil, water, etc. Are you able to get a close up photo of it for us, please?

Thank you. :-D
By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
#280822
Grey wrote:I wouldn't recommend trimming off the Venus fly traps' leaves as the plant can use them for photosynthesis. :-) It looks quite dark in colour so I think it could do with getting more light. May I ask, what kind of conditions do you give it? Light, soil, water, etc. Are you able to get a close up photo of it for us, please?

Thank you. :-D
I will get better pics when I get home
By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
#280884
Ok now that I'm home. The purple pitcher is in strate sphagnum moss. The purple pitcher bulb is also in strate sphagnum moss. The long stringy fly trap gas soil in the bottom and sphagnum on top. The Nepenthes and the small fly trap came in those pots so i'm not sure. It was the long stringy flytrap I was wondering if I should trim as Iv had it for more than a month and it has dun nothing. The small one Iv had for about a week it was a rescue from Lowes. when I got home I saw some of the leaves on the Nepenthes are drying out not sure whats going on there :( . but here are some better picks.

[img][img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5329/30542721824_fe7c045ee3_z.jpg[/img]DSC00071 by disturbed_in_ct, on Flickr[/img]
[img][img]https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5529/30556758073_c8894b3b74_z.jpg[/img]DSC00067 by disturbed_in_ct, on Flickr[/img]
[img][img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5602/30542723624_5eb80b1253_z.jpg[/img]DSC00069 by disturbed_in_ct, on Flickr[/img]
[img][img]https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5822/30542722574_dfc508dd13_z.jpg[/img]DSC00070 by disturbed_in_ct, on Flickr[/img]
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By Grey
Posts:  3255
Joined:  Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:48 pm
#280924
Thank you for the extra info and photos, I really appreciate it! Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of experience with Nepenthes so I don't feel that I can give you any decent advice, but there are lots of members here who are fantastic with them and I'm sure they could help you out! I'm happy to help as much as I can with regards to the fly traps.

Do you know what type of soil they are potted in? If it's what they arrived in, then it might be safest to repot them in pure sphagnum moss until you can get some peat, as long as it doesn't have fertilisers in it as this will gradually burn the roots of your plants and kill them. They are very sensitive to nutrients in the soil, as well as with water, so it's important to water them using pure water (rainwater, reverse osmosis, distilled, deionised etc.). For more info about soil please see here and, for water, here. If you have any further questions then, obviously, we are here to assist you as best as we can! :-)

From the photos you've shared, I can see that both fly traps need more sunlight (the dark green, broad leaves on one and the long spindly ones on the other tell me this). May I ask which State or hardiness zone you are from? (I'm assuming you're from the USA because you mentioned Lowes, but please correct me if I'm mistaken.) A lot of areas in the United States offer conditions that are safe for Venus fly traps to be grown outside in direct sunlight, as this is what they need. In the cooler months of the year (usually from Halloween to Valentine's Day), they have a dormancy period that needs to be respected in order for the plants to grow healthily for years to come -- I mention this because we're in the middle of the dormancy season, so it might be that your fly traps aren't growing overly well in part due to this natural occurrence (on top of the health problems they tend to develop when kept somewhere like Lowes). If you'd like more information about dormancy, please have a look at this page.

Back to the lighting, Flytrapcare.com has an amazing article on lighting here; this describes using natural sunlight as well as artificial lighting, depending on what is your preference and what is available to you. Generally speaking, these plants do grow best outside but I think there may be some on the forums who have at least attempted to grow them on a bright windowsill, with varying degrees of success. I used to grow my fly traps indoors due to mobility issues, and they were never quite as healthy as I feel they could have been, but I'm sure that we can talk in more detail about your preferences and what's available to you.

I don't want to overload you with tons of information as there is sooo much to take in but once you have the basics down, you may well find that your plants recover and start to flourish. These are very hardy plants that can handle a lot so, if the rhizome is still healthy, your fly traps should be recoverable in time. :-D Unfortunately one the perils of buying from Lowes is that they are often abused and left to get into a really sorry state upon purchase, but we've had members who have recovered them before and I know that you have this chance as well.
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By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
#280971
I live in the US in CT. I got the long spindaly on about a month or so back and the other about a weak a go. The plan was to grow them out over the winter and then outside in the summer and next winter let them go dormant. If I get a better led or cfl what is a good wattage for ether ?
By Grey
Posts:  3255
Joined:  Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:48 pm
#281229
Thanks for the info. :-) I honestly don't know much about artificial lighting for carnivorous plants, but there are people here with extensive knowledge, so I'd definitely recommend starting a post in the "Artificial Lighting" section of the forum.

Have you had a chance to look at the roots and rhizomes of the fly traps at all? The bulb that the roots and leaves grow out of is the rhizome, and it should be white/cream in colour. The colour of the rhizome can be a good indicator of how well the plants will recover from the neglect they received at Lowes; it does mean digging around a little bit but you won't necessarily have to completely remove the plant from the soil.
By Hungry Plants
Posts:  1134
Joined:  Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:41 am
#281296
Grey wrote:Thanks for the info. :-) I honestly don't know much about artificial lighting for carnivorous plants, but there are people here with extensive knowledge, so I'd definitely recommend starting a post in the "Artificial Lighting" section of the forum.

Have you had a chance to look at the roots and rhizomes of the fly traps at all? The bulb that the roots and leaves grow out of is the rhizome, and it should be white/cream in colour. The colour of the rhizome can be a good indicator of how well the plants will recover from the neglect they received at Lowes; it does mean digging around a little bit but you won't necessarily have to completely remove the plant from the soil.


I did look at the rhizome and it's white with I little highlights of green on the edges

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