FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi this is Jean from Indy. Can i just say that i love my venus flytrap and this is the 1st one ive ever had I have some questions concerning my plant but not sure if i should post here and ive looked at the FAQ's and didnt find what i was looking for....So any help to a new user would b great and much apperciated....Thanks so much

So what questions do you have ??

3 rules you need to know is
1.)Distilled water or rain water
2.)peat moss /sphagnum media or perlite or sand media
3.)Lots of sun light

Welcome Jean! Feel free to post any questions you may have and we'll help if we can

Thanks for the welcome. Ok first off i wish i wouldve bought my plant here..i had no idea about this site till my boyfriend found it for me after I bought the flytrap....I bought mine at Lowes yes i know i probably shouldve researched a little better but none the less, the plant looks good but ive got 2 main concerns 1st is there are 2 traps that are really long and droopy is there something i am doing wrong & they are like that or should i cut them off? Also i bought the plant about 3 wks ago and it is still in its original container I know i should replant it but I am so afraid I am going to do something to hurt it...any suggestions would be very much apperciated thanks

J

Welcome to flytrapcare!

The long and lanky leaves probably means that the plant is not receiving enough light (makes sense since you got it from lowes, where it receives almost no light). It should recover over time if you give it proper care (check out the links below to find out how to do so). If it is in a small plastic pot, then to repot you can hold the center of the plant, then squeeze the sides of the pot until the soil falls out, and get off any soil on the plants roots and rhizome (white center) by rinsing it with distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. The standard flytrap soil mixture is 50% spahagnum moss, and 50% perlite. Alternatively for perlite, you could use pure silica sand. Avoid brands like miracle grow because they have added nutrients in them which can kill a flytrap. You should then pot it into something preferably 5 inches or taller. A good, cheap pot to use can be a 16oz styrofoam cup (usually you can get 20 of them for a few dollars).

If you read these pages, it should give you a better understanding on how to take care of your flytrap

http://www.flytrapcare.com/the-importan ... traps.html
http://www.flytrapcare.com/the-importan ... traps.html
http://www.flytrapcare.com/media-soil-f ... traps.html

Wow thanks for the great info...going today to buy the essentials i need to repot "VERN"!!!
Until I bought this plant and started doing research on it I never knew there were so many beautiful Flytraps and other carnivorous plants!!! Have a great day & Thanks Again!!!!