FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I found a few deformities on my VFT that worries me. Is this normal? What is the cause if it isnt normal, and how can it be treated?

Sorry for the bad lighting, but thanks so much for all the help!

the two new leaves forming have traps that arent inline with the leaves themselves. The smallest one is perpendicular with the leaf too.

Where do you see a deformity? Are you asking why the new traps are smaller? That's because your plant is probably going dormant

SFLguy wrote:Where do you see a deformity? Are you asking why the new traps are smaller? That's because your plant is probably going dormant

It's mid-summer here, it cant go dormant. I mean the new traps are actually not growing straight.

it's normal. I have some doing that right now while putting out some dormancy leaves at a S-L-O-W pace if at all. but what I did notice is the fact that the traps look like "blades"; that kinda shows that while that trap was forming the plant was a little dry. I get that especially in the transition from active growth season watering to late fall/dormancy watering. just means keep an eye on the moisture level a little; the rule of thumb is "moist, not wet all the time"

Earthy wrote:it's normal. I have some doing that right now while putting out some dormancy leaves at a S-L-O-W pace if at all. but what I did notice is the fact that the traps look like "blades"; that kinda shows that while that trap was forming the plant was a little dry. I get that especially in the transition from active growth season watering to late fall/dormancy watering. just means keep an eye on the moisture level a little; the rule of thumb is "moist, not wet all the time"

Oohhh! So that deformities means the plant was too dry?? Ohkay, now that makes sense, haha, thank you, ill make sure too keep the 'lil guy a little more moist. Little confused about the "blades" part though. How should the leaves look when healthy and well hydrated but not too wet?

New leaves sometimes have twisted tips and it's not necessarily a deformity. My Akai Ryu did this all the time. Your plant looks a little pale, is it getting enough light? Also, what kind of medium is it growing in? It looks like mulch, which wouldn't be good for it.

xr280xr wrote:New leaves sometimes have twisted tips and it's not necessarily a deformity. My Akai Ryu did this all the time. Your plant looks a little pale, is it getting enough light? Also, what kind of medium is it growing in? It looks like mulch, which wouldn't be good for it.

Its growing in peat moss and perlite (70 percent peat, 30 perlite) the top layer is mulch, for some reason, I wouldnt say that the store I bought it at is very... smart. As for sunlight, nope, its getting too little. Except for today. Im now giving it full sunlight. Might also be the camera's glare exaggerating the lightness of the leaves, haha... Im goint to try to keep them growing as best I can the rest of this summer as I want to repot them in deeper pots and split the rhizomes late winter or early spring.

I'd try to scrape off that top layer of mulch. That has the potential to harm your plant. Other than that, sounds like you're in good shape!

xr280xr wrote:I'd try to scrape off that top layer of mulch. That has the potential to harm your plant. Other than that, sounds like you're in good shape!

Ah ill do that ASAP, thanks for the advice! How would the mulch be a threat to my plants though? Does it leak minerals into the "good" medium?

Gry wrote:Does it leak minerals into the "good" medium?

Exactly!..depending on what's in the mulch. The distilled water can draw salts out of the mulch and carry them down to the roots. Just plain wood mulch may be ok for a while, especially if you're tray watering. Compost would be deadly. But I don't like to risk anything when it comes to TDS because the plants will notice if it's too high and it doesn't take much.

Gry wrote: Oohhh! So that deformities means the plant was too dry?? Ohkay, now that makes sense, haha, thank you, ill make sure too keep the 'lil guy a little more moist. Little confused about the "blades" part though. How should the leaves look when healthy and well hydrated but not too wet?

when the plant has enough water, the traps coming out will look like full little half-circles on the bottom and the straight leaf margin on the back. the way it's been explained to me is they get the "blade/hook look" when there wasn't enough water for the plant to fully form that trap.

Earthy wrote: the way it's been explained to me is they get the "blade/hook look" when there wasn't enough water for the plant to fully form that trap.

I think that may be a different from what Gry is experiencing. Sometimes on unhealthy plants a leaf will fully form and it's trap will not develop but rather will remain a little "blade/hook" like you're describing. Gry's picture could be that, but to me it looks like a trap that just begins twisted but will still develop into a normal, healthy trap.

xr280xr wrote:

Earthy wrote: the way it's been explained to me is they get the "blade/hook look" when there wasn't enough water for the plant to fully form that trap.

I think that may be a different from what Gry is experiencing. Sometimes on unhealthy plants a leaf will fully form and it's trap will not develop but rather will remain a little "blade/hook" like you're describing. Gry's picture could be that, but to me it looks like a trap that just begins twisted but will still develop into a normal, healthy trap.

no, it doesn't always mean the plant is unhealthy. my plants are healthy and they put those out from time to time when their water was a bit "wrong". in fact some of mine put them out at the beginning of dormancy when I was switching them over to being not watered as much. plus the unformed trap issue was explained to me by someone who's been growing for years...

Earthy wrote:

xr280xr wrote:

Earthy wrote: the way it's been explained to me is they get the "blade/hook look" when there wasn't enough water for the plant to fully form that trap.

I think that may be a different from what Gry is experiencing. Sometimes on unhealthy plants a leaf will fully form and it's trap will not develop but rather will remain a little "blade/hook" like you're describing. Gry's picture could be that, but to me it looks like a trap that just begins twisted but will still develop into a normal, healthy trap.

no, it doesn't always mean the plant is unhealthy. my plants are healthy and they put those out from time to time when their water was a bit "wrong". in fact some of mine put them out at the beginning of dormancy when I was switching them over to being not watered as much. plus the unformed trap issue was explained to me by someone who's been growing for years...

a bit wrong? you mean like, a higher TDS kind of wrong?

lol..no, as in "not enough water" wrong. that's how I figured out to up it a teeny bit especially if it happened during the growing season. but sometimes high TDS will do that too (which was also explained to me) lol...