FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

First off, hello to everyone who helps make this forum awesome!

Second off, my poor, pitiful looking venus flytrap! I have had it since August, and the poor guy just can't seem to grow traps! I have done quite a bit of extensive research by the time I got it, and have done the following things:

- Placed in it a bowl to let it absorbed water from below.
- I have it in a South-east facing windowsill, it seems to get a lot of sun, best I can do besides putting it outside (I would rather not, for various reasons, I understand that is a last resort if I can't grow it indoors)
- Only used distilled water
- It should be coming out of it's dormancy period by now, and even then, it hasn't had a single trap since October/November
- Gave it a 6500k, cool white fluorescent light to try and compensate for light issues should there be any.

During the past few months, it has tried to flower 3 times. I cut all three as soon as I noticed, hoping it would help.

Thank you all so much for advice and for reading this, I am very new to this and I don't want it to die!

Here are some pictures with notes:

It needs more light. A fluorescent usually needs to be within a few inches to be of much help and needs to run for 12+ hours. If you can, move it outside and it will get all of the light it needs. If that's not an option, move your light a lot closer. Or a 100 watt+ equivalent(at least 1,600 lumens) 3500-6500k CFL, a clamp light with a reflector and a timer set at 12-14 hours per day. The combo should cost $15-$25. Set up the light 12" away or less.

The yellowing issue is likely minirals building up in your media. Top water several times to flush the media. I usually don't recommend a repot but it might be a good idea since it looks like pure peat. I would add 30-50% additive free pearlite or silica sand to new peat.

Only water as needed. When the surface starts to dry, that's the time to water. It doesn't need to be in standing water at all times.

Looks like the classic signs of light starvation. It's quite difficult to provide enough light indoors, even with well-lit windows.

I would also give it more light, repot into peat and perlite, this should help as you may have mineral buildup.

xcherrychanx wrote: - I have it in a South-east facing windowsill, it seems to get a lot of sun, best I can do besides putting it outside (I would rather not, for various reasons, I understand that is a last resort if I can't grow it indoors)

How many hours of direct sunlight does it get in this window and where are you located? Putting it outside might be your last resort which, as an indoor grower, I understand, but it would be the flytrap's preference unless you're in an extreme climate.

xcherrychanx wrote:... so I bought a 6500K, cool white flourescent light to put above it for a few hours in the day.

The color temperature of your bulb is correct, but do you know the lumen output of it? In the reflection, it appears close enough to the plant to me. Make sure you're using it when the plant is not receiving direct sunlight. The lamp won't have any affect if it's on at the same time as the sun. You should use the lamp on a timer so that your plant gets into a consistent cycle. Once I know how much direct sun it's getting and how strong your bulb is, I can give you more recommendations on photoperiod.

xcherrychanx wrote:It should be coming out of it's dormancy period by now, and even then, it hasn't had a single trap since October/November

Well, it's common not to get any new traps while it is dormant, but it appears to be wide awake at this point and it does look unhealthy.

xcherrychanx wrote:I just watered it recently, I'm letting it dry out a little as it seems to be far too wet at the moment.

Yes. The yellowing and deformed/unformed traps could be a consequence of too much water.You want the soil to stay evenly moist, which is difficult in such a small pot. It could also be mineral content in the media. Where did the soil come from? Is it the soil you bought it in?

Your plant has a lot of energy right now from dormancy. Even though it's not getting any traps, I can see it's growing pretty vigorously. I would repot it now, while it still has that energy, into a bigger pot (around 6" deep or more). Get rid of all the moss it's currently in and use a new mix of 50:50 unfertilized sphagnum peat moss and unfertilized perlite. Make sure you rinse and kneed water into your new peat moss before potting otherwise it won't absorb water. The airier mix with perlite will help avoid over-watering and the deeper pot will give the roots room to grow while also giving you more leeway on maintaining the proper moisture level.

Hey everyone! So its been since I posted this that I started having a consistent light cycle using the new light bulb and lamp. I think its working!

The traps are growing again, and its got a HUGE one right in the middle, looks like a lima bean! Anyways, it is starting to grow this reddish color, is that alright? And thanks for everyone's advice! Should I start feeding it now or is it too soon for these traps? Thanks again!

Also I do plan on repotting/resoiling it soon, just wondering about the light atm.

No need to feed it--let it do its thing if possible. Perhaps moving it outdoors eventually to let it do its own catching. If not you can try feeding it wingless fruit flies.

It looks much better now, the red coloration is a bit like suntan so it IS getting sufficient light to grow properly now which is great!

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I normally feed it those little winged jumping bugs, I think they are baby grasshoppers. Those seems to work well. what I mean is do these traps look ready to eat.

This looks so much better, you are deffinately on the right path!

Should I start feeding it now or is it too soon for these traps?

In the pictures, the only traps open were slightly deformed so it didn't look quite ready yet, but you could try. When those new traps open, give them about a week and then you can feed one. I would only feed one at a time at first. Good job! Looking much better!

Well after a few more days it's still growing strong! I fed it recently, and it recently just re-opened from that. That red tint is a good sign right? Do all species of VFTs get that way? So excited that it seems to be doing so well artificially. Thoughts?

Also I accidentally touched the big trap and made it close, that won't hurt it to much right?

Red is great. Most species get some amount of red, and it means they're getting plenty of light.

Closing a trap takes a lot of energy, so it's not great to do that on purpose unless they have food in the traps, but it shouldn't hurt a healthy plant. Which yours definitely looks to be, it's growing fast and coloring up nicely. The trap should re-open soon since there's no prey inside.