FlyTrapCare Forums

A couple weeks ago, i bought a venus flytrap. At first it did well, but now ALL the leaves are closed up and the plant looks dry even though I try to keep the soil moist. ONE of the leaves is even con-caved and others look hard and are yellowing/turing black.
1. It's Summer
2. I try to give it plenty of light (window sill)
3. i live in the scorching Arizona desert
4. despite living in the desert heat, i try to keep the soil moist
5. i water with a spray bottle that has tap water that has set for over 48 hrs.
6. last bug was last week
I just want a happy, healthy, green venus flytrap^_^

BTW, i just watered the trap, so it still looks quite moist in the pictures i took.

The potting soil is too wet (what kind of soil did you use?) and you're killing your Venus Flytrap with tap water, which is probably much too high in dissolved solids. Allowing tap water to sit only makes it more deadly (to Venus Flytraps) because whatever water is left after some of it evaporates has an even higher concentration of deadly soluble material in it.

If the plant doesn't die from the tap water, it will probably develop a fungal or bacterial rot from the soil being too soggy. The plant looks OK now, but you need to change a few things for it to be happy, grow and thrive.

the soil is what i bought the plant in. the soil is contantly drying out because it is on my window sill most the time. the soil, for the most part can be dry most the time and i spray it with a little water just so things look moist.
i don't like watering it that much because i already killed my first plant with root rot. so i rarely ever water it as much as you see in the pic.

i feel my delima is how do i give it enough light without baking the heck out of it and drying it out? and is this my problem?
i have no other water to use so what do i do?
would it be too much for the plant to be outside in 100 degree weather?
if i changed the water, would it do well with a watering tray?
if i changed the water, would i have to change the soil?

i just want to keep a plant alive and i don't want it to die

You could keep the pot standing in a tray of water, this will keep the soil moist although since your pot is small and it is inside I would advise not to constantly keep it in a tray. Let it sit in water for about an hour or so, then remove the pot from the tray. You should repeat this process when the soil feels barely moist. If you were to leave the plant outside in direct sunlight then it should be fine to leave it in a tray of water without having to take it out. If you are going to place it outside, It would be best for the plant to slowly introduce it to sunlight by starting out with a few hours of full sunlight per day and adding an extra hour every other day.

The right water is necessary for a flytrap to survive, as Steve already mentioned watering with tap water will eventually kill the plant. Water from the rain, a reverse osmosis unit, or distilled water should all work for a flytrap. Distilled water can be found at most grocery stores for under a dollar per gallon

pieguy452 wrote:The right water is necessary for a flytrap to survive, as Steve already mentioned watering with tap water will eventually kill the plant. Water from the rain, a reverse osmosis unit, or distilled water should all work for a flytrap. Distilled water can be found at most grocery stores for under a dollar per gallon

Because I've been using tap water, would I have to change the soil? Or would i be able to get away with just changing the water i use?

Misakachi wrote: i spray it with a little water just so things look moist.

That's usually a bad idea. Watering very frequently but shallowly (just the top surface) doesn't give adequate water to the roots (if the rest of the medium is almost dry) and can lead to fungal infection and crown rot (it's better for the leaves and the surface of the soil to be a little drier than the rest of the medium, to discourage algae and fungus.

But don't worry too much. Just learn from the experienced growers here at the Forum and adjust the way you care for your Flytrap.