FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I was just given a VFT as a gift, just like most store bought, it came in a little plastic pot with a clear plastic cover. I was given a small glass "terrarium jar" to repot it in, this should work fine right? Also, I read a few other places to use african violet soil mix, as it is lower in nutrients? Is this a good idea, or should I just stick with the peat moss? Thank you in advance for your advice!

First off, welcome to FTC Forums!

TexasKeef wrote:it came in a little plastic pot with a clear plastic cover. I was given a small glass "terrarium jar" to repot it in, this should work fine right? Also, I read a few other places to use african violet soil mix, as it is lower in nutrients? Is this a good idea, or should I just stick with the peat moss?

You should acclimate the plant out of the clear plastic cover. What I mean is that you should take off the cover for 6 hours one day, 8 hours the next, then 12, then 16, and then take it completely off. The cover will help mold grow, and is totally unnecessary. When you say "African Violet" soil mix, you could use it. I have no clue what it contains, I'd have to know. If it contained stuff like peat, perlite, and sand, and had no fertilizers or nutrients it could work. Look at the ingredients and see what it has in it. It might just be easier to take peat moss and perlite 50:50 and put your plant in that.
Good luck!

So what about the glass terrarium? It has a lid, but is not air tight, would that be unnecessary aswell?
Thank you for the quick reply!

TexasKeef wrote:So what about the glass terrarium? It has a lid, but is not air tight, would that be unnecessary aswell?

It is unnecessary (unless you live in an extremely low humidity climate) but it could benefit the plant if you keep it right. You will need to have air circulation, manage temperatures, and keep fungus and mold from growing. It probably isn't worth it

Thank you! I appreciate your help! I've had a few in the past, but they didn't survive long, so I figured I'd do some research with this one, haha!

Yeah! This is a wonderful website to get information! Glad to hear that I'm helping, hope that this plant survives . For more information about growing VFT's, you should check out the main website linked to this forum http://www.flytrapcare.com/ !

TexasKeef wrote:I read a few other places to use african violet soil mix, as it is lower in nutrients? Is this a good idea, or should I just stick with the peat moss?

Be very careful with commercial Aferican Violet Soil Mixs, many of them have fertilizer added. If you have peat moss I would use that instead.

Brad

Hello and welcome to the forums TexasKeef! Daniel and Brad already gave you sound advice. You don't need a terrarium and be sure to use soil that's not enriched. Your safest bet is to use peat moss (make sure it isn't Miracle-Gro brand) and perlite and silica sand. Instead of potting it in the "terrarium jar" (I don't even know what that is), I'd recommend using an insulated foam beverage cup. The 16 ounce size works well and you can buy a 20 pack of them for around $1.

Be sure to read these articles on the main site:
Light for Venus fly traps
Water for Venus fly traps
Soil for Venus fly traps
Venus fly trap Dormancy

If you want a quick overview, start here:
Venus fly trap care sheet

Sounds like everybody has already help you out, so welcome to the FTC community!

I'd like to add my "Welcome" to the others, and also to chime in on terrariums:

If your VFT is getting anywhere near the kind of sunlight it likes, almost any terrarium, even one with some openings, is likely to overheat and kill it. It's a lot like leaving a dog or child in a car with the windows closed in the summer. Like the others have said, humidity isn't as critical as some people would lead you to believe. Even if you're in an extremely dry climate, and do need to increase the humidity some, there are other ways to do it without baking your plant.

Like you and most of the others on here, I killed my share of flytraps before I finally figured out how to take care of them. Now I'm doing my best to make up for it.

Good luck with yours!

I do live in a very dry climate i think, i'm having a lot of problems from it, I'm pretty concerned about my new plant drying out. How quickly can it happen? Is the glass jar really that bad? I was planning to use one too, I feel I would like my little friend to have a nice home, however it is more important for it to be alive.
I'm Manda, I just got a vft for my birthday, by request and I am super excited. Hi.

mandalvt wrote:I'm pretty concerned about my new plant drying out. How quickly can it happen?

That depends on many factors including the size of your pot, how hot it is, how windy it is and how low the humidity is. In very intense heat, dry conditions with a strong wind, flytraps will have a tough time staying hydrated. But if it's not too hot and the humidity isn't too low, they can do fine in warm, dry weather as long as their soil stays moist.