FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Jesus I am so angry at the Venus Flytraps I have right now. They seem to defy all the advice and care guides that I've ever read on the entire internet. "grow your plants in full sun, don't worry, they can take the heat." Oh wait, it looks like the 100+ degree weather of the Californian summer isn't working so well for them. I seems to be that THEY GET MISERABLE AND SICKLY IN EXTENDED PERIODS OF SCORCHING WEATHER. And I am so sick of people telling me completely inaccurate and Irrelevant things on these forums every time I look for help. "hm, so your plant has been in weather in the 100s and low humidity for a week and is showing deformed growth? Then it's obviously the fact that your watering it incorrectly!! You can't grow your plant using the tray method, because then it won't be 'optimal growth' and ur just proving my point. Venus flytraps only like their soil to be 'wet not moist' even though the difference between those two words is smaller than my IQ which makes almost everthing I tell you too vauge to be remotely helpful at all.That has to be the reason it's growing incorrectly! Never mind the fact that you explicitly said that it's been constantly watered using the tray method ever since the growing season began and only grows poorly during the summer, your clearly doing it wrong!!" God son of a daughter, I am so fed up. I'm not even going to be vauge anymore, I'm talking about the absolute dolt of a user named "place name".Screw this user and everything he has told me. And screw my plant for not growing correctly.
It's been a sickly and slow grower despite the fact that I've tried 5+ differecnt ways of growing it all meeting almost every recommendation that I have ever read on the dozens of websites i've ever found, even though There have been a truck load of plants that was shown healthy growth in those exact gaddomn conditions. f()()()()ejgfuw9e80rgekn


me right now
|
|
|
\/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRvI18OfiTI

Now sit back.
Watch some Brads Greenhouse.
And have a Rum and Coke


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What is the plant your having trouble with and how much do you want for it?

Huntsmanshorn wrote:What is the plant your having trouble with and how much do you want for it?

Lowe’s typical


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you read advice and it is not specific to your area, then disregard it. If someone advises you that doesn't know what grow zone you are in, ignore it. Your location matters when you grow these plants outside.

If you're having trouble with the heat, the solution is simple. Place your plant in a location where it gets morning to mid afternoon sun, and is shaded through the hottest part of the day. Example, close to a tree where the natural movement of the sun across the sky will cause the shade to fall there in the afternoon. If its a new plant you're adjusting to the sun, then start it off with 4 or 5 hours of morning sun, working your way up to as much sun as it'll handle. Once you see the deformities start then back off an hour and there's your sweet spot.

During the active growing season it is easiest to leave your plant in water constantly, IF you live in a hot climate or grow in tall pots. My pots are 6" tall and right now are sitting in at least 2"of water (we've been getting hammered with rain). I highly recommend not using those pots the "rescue plants" come in. They are far too short and make it next to impossible to maintain a proper moisture level. Oh yeah, and it's "moist but not wet."

People far to often dish out advice on what they read and not experience, that's BS. They should sit down, shut up, and let the people who know from experience help, but alas they normally don't. While they may have good intentions they don't realize there's more than one way to grow a plant.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Living in the middle of a desert, I sympathize with you. I grow my plants outdoors in Las Vegas, Nevada. Vegas is about as hot and dry as they come. Temps hit 106F yesterday with humidity at 8%. It will be even warmer today.

When I decided to get into CPs almost a year ago, info on how to grow these plants in desert conditions was nil. I knew the standard guidance would not work for me when the summer furnace hit. So, I merged my knowledge of desert growing with what I knew of the flytrap’s native habitat, and it is working so far. In case you find it helpful, I’d like to offer some tips that have helped my plants tolerate the Vegas summer since your conditions sound similar to mine. Just keep in mind that your mileage might vary.

My recommendations to help flytraps survive a bone dry desert furnace:

1. Tray watering is mandatory. I put as much water in my trays as the plants can drink in a 24-hour period. I aim for a 1/4" of water in the trays at the end of the 24-hour period. For me, this means I need to fill my trays to a depth of about 1 inch (cooler, no wind) to 2 1/2 inches (hot & gusty). Extra water is needed on windy days because the media will dry more quickly and the plants themselves require more moisture to stay hydrated. My containers are flytrapstore.com-sized cups. Larger containers require more water. When in doubt, I add a little extra water and make adjustments based on how much water remains the next day. As long as new growth doesn't blacken, I wouldn't worry too much about “wet” vs “moist” when growing in desert conditions during high heat. If new growth blackens, that is a sign of too much water (or roots sitting in water… see #2 below). I top water from time to time as well, but the plants always sit in water.

2. Make sure the plants are potted in containers high enough so that their roots will not sit in water when the water tray is full. Flytraps do not like their roots submerged in water.

3. In full sun, water trays can get as hot as the outside temp. Make sure the water trays are shaded during the hottest part of the day so that the plants don't boil in their trays. My flytraps no longer receive any sun after 3pm due to this issue. The plants can take the high temps only if their roots remain cool. Keep in mind that hot water will cool as it wicks upwards from the tray into the container. So, overheated water trays are less a threat to larger, taller containers than to smaller, shorter ones.

4. Clean the water trays regularly to avoid a pathogen breeding ground.

5. Flytraps do not require full sun during summer in the desert. They do just fine in filtered sun. They might not color up as well, but they will survive and will reward you later when things cool down. If your plants are not yet acclimated to desert growing conditions, place them in bright shade or strongly filtered sun and acclimate them to lightly filtered sun over the course of several weeks. Tossing a non-acclimated CP in full desert sun in the middle of summer spells almost certain doom. Non-carnivorous plants have a hard enough time dealing with it. Don’t do it. (My plants sit in full sun but most of them were acquired during dormancy and have had all year to settle in.)

6. I use lfsm. As long as the plants like it and it holds up under my summer conditions, I'll stay with it. I have no experience growing flytraps outdoors in peat.

7. Beware of mineral buildup. Unless you use distilled water, buildup will happen. When it happened to several of my plants, I unpotted the plants, rinsed the moss, and repotted the plants in the old moss with some new moss mixed in as needed. LFSM seems to stand up to reuse well.

8. Use white containers. Although they might not be aesthetically pleasing to look at, Styrofoam cups work great because of their insulation properties.

9. After the sun has passed, I like to spray my plants with a bit of water at the end of the day. This adds humidity, provides immediate moisture relief, and cools the plant. Avoid doing this during the day despite the temptation. If it's hot enough, sunlight can heat up water sitting on the plant enough to burn it.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Secretariat73 is spot on for advice I would recommend. I am comparing that to NC summers when we hit 95+ water try is the only way. LFSM we have had good success in and pretty much if its 95+ we don't let our water trays dry out but for just a very brief period.

no reason to be mad at others here trying to be useful and helpful as with all advice your actually conditions and care will need to be altered to figure out what works for you. there is no "one size fits all" approach to growing plants from one person to another. just think of the issues you are having as ruling out what doesn't work for you and knowledge to pass along to others who might be in a similar area down the road.

Not here to offer advice exactly, but just wanting to jump in and say that I live in northern CA, zone 10A. And my VFTs are fully acclimated to the outdoors.

As Boarderlib mentioned, gradual acclimation or placing under a more shaded spot will help. I did this with my first two rescues since I got them last summer and took at least 3 weeks before moving them into any direct sun. Anyway, you'll figure it out soon enough through experience, research, and some advice from the knowledgeable members here!

Good growing!
Mary

_-SphagnumFromHell-_ wrote:Jesus I am so angry at the Venus Flytraps I have right now. They seem to defy all the advice and care guides that I've ever read on the entire internet. "grow your plants in full sun, don't worry, they can take the heat." Oh wait, it looks like the 100+ degree weather of the Californian summer isn't working so well for them. I seems to be that THEY GET MISERABLE AND SICKLY IN EXTENDED PERIODS OF SCORCHING WEATHER. And I am so sick of people telling me completely inaccurate and Irrelevant things on these forums every time I look for help. "hm, so your plant has been in weather in the 100s and low humidity for a week and is showing deformed growth? Then it's obviously the fact that your watering it incorrectly!! You can't grow your plant using the tray method, because then it won't be 'optimal growth' and ur just proving my point. Venus flytraps only like their soil to be 'wet not moist' even though the difference between those two words is smaller than my IQ which makes almost everthing I tell you too vauge to be remotely helpful at all.That has to be the reason it's growing incorrectly! Never mind the fact that you explicitly said that it's been constantly watered using the tray method ever since the growing season began and only grows poorly during the summer, your clearly doing it wrong!!" God son of a daughter, I am so fed up. I'm not even going to be vauge anymore, I'm talking about the absolute dolt of a user named "place name".Screw this user and everything he has told me. And screw my plant for not growing correctly.
It's been a sickly and slow grower despite the fact that I've tried 5+ differecnt ways of growing it all meeting almost every recommendation that I have ever read on the dozens of websites i've ever found, even though There have been a truck load of plants that was shown healthy growth in those exact gaddomn conditions. f()()()()ejgfuw9e80rgekn


me right now
|
|
|
\/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRvI18OfiTI

I have accidentally killed over 200 fly traps in the past year. The learning process and figuring out what works for your area can be really frustrating. But I don't think you want to quit growing or you wouldn't have posted here.
I would suggest some nice spa music. Maybe check out some old Bob Ross and Mr Rogers Neighborhood.

Sent from my KYOCERA-C6742A using Tapatalk

Most off you didnt read the Title I think???(wink)
Mindless ranting to get anger out
(I like that)

He doesnt ask for more advice, that was the whole problem

I hope he doesnt live in your neighboorhood cause I can imagine he can use a big soundsystem driving down your street with that ear-rape on

#kidding

Kwient wrote:Most off you didnt read the Title I think???
Mindless ranting to get anger out

He doesnt ask for more advice, that was the whole problem

I hope he doesnt live in your neighboorhood cause I can imagine he can use a big soundsystem driving down your street

Surprisingly enough, I've actually found a lot of the advice given to me on this thread to be pretty helpful. My problem was with vague and inaccurate advice, not advice in general.

I was only kidding.
And you were letting your anger out
Good to hear you got some advice you can use

Kwient wrote:I was only kidding.
And you were letting your anger out
Good to hear you got some advice you can use

Tread lightly with your "kidding", because I didn't see it that way. I seen someone who can't read between the lines trying to be funny and failing miserably.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Calm down
But Maybe you are right, in Dutch i am way more funny

Kwient wrote:Calm down
But Maybe you are right, in Dutch i am way more funny

You'll know first hand when I'm pissed. This was just a heads up.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk