FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi everyone!I think my plant is in dormancy period.I keep it on the windowsil where is a bit cold.The leaves stoped to react... They don't close anymore, leaves are turning black very quick, some of them even before to open(when they are very small)Two weeks ago a little stick came up from middle which I think is the flower. Shouldn't the plant flower in spring?Is it actually in the dormancy period?Because it looks like it dies, but the stick grows every day.Thank you!

Hello voxxxlll and welcome to FlytrapCare.

voxxxlll wrote:The leaves stoped to react... They don't close anymore, leaves are turning black very quick, some of them even before to open(when they are very small)

While it's normal for traps to become sluggish during dormancy, it isn't normal for the leaves and traps to turn black before they open. That indicates that something is wrong with your plant's health. In order to be able to help you figure out what it might be, you'll have to give us more information about your growing conditions:
1) You say the plant is on a windowsill. Is it in a terrarium or in a plastic container? How much direct sunlight does the plant receive on the windowsill?
2) How often do you water your plant and what kind of water do you use?
3) How deep of a pot is the plant potted in and what kind of soil is it in?

First thing I would do is cut off the flower stalk immediately. That will surely weaken your plant and, yes, the plant normally flowers in the spring. Though occasionally flytraps will send up a flower stalk in the fall, it's rare if they are grown outside or somewhere that they only receive natural sunlight (like a greenhouse) and they've been growing in those conditions for a full season. Maybe you just got your flytrap a few months ago and it's confused what time of year it is.

I hope this helps and if you answer the questions above, we'll be happy to give you more information about how to nurse your flytrap back to health

They don't close anymore, leaves are turning black very quick, some of them even before to open(when they are very small)

Well I'm a little skeptical about your vtf is going dormant, you could unpot it to check the rhizome to see what's going on... I go with what Matt said.

hi voxxxlll,

your plant is going dormant(is perfectly fine that the traps darken a little)( http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/vft-s ... t2973.html ), and that thing growing from the middle is a flower stalk, if you decide to leave the flower stalk you will get seeds, and if you decide to cut it, the plant will still go throught dormarcy, but it will have more energy to store, and the traps are darkening because of dormarcy, and because of the flower stalk that takes the energy from the plant, is your decision, but i would say, if your plant is healthy, and is getting direct sunlight, and ate lots of bugs during the growing season, then allow the flower stalk to grow, and get the seeds. If you think your plant is not healthy, and is going to die because of the energy loss, then cut it.

normally they put flower stalks during spring, but sometimes the plant is confused, and throws up a flower stalk, this happens a lot( from what i have seen in other posts). Mines haven't put up a flower stalk, never , is my first year, but i hope to see them flower when spring arrives!!!!!

good luck!!!!

voxxxlll wrote:The leaves stoped to react... They don't close anymore, leaves are turning black very quick, some of them even before to open(when they are very small)

That sounds like it might be shock of some sort, like toxic mineral-salt buildup from watering with tap water instead of distilled or rain water. As Matt asked, what kind of water have you been using? It will also help if answer all of the questions that have been asked, and post a photo of your plant if you can.

Good luck.

the plant stayed on the windowsill for about 2-3 weeks in a pot, yesterday i bought a terrarium and i moved it there.The soil is bought from a shop, which is special for venus fly trap, i dont know what contains.I bought the plant 4 months ago, it was in a small pot(10-15 cm height), and i thought to move it in a bigger one ( 30-40 cm height).I use still water from shop, i read that is not good to use tap water.now when i moved the plant in terrarium is in about 9-10 cm pot.I usually water the plant 3 times a week.I`ll put a picture with it after i come from college.
Today when i looked close i saw the other 3 roots have a flower growing from the middle aswell.I have 4 roots in total in the same pot.
I posted a photo to show you what i mean(the plant in the pic is not mine).

voxxxlll,

I don't have time to answer all of your questions, but i can tell you that you're using a lot of water, you should water your vft just 1 time a week, and during dormarcy, i would say water every 2 week, the media should be moist, not wet, if you're watering 3 times a week, your plant will rot.

good look, and careful with the watering

I didnt know that .Thank you!Here are 2 pics with the plant..The quality is poor, so there is not so much to see.I just made an arrow where the little stick grows.

Wow, your plant will likely not survive very long in its current growing container. It looks like there is almost no soil (only a few centimeters deep or so) and there is no drainage, little air movement and it couldn't get enough light in that container without cooking. It's also obvious from the photos that your plant is starving for light.

If it were my plant, I'd remove it from the current container it's in immediately. I'd cut off the flower stalk and I'd pot it up in a nice, reasonably deep pot (10cm or more) with good insulation that's opaque (clear pots like glass ones will allow light to hit the soil directly and cook the roots) and then I'd put it in the sunniest location I could find.

Good luck!

Thank you for your response.There is more that 10 cm soil inside, is about 15, i know in the picture looks less because of the light reflection.There is not only the little hole in the side you saw.The top is also uncovered.

voxxxlll wrote:There is more that 10 cm soil inside, is about 15, i know in the picture looks less because of the light reflection.

Hmmm, if the soil is that deep in that container, that's a serious optical illusion. It looks to me like there is only perhaps 2.5cm or so.

voxxxlll wrote:There is not only the little hole in the side you saw.The top is also uncovered.

OK, but the container is clear plastic, right? It will still allow light in from the sides and cook the roots of the plant if you put it in sunlight.

The plant need more than 15 cm it needs at least an 5 inch pot, due to it deep roots that it has.

Matt is right-- Although you only recently moved the plants into that terrarium, those are not very good conditions for a Venus Flytrap or any sun loving plant, since you probably won't be able to give it the quantity or intensity of sunlight it needs without cooking the plant. In addition, the roots would benefit from more depth of planting soil, and with no drainage the wet growing medium will become stagnant and promote fungal and bacterial rot, and will accumulate soluble material that can poison the plants. The brown developing traps you have seen may be caused by fungal infection when the leaves were very small, and that will probably happen more often inside a terrarium. The glass terrarium you have is pretty, but it is not healthy for a Venus Flytrap and some kind of regular pot would be better, in my opinion.

If those were my plants, I would do exactly as Matt has already suggested. Otherwise, there is a high risk that you will lose the plants unless you give them extraordinary care.

Good luck.

Thank you!The problem with the brown leaves when they were very small started before to move it in terrarium.Actually thats the reason i moved it, i thought is going to be better for it.I`ll move it back in a pot tomorrow.

I know everybody's been saying this but.... it might need more light maybe for about two weeks to put it under a desk lamp or a bright windowsill before it goes into dormancy or just let them go into dormancy and repot it then while its dormant and when new growth appears in the spring, you might want to put it under a light which is more than 30 watts or if you've got a windowsill with really bright sunlight maybe about 6 hours of direct sunlight and the rest indirect (or maybe as much sunlight as possible)

Hope this helped