FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

The Dentate I got from Flytrapshop did not weather shipping well (to be expected, of course). Its traps were mostly black with only a few still alive when I repotted it. Just about everything unexpected that could go wrong... did go wrong (but when is that ever not the case? ). My other plants are still kicking and making new growth, finally on the right track I think.

But it was just too much for Dentate. It has been through a lot, and it was already stressed. So all the leaves died. I was trying really hard not to trim anything with green on it, because it needed all the energy it could get, but today I'm left with a fully dead and shriveled plant. A fully dead and shriveled plant with fuzzy white mold and red rust dots I didn't realize were developing.

Since these leaves are all dead anyway, I can remove them all immediately... but can the plant survive like this, with no leaves and a rust infection that may be difficult to kick? Should I just give up on this particular plant and get rid of it to avoid spreading the infection to my other plants? I'm really concerned about that because, again, the rest of them are clearly on the mend. Even the weak ping I thought wouldn't survive has bounced back very well. I really don't want to risk these plants.

I can't even move the Dentate outside because it's been ridiculously stormy. See,I tried that, and that's one factor in the stress -- the moment I decided to permanently move it outside (because the light fell on it -- did I say everything went wrong or what? :B), not one day later, storm after storm started to roll in, and it had to come back inside, so the temperature and humidity kept flipping around on it.

You can save it. Dig it up. Cut of all the leaves. Scrub all rot and infection off of the rhyzome without detaching the roots (although this should still work if you do accidentally). Plant the rhyzome with the roots pointing straight down in pure peat. The rhyzome top should be level with the soil level. Place in strong sun and keep peat always wet with distilled water you get from the grocery store (those RO distilled water refill stations). You should see new growth in a couple of weeks. Peat should combat any remaining infections.

I purchased a bunch of plants online and every cultivar, except the B52's, bounced back quickly. Similar to yours, the leaves had spots on them and were turning black. I sprayed them with diluted H2O2 and just left them in with all the others. The rest of the leaves turned black and I figured they were dead. About two weeks later, four of the five B52's have sprouted new growth.

Also, it has been storming here like crazy here too. We just got FOUR inches of rain last night! I just figure that they can get crazy rain in their natural habitat, so I just let them be. My experience so far with flytraps is that they're much better off if I don't "baby" them. Trust me, I've lost a lot of them my first year taking them in and out because of the weather. They're tough little guys.