FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I got a trap from my local home garden trade show. The lady told us that we only needed to make sure the 2nd pot (tray)was full of bottled water. She also said the plant didnt need full sunlight. I have had the planet almost 2 months.I fed the plant twice but today it wouldnt close. The plant looks sick. I noticed that my water has chemicals in it.

Is it to late to save the plant. This is my 1st time looking into how to take care of a vft. Boy that lady was wrong on everything.

What do i need to do to save it?

thanks

First, stop using "bottled water" and use only water from collected rain, or distilled water (with nothing added), or water from reverse osmosis or deionized water (both with nothing added).

If it were my plant, I would repot it into fresh, good growing medium, use only pure water as listed above, and give it plenty of sunlight but gently at first because it will need to adapt after transplanting.

A pot that is more than 4 inches tall is great. Smaller pots are OK, but not ideal; they don't give enough room for good root development, nor do they hold much medium or water, so they can dry out quickly and unexpectedly, and can overheat easily.

Post some photos of your Flytrap if you can. Good luck.

Just adding to what Steve said. You don't have to worry about thinking its 'fancy water'. Go to your local pharmacy or supermarket and walk down the water aisle. Somewhere there will be a gallon of water that says "Distilled Water", it should only cost about 1-3$ or so, depending where you go, but it lasts a long while if your plant is small and only have one plant.

I have taken some pictures here-----> http://xratedlive.imgur.com/all/


Please let me know if these pictures work!


I saw a little bug in the soil.

Also what kind of VFT do i have? I just looked in the store and there are a whole lot of them. Thanks for taking the time to help me!

can't see your photos, they are set to private

Ok they are good to go! You can now view then here---------------->http://xratedlive.imgur.com/all/


Let me know if this works! (if there is a easier way to show you guys the pictures please let me know

It looks good. I can't see any characteristics that could definitively link it to a cultivar so what you have is a 'typical' and a nice one at that.

Also you can upload images to the forum directly and attach them to a post or if you are have the images stored on another website you can link them into a post using the [img]*insert_URL_here*[/img] syntax.

Thanks for the photos, XratedLive. Your plant is too wet, and looks like it's not getting enough light.

Your Venus Flytrap is planted in what looks like pure sphagnum peat moss. This holds too much water and dries too slowly, encouraging rot. In addition, sitting in water all the time will keep the medium soggy wet all the time, also encouraging rot. Being too wet will cause a Venus Flytrap to grow fast, but the leaves will be weak and spindly. The Flytrap is forced to grow actively but becomes weaker and weaker, like a person forced into continual swimming in order not to drown, in which the person becomes more and more tired. Eventually your Venus Flytrap will probably suffer or die from being too wet all the time.

In addition to being too wet, the Flytrap's long, spindly leaves could be and probably are a sign of too little light. The combination of too little light and too much water can often be deadly.

If it were my plant, I would first remove the tray of water. Allow the growing medium to dry to just moist between waterings. Give it more direct sunlight, in a sunny window or something, or outside in clear, calm days (not much wind) for several hours in the morning sun. I would repot the plant using a medium that contains at least half of something other than sphagnum peat moss, like silica sand or fertilizer-free perlite (which is often easier to find). Avoid Miracle-Gro products because they almost always contain added fertilizer.

Good luck.

I know now that i was using the wrong water! I removed the tray.Do i let the plant drink the rest of the water or do i flush it with good water? what should i do? i dont think im going to change soil.