FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

My VFTs, some, are beginning to yellow. I've read that I should prune them if they're damaged, as long as they are not still green...or prune them if they've shut/open and won't open again to prevent rot from the dead things inside. Pruning the damaged ones prevent energy waste.

But I've been thinking I should leave them alone and have them turn black as they would in nature. Is this OK? or should I realle cut away the yellow/black/brown parts?


As for my sundews. The tips are slooowly browning and shriveling...same question, to prune or not to prune? What about the leaves that have a bunch of dead bugs on it and are no longer producing dew, but are still very green and show no signs of going yellow?

I pretty much wait until the leaves die off completely before I remove them. That’s with about all the different CPs I grow. I figure if there is still any green left it is still producing food for the plant.

Yeah I'd leave them on as long as they can still photosynthesize!

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It's not just the fact that the leaf can still photosynthesize, but when leaves yellow and die back the plant is reclaiming the nutrients in the chlorophyll, particularly nitrogen. Cutting the leaves off early deprives the plant of these nutrients. It's the same process that happens when deciduous plants lose their leaves for winter.

what about my VFTs' traps that have dead bodies inside and won't re-open? i heard something about cutting them off to prevent rot?

Expired VFT leaves will turn black, so it's easy to tell when you can trim them.

nimbulan wrote:It's not just the fact that the leaf can still photosynthesize, but when leaves yellow and die back the plant is reclaiming the nutrients in the chlorophyll, particularly nitrogen. Cutting the leaves off early deprives the plant of these nutrients. It's the same process that happens when deciduous plants lose their leaves for winter.

nimbulan wrote:Expired VFT leaves will turn black, so it's easy to tell when you can trim them.

so.....cut black traps? do not cut black leaves?

P A U L wrote:so.....cut black traps? do not cut black leaves?

You don't really need to cut anything, but if you do, just cut anything that's black.

nimbulan wrote:

P A U L wrote:so.....cut black traps? do not cut black leaves?

You don't really need to cut anything, but if you do, just cut anything that's black.

awesome. so once i have my lightbulbs set up, all i have to do is watch the water and just leave it alone forever.

so... semi-different question.

my sundew arms go from green to red (more like purple).... what's that about?

actually, i don't think they go yellow at all...it seems as the arms age, they become purpley.

That's just normal leaf aging too.