FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

A quick background: my boyfriend got me a grocery store death cube late last summer, VFT was relatively healthy but I skipped dormancy to try to get it a little stronger (it only had 3/4 traps on skinny leaves).
The first new trap that grew developed enough to see the hairs then started to shrivel and die. The original traps have all since died but, the plant continues to grow new leaves only to have the baby traps blacken and die before they can even resemble a trap.
I have repoted with pearlite and sphagnum peat moss (the rocks are aquarium decorative)

I scoured the other posts but didn't get a clear answer. I THINK I may be over watering but that just doesn't seem right... I mist it with distilled water every couple days or when moss feels dry.
As you can see in the pic there's condensation in the bottom but no standing water....
Also in the pics u can see the baby traps Browning at the tip, eventually the whole baby trap darkens and dies and just the leaf remains healthy

Bottom line, my VFT has no traps, please help

Oh man, where to even start.

I'm gonna go ahead and say that plant is a goner, you pretty much did everything wrong, being a newb can be rough, we have all been there.

1. Needs to be potted in a plastic planter, stadium cups with a hole in the bottom are popular.

2. Pot it in New Zealand Long fibered sphagnum moss or peat/perlite mix.

3. Always tray water, keep the soil moist but not wet. Don't bother misting it, it doesn't do anything.

4. Grow it outside, they don't do well inside.

The main issue is that it's not getting enough light, they really need to be in full sun outdoors otherwise you need to buy grow lights.

The next issue is your set up which is a complete disaster. All of the other issues with a fish bowl terrarium aside, it looks like it has 1 inch of sphagnum to grow in. Repot it into a regular 6 inch pot and water it like a normal plant.

The reasons your flytrap isn't looking well.

1.) Too little sphagnum moss/room. Ideally you'd want a pot that is 6-7 inches deep for optimal root growth, but 4-5 inches is okay. I'd lose the fishbowl and aquarium rocks and find either a large stadium cup or similar sized flower pot and a lot more sphagnum or 100% sphagnum peat moss and repot your flytrap ASAP.

2.) Too little sunlight. A flytrap needs at least 6 hours or so of direct sunlight or UV light from a grow bulb. Putting it on a window sill isn't going to be enough.

3.) Insufficient watering method. Misting it from the top isn't really doing the plant any good. A flytrap needs about as much moisture in its substrate as your regular potted plants do, so water it like any other potted plant. Also, please make sure that the water that you are using doesn't have too many minerals/dissolved solids in it. Ideally, a Venus flytrap can have water that contains less than 50 ppm (parts per million). You can get a TDS meter from Amazon for less than $10 to measure your water's ppm, which most flytrap growers will say is a must have, and I agree.

Don't feel too bad about these mistakes. Everyone new to flytrap growing makes similar ones. I know I did. I hope you don't feel to discouraged and will give it your all to fix these mistakes and make growing your flytrap a much more enjoyable experience.

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I killed my first... 3? Vfts lol. It happens. If you get one from flytrapshop, it'll be completely set up. All you'd need to do is water it and put it outside. I water my plants when they get light in weight. Mine are mostly planted in long fiber sphagnum moss, and it gets really light when dry. In peat/perlite,I water when the soil gets mostly dry. Not too much water. I bought a 9.00 tds meter on Amazon, my water is under 50 ppm, so it's good. I put it in a jug so it's outside temp. Sunlight is key. I put mine outside on the lawn (because my porch has a massive over hang). Mine are just coming out of dormancy and booming. I think that if the rhizome is still white, you've got a good chance. Get one of those red solo cups, fill it with lfsm if you can. If not, use the peat/perlite and top dress it with the lfsm. I wrap my rhizomes with lfsm and then put that in the soil. Use the tray method to water, and just stick it outside in the lovely sun. It'll be just fine. I included a picture of a plant I murdered. Well, almost murdered it. Everything was dying and turning black. But it finally started to grow new traps. Sunlight, a repot, and careful watering will fix it.

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Woah ok! I got right out of bed (2:30AM) when I checked the post and got my VFT right out of the terrarium and into a plastic pot with tray! He was already is the sphagnum and perlite and a in window with direct sunlight 10+hrs a day until the weather is better/steady (I live in New England) and always water with distilled water.
I appreciate the help and understanding lol! My VFT is looking pretty sad right now but the rhizome is white and looks good, and he does continue to grow and currently has a few baby traps that are healthy, only time will tell but I'm not giving up on him yet!
Again, thanks everyone and HOPEFULLY I will have a positive update for you in the next couple weeks

kendra90 wrote:Woah ok! I got right out of bed (2:30AM) when I checked the post and got my VFT right out of the terrarium and into a plastic pot with tray! He was already is the sphagnum and perlite and a in window with direct sunlight 10+hrs a day until the weather is better/steady (I live in New England) and always water with distilled water.
I appreciate the help and understanding lol! My VFT is looking pretty sad right now but the rhizome is white and looks good, and he does continue to grow and currently has a few baby traps that are healthy, only time will tell but I'm not giving up on him yet!
Again, thanks everyone and HOPEFULLY I will have a positive update for you in the next couple weeks

Glad you aren't giving up. Good luck!

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He's been doing great in the past month and is growing back his first healthy trap! I acquired another VFT who is doing great
Thanks again for all the advice from everyone!

Artchic528 wrote:

kendra90 wrote:Woah ok! I got right out of bed (2:30AM) when I checked the post and got my VFT right out of the terrarium and into a plastic pot with tray! He was already is the sphagnum and perlite and a in window with direct sunlight 10+hrs a day until the weather is better/steady (I live in New England) and always water with distilled water.
I appreciate the help and understanding lol! My VFT is looking pretty sad right now but the rhizome is white and looks good, and he does continue to grow and currently has a few baby traps that are healthy, only time will tell but I'm not giving up on him yet!
Again, thanks everyone and HOPEFULLY I will have a positive update for you in the next couple weeks

Glad you aren't giving up. Good luck!

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Looking good!

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