FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I purchased a VFT in August and it is already starting to turn black. I have watered only with distilled and don’t feed it. I was wondering if I could get some info on winter care/dormancy. I live in a 5b area and I do not have a screened in area. I live in the woods so I can make a bog garden however it won’t get much sunlight. I’ve also been growing it indoors in an East facing window. Can anybody help me with this? Thank you

Could you provide with any pictures? What are the current temperatures? How much sunlight does it get?

You won't be able to grow them outside in the winter in zone 5b.

Because zone 5b has prolonged freezes because of the polar vortex visits your area every winter, so you Venus Flytrap can die in polar vortex outbreaks. They can take frost down to 25 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit for short periods of time outdoors.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am in 5b. I agree that keeping them outdoors will be difficult. Do you have a garage? currently I keep mine out until mid-late November then put them all in storage in the garage. If a polar vortex is coming I have a small heater I turn on to keep things around 30-45*F. Since I'm out of luck with my greenhouse plan, I will be overwinter in the garage again this year, making essentially a square "grow tent" out of some insulation material and wood in the corner of the garage. Keeps in enough heat to not let things freeze.

However, if you have been growing it indoors and it's turning black then it's likely a rot/lack of sunlight issue. They do terrible unless they have strong light. growing them indoors is almost impossible in most cases without supplemental artificial lighting.

I do grow it inside, so it’s probably dying. Thank you, I wish I would’ve found this website sooner!