FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi,
I bought a venus fly trap from disney world that started as an offshoot of their plants. If you dont know what this is I'll explain. They transplant a little piece of the plant into a sterile jar that has growing gel in it. I was told to keep in there until it got to the top of the jar. Surprisngly it was in there for over 6 months and it did great! I just transplanted it 2 weeks ago as per their specifications. It said to put it in a pot and cover with a bag for 2 weeks. Again it did great and actually started growing a little offshoot! At this point it was green and vibrant and perky. After 2 weeks it said to poke tiny holes in the bag to allow the plant to get used to the air. I did this about 5 days ago. Since then I have noticed the plant is becoming a little brown and dull looking. It just looks sad. I decided today (5/28) to put a new bag on it without any holes in hopes of saving it (since it did so great in there in the first place).

I just found this website which has sooo much info and I wish I found it sooner. Anyway I have a couple of questions:
1. I planted the fly trap in regular potting soil. I plan on buying the proper growing medium from this site asap. However should I wait to transplant it until it looks healthy again or do so asap to save it?
2. while waiting for the new growing medium is there anything I can do in the mean time to encourage its growth and well-being. I REALLY dont want it die!!!
3. Should I keep it covered with the bag without holes and hope it grows as it was before I poked it with holes?
4. Should i just completely uncover it?

I have also attached a pic for reference.
If anyone has any helpful tips/ tricks/ suggestions on keeping it alive please let me know!

This plant is special to me because it is basically a part of the plant from disney world and I think that is the coolest thing ever!

Thanks so much!

Will the specific fly trap potting soil from the website work great or should I just use the fiber Sphagnum moss?

Also I dont have moss and my state is still shutting down at 8pm due to covid. You are saying just put the roots in distilled water overnight? Maybe could I rinse the roots then wrap them in a damp paper towel overnight? I also have black mulch. Could I use that in any way?

This site's fly trap soil is perfect for flytraps. In case your wondering what exactly it is a mix of, it contains sphagnum peat moss and perlite. I'd skip the black mulch. It'll be too mineral rich. Keeping the roots wrapped up in a damp paper towel overnight should work, and might be better than the indoor potting soil you put it in initially. Just make sure the roots stay moist until you put it in the flytrap potting mix.

I was curious about Disney flytraps and found this terrifying video. Watch if you dare.

I had one of those things once, I accidentally put it in direct sunlight and the gel liquified. I, being a beginner then, tried planting it in a 50-50 mix of lfsm and vermiculite when I could have just done it in lfsm. The plant obviously died

Yes, it was basically one of those but the jar was twice the size.
Surprisingly it did really good in there! And even more surprising it actually grew a bit in the potting soil. But then when I went to poke holes in the bag as the directions say, it started getting sad looking.

This morning i woke up and searched 5 stores for sphagnum moss. I finally found it at a pet store!! This is also temporary until i get the VFT medium from the site.

I just hope I saved it in time. There are still a couple of leaves that are hearty and green! fingers crossed.

Also, if anyone has more care tips besides what this sites gives let me know. I need all the knowledge to get this plant to live!
Right now I have it in a plastic pot with a plastic bag over it. It has had a bag on it since I transplanted from the jar 3 weeks ago. I have also had it inside the entire time. I'm wondering if I should move it outside. I live in NJ for reference.

poohjulia wrote:I live in NJ for reference.

I'm in NJ too You should slowly acclimate it to direct light once it recovers. My vft is doing good outside currently, but it's been a cold spring where I am so it hasn't flowered yet.

schmeg wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 2:52 am I was curious about Disney flytraps and found this terrifying video. Watch if you dare.

I watched it. Ugh. That guy is so manic you can barely hear the plants screaming.

He seems to be growing shuned-dews and flytrapless.

Very sad looking despite the fast growth. I mean, no direct sunlight?

Benny wrote:He seems to be growing shuned-dews and flytrapless.

Very sad looking despite the fast growth. I mean, no direct sunlight?

Direct sunlight will melt the gel, that's what happened to mine.

so this is an updated picture of the plant. I'm pretty sure its dead
Is there a chance its alive and could recoup? Its so sad looking

I'm not sure at this point what to do with it. I removed the bag since it looks sad and started giving it some sun. Any suggestions if its still alive?

There's little to no hope, in my opinion. You're a new member and haven't requested seeds yet. Perhaps go over to ChefDean and ask for some D. Binata 't form'. Send an SASE (envelope to his address with an envelope to send to you inside). Binata is a great plant and grows so fast.

I hope you stay with CP's. We all have had our plants die here.

With no green leaves at all, it's unlikely that the underground rhizome will survive, if it's not already dead.

Here's the link to the free Seed Bank in this forum: a list of available seeds, and the rules for requesting. Please do read the rules -- they are easy to follow and help keep requests organized. flytrapcare-community-seedbank-inventory-t33352.html

Growing from seed has its own challenges, even fast-growing sundews like the Binata mentioned above. The flytraps sold by the FlytrapStore, host of this forum, have been raised healthy from birth and are an excellent source. https://www.flytrapcare.com/store/whats-in-stock

If you just really want a bargain flytrap, call your local Lowe's or Walmart. Some branches stock ~$5 flytraps grown in plastic containers. These are almost never listed in stock on store websites, and are often stuck on some random end-cap far away from the garden center. If you go this route, plan to repot them immediately in some of that lovely sphagnum moss that you have.