FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Sponsored by FlytrapStore.com

Ask questions about how to grow and care for Venus Flytraps

Moderator: Matt

User avatar
By Zach7286
Location: 
Posts:  47
Joined:  Fri Dec 27, 2019 10:04 pm
#357587
Hi everyone - Can anyone help me figure out what might be causing these black/yellowing areas that have been developing on my flytrap over the past few days?
damage5.jpg
damage5.jpg (571.33 KiB) Viewed 2703 times
(see the yellowing/browning along the leaf edges)
damage4.jpg
damage4.jpg (420.36 KiB) Viewed 2703 times
damage3.jpg
damage3.jpg (506.39 KiB) Viewed 2703 times
damage2.jpg
damage2.jpg (367.88 KiB) Viewed 2703 times
(hard to make out, but that's a newly forming flytrap that's gone black)
damage1.jpg
damage1.jpg (391.85 KiB) Viewed 2703 times
(brown stripes running along either edge)

I purchased this flytrap from the store about a month ago and for a while was just keeping it inside under an LED. It's been getting increasing amounts of direct sunlight since June 8th - starting with 45mins/day and then gradually working up to two hours' worth on June 19th, after which I took it back down to 90 mins per day for every day since then. The smaller flytraps seemed like they were having more difficulty with the sun from the very beginning, but only these past few days have I noticed any damage to the flytrap's larger leafs. Could this be sun damage?

A few days this past week I've also been spraying it with distilled water in the evening. Is it possible that that's been the cause?

On the other hand, I'd started watering it because I'd begun to notice patches of sphagnum inside the pot that were looking sort of dry. So maybe it's getting *under*-watered?

Would appreciate any insights as to what might be going on here, and if there's anything I can do to ameliorate the situation. Thanks very much for the help!

Zach
User avatar
By Matt
Location: 
Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#357605
Yes, it is sun damage. Most of what you're seeing is just a natural process of hardening off a flytrap to direct sunlight that was previously grown in lower, non-natural lighting. The leaves will yellow and brown around the edges, particularly in the case of the older leaves. New leaves won't have that issue at all if they are getting full sun.

I don't recommend ever spraying a flytrap. Simply keep the soil damp and there is no need to ever mist or spray them and it can actually be detrimental to do so.
Zach7286 liked this
User avatar
By Zach7286
Location: 
Posts:  47
Joined:  Fri Dec 27, 2019 10:04 pm
#357689
Good to know! Glad that this isn't anything that bodes ill for the future.

Is it normal as well for the flytraps to begin to sort of invert themselves? I'm noticing that many of them are beginning to look almost like they're flipping themselves inside-out... both the older/larger traps as well as a few that are smaller and seem younger to me.
curl3.jpg
curl3.jpg (386.19 KiB) Viewed 2651 times
This trap seems to be inverting just on one side (the right)


curl2.jpg
curl2.jpg (505.52 KiB) Viewed 2651 times
A younger-looking trap beginning to curl outwards


curl1.jpg
curl1.jpg (461.39 KiB) Viewed 2651 times
Here you can see in the foreground that this flytrap is beginning to invert as well (along the top)

I read in other threads that this can be a natural sign of the individual flytrap having reached the end of its life cycle... but would you expect it to be happening to traps that are on the smaller side as well? Is this related at all to the hardening off process?

Thank you!!

Zach
User avatar
By Zach7286
Location: 
Posts:  47
Joined:  Fri Dec 27, 2019 10:04 pm
#358033
Thanks so much! Yes my adult flytrap actually seems to be doing pretty well now and what you're saying makes sense!

Today I've grown much more concerned instead with the seedling that I've also been trying to acclimate to direct sunlight, alongside the adult flytrap pictured above. See photos below - do you guys think he still has any chance of survival?

I'm a little bewildered because I feel like I've been adjusting him to the sun at a pretty glacial pace... I started the process about a month ago on June 8th and only within the past few days have I upped the total sun exposure to a mere 2 hours daily. He'd accrued some perceptible sun damage over the past few weeks but on the whole it seemed like he was doing ok. Shortly after I upped him to two hours of daily sunlight earlier this week we had a couple days in a row of cloudy skies (on each of which he stayed outside for 2 hours anyway), but then today was very sunny and I accidentally left him outside for 15 minutes longer than I'd intended to. When he got back inside he was looking pretty burnt-up, as depicted below. I suppose it was the extra 15 mins that presented the problem, as well as the fact that it had been cloudy the past few days? Or maybe this is just an extension of the sun damage that I had been seeing beforehand?

In any case, if it seems like there's any chance that he might survive I'd love to hear suggestions on what to do in the days ahead. Should I continue with the same amount of sunlight? (2 hours/day)? Or should I walk it back so that he can recover a little? Or is there something else I should do?

Thanks!--
Attachments:
Untitled picture.png
Untitled picture.png (498.4 KiB) Viewed 2514 times
Untitled picture.png
Untitled picture.png (498.4 KiB) Viewed 2514 times
sun2.jpg
sun2.jpg (805.24 KiB) Viewed 2514 times
User avatar
By Matt
Location: 
Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#358383
Zach7286 wrote:See photos below - do you guys think he still has any chance of survival?
It doesn't look good. Any update? It has been a few days since you posted the photos.

Baby Venus flytraps are better left in 50% shade and greenhouse light for at least the first year of their lives, perhaps two years depending on how quickly they grow.
User avatar
By Zach7286
Location: 
Posts:  47
Joined:  Fri Dec 27, 2019 10:04 pm
#359283
Matt wrote: Tue Jul 07, 2020 7:25 pm It doesn't look good. Any update? It has been a few days since you posted the photos.

Baby Venus flytraps are better left in 50% shade and greenhouse light for at least the first year of their lives, perhaps two years depending on how quickly they grow.
It's still looking more or less like little a black husk so I'm assuming that the flytrap is officially dead :(. I entered into a period of mourning for a little while but I think that I've finally accepted the fact it was simply his time lol. In any case, lesson learned about trying to acclimate seedlings to sunlight before at least a year! Thanks for the advice.
Hello, New to the forum

Welcome to the forum! We have a horrible deer i[…]

Canadian Carnivores

If there are any Canadians here, I had a good expe[…]

I believe Floramite works on contact so if it wa[…]

Hello again, from Texas

Welcome back to the forum! Be sure to check out th[…]

Counting to infinity.

2488

DragonsEye, I definitely did not know that, either[…]

All Mineral Media

I find pure turface stays too wet in my conditions[…]

I'm seeing a similar thing with nearly all of mine[…]

Support the community - Shop at FlytrapStore.com!