FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi All

First time grower and poster.

I have 4 small VFT plants that I have repotted as below. I used a good peat soil and perlite mix and whilst potting I checked the white bulb of the plant and it looked still alive (not squishy or dead etc).

I had a lot of black leaves and dead traps but am getting new shoots coming through.

I try to leave them on my window sill with the open window so they get the morning sun (I live in Sydney so summer time now). I fear the soil is a bit too damp so I am watering (only bottled distilled water) from the bottom every second or third day now.

I have put them under a grow light for a bit when I think they are not getting enough sun (been a bit miserable last few days). I have tried to create the humidity by lightly spraying the leaves with distilled water every so often.

I just need some opinion on if my soil looks too damp or what to do to revitalise them. I assume stil alive based on getting new green shoots.

Any advice most welcome

I’m not a VFT expert, but the second photo seems to show the right most of the plants being a bit too deep in the soil. Explain a bit your soil composition, and watering techniques. Depending on where you live in the world, the plants should be in dormancy (but not in Australia).
I’d say not to mist them, and let them have water from the bottom (i.e. the tray method).

I used a 1:1 ratio of peat moss and perlite, picture below

I tried to make sure the bulb was just below the surface when potting.

I also water from the bottom, fill the little tray with distilled water. They are sucking it up straight away currently.

Thank you for the advice. Much appreciated

Hello and welcome to the FlytrapCare forums!

Your Venus flytraps look good to me, just lacking a bit of light is all. I wouldn't bother with putting them under artificial lights but I would suggest getting them outside if at all possible. If you have no outdoor grow space, then artificial light might be necessary.

Villan1982 wrote:I have tried to create the humidity by lightly spraying the leaves with distilled water every so often.

Don't bother with misting. Flytraps do appreciate elevated humidity, but misting the plant will increase the likelihood of crown rot. We live in southern Oregon, USA, where the summer humidity levels are extremely low. The plants grow fine without elevated humidity as long as their soil stays damp.

Thanks, Matt for the welcome and the advice.

I have a balcony that gets morning sun like my window so will place them out there.

Glad they seem ok, was concerned about being too wet but will keep giving them a bit of water in the tray every 2 days unless it gets really hot then daily.

You're welcome! That sounds like a good plan. Although, if you can simply check the soil every day for moisture on the surface, then you probably won't need to water even every 2 days. In the winter, I sometimes go 10 days or more between watering our plants and they are in very small pots in long fiber sphagnum, which dries out much more quickly than the peat mix you're using. Best to keep them moist and not too wet!

Hi Matt

Found an outdoor setting for them, they are under a roof on a balcony but get plenty of breeze and morning direct sunlight then afternoon shady light. just wondered if I should be concerned that i get leaves and then they turn black and die. They don't develop into traps as such. I don't water as much probably every three days from the bottom. Weather been warm recently, bit cloudy and rainy this week (under a balcony so they wont get much rain water which is a shame I guess)

Sorry for asking for more guidance

Villan1982 wrote:Sorry for asking for more guidance

No need to be sorry! That's why this forum exists!!

They will be much happier in their new location with fresh air and natural sunlight. The soil is starting to look a bit on the dry side now, so you should touch the surface and check for moisture. If your fingertips don't get damp when you touch it, then it is time to water.

Don't worry about the blackening traps, especially in the short term as the plants harden to natural sunlight and settle into a new location. The new growth will be hardened to the sun and the plants should start looking good after a couple of months in those conditions.

Hi Matt

I think it is dying. doesnt seem to be getting any better but getting worse.

Any tips?

Villan1982 wrote:Hi Matt

I think it is dying. doesnt seem to be getting any better but getting worse.

Any tips?

Oh no

Yeah, it looks like they are almost all dead except the one in the yellow pot. It looks to me like they're dying from one of two things:
1) mineral burn
2) crown rot

Are you sure that the peat moss you got was low in mineral content and not enriched with some sort of fertilizer? Is there anything in the soil, like sand or perlite, that might be putting minerals into the soil?

As for crown rot, that's usually a symptom of sub-optimal conditions, though sometimes it just happens to flytraps for seemingly no reason in late summer (as it is there in Australia).

Do you have a TDS meter? If so, I'd water the pots from the top until water flows out the bottom of the pots and then check the TDS of the water in the tray to see if it is high.

No to a TDS meter

I thought the moss and perlite was good

I may start again. Tips on soil if I did get it wrong?

I did a 50/50 mix of perlite and moss. Pictures of ones i used earlier in thread. Should I just use 100% moss next time ? Maybe indid plant them too deep as well

I think one is still alive see below

I have cleaned with distilled water. Put only moss in pots, damped it let it settle and put plant in keeping the bulb above or on the actual top of the moss line

Sorry to see that happen with your flytraps. What he was asking was if the moss itself had fertilizer in it. Brands like Miracle Gro enrich their moss with fertilizers or minerals which will kill off flytraps. Their roots are designed for moisture uptake and can't sustain themselves in nutrient rich environments. If you were watering from the tap or using bottled water, the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) could be too high for VFTs for the same reason. If the only thing that changed was the environment, then there's another factor at play.

That rhizome looks fine. Ideally, you'd want to have sand or perlite to add oxygen to the soil and keep it from being too waterlogged. Pure Peat Moss kind of chokes them out and holds a lot of moisture with little oxygen. It isn't a death sentence though and if you already did it, I probably wouldn't mess with it again until it's showing healthy growth. You definitely won't need to water it everyday though unless it's hot outside. If it's pure peat, I'd water it when the top layer looks visibly dry. I'd probably push my finger in a half inch to see if it's damp.

In the future, I personally would use Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss (I use Besgrow). If that isn't an option I would use 50/50 Peat Moss/Silica Sand with approx. 5-10% perlite thrown in for extra drainage. Goal is to hold enough moisture but to allow air to pass through which is why LFS is great for them. When shopping for ingredients, be sure to check the back and make sure nothing extra has been added to "enrich" the components. You want the stuff to just serve its primary function. No fertilizers, magnesium, iron, etc.

Thank you for the reply. I have added perlite to my mox. About a third perlite to 2 thirds moss

I water with distilled water from the bottom

I made sure to plant to the bulbs was right on or only just covered by the soil

My packaging doesn't state anything been added to the moss so hope I keep this one a bit healthier than the last one