FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

With houseplants in the past, I’ve been a serial over waterer. I’ve never grown in pure sphagnum moss before, but I’m planning too. How do you know if it’s wet enough? How often does everyone here water their plants under LEDs? How much water should I be giving it at a time when topwatering? I’m definitely overthinking this lol

Yeah, you probably are overthinking it, we all do from time to time.
However, to answer your question on proper watering, we need to know what plants you're concerned about.

Just a Venus Flytrap, of the G16 cultivar. The instructions to keep it moist but not wet are a bit confusing with sphagnum.

And just to be clear, when the moss is damp but not wet that means it’s time to re water? How should the moss feel when it’s time? Sorry for all the questions!

rara_avis wrote:And just to be clear, when the moss is damp but not wet that means it’s time to re water? How should the moss feel when it’s time? Sorry for all the questions!

No. That's the ideal balance, you would want to wait until the top surface part to dry a little. The speed at which that happens will depend on the weather so you'll always be readjusting and aiming to keep that moist but not wet balance.... and so the game of keeping VFTS is at foot...lol

Depends on if you are growing inside or outside. I leave the trays for my indoor vfts dry for 2 days before refilling just enough to resoak the moss.

I water my outdoor vfts based on the weather. My goal is to always have dry trays by the end of the day. I start the day by pouring just enough water to cover the bottom of the trays. I'll put a little bit more as it gets hotter. If the forecast says it will rain or be cloudy, I skip the watering that day. If there is even a little bit of sun, I water the trays to be safe.

After it rains is usually when my plants are their wettest. My 3.5 inch pots are halfway submerged in the 2 inch high trays. I used to dump every tray but that was a hassle. I have a siphon that I use to pump almost all the water out after it rains. This way my plants are not submerged if its cloudy the next few days after the rain.

I was off today and decided to see how much abuse my 3.5 inch tall pot could take. They are only 2.5 inches in diameter. I started the morning without putting water in 1 of the trays. High of 89 today and very sunny. They made it just fine, but would definitely be toast tomorrow if I don't water in the morning. That would be about the line you want to dance on when people say damp. The top of the moss was beginning to dry, but the moss at the bottom of the pot still had a little left to give.

If you are letting your trays dry every so often, I don't believe you'll have any issues. Some leave their plants sitting in water year round. I'd rather not risk it.