FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

What is a good way to keep soil moist? I am growing my VFT outside. It seems to only stay moist at night, and all the moisture is lost by 2pm. This is the only problem I am having, and I think it might be why it stopped growing. Its in a pot that has a hole in the bottom with a tray underneath. The only way I can get the soil moist is by watering from the top, which I heard is not a good idea.

You can try keeping more water in the tray. If there's water in the tray the peat should wick up the water towards the top. If the very top layer isn't moist I wouldn't worry too much because it could be moist underneath. Remember that VFTs like to grow long roots.

Also, watering from the top isn't a bad idea, in fact it's recommended that you water from the top occasionally to help rinse away accumulated minerals.

How big is your plant and what kind of pot is it? My first VFT was small and I first potted it in a 8 inch deep black plastic pot. Because the black would absorb so much heat and the pot was kind of oversized, I couldn't always give it enough water to keep it moist. I've since repotted it in a lighter color and 6" deep.

It could also have to do with the environment you have it in. Do you get lots of dry wind?

Ya I get dry wind but it isn't blowing very hard. Im in North Texas. Its in an 6 inch deep pot that is about 10 inches in diameter. My plant is small. My pot is lightly colored so it shouldnt be absorbing much heat. The tray is about a foot in diameter and is about 2 inches deep. I try to keep it full since it isnt getting much moisture. I checked to see how deep the soil was before it started getting moist, and i got pretty far down the pot before any moisture was noticeable. I do occasionally water from the top but the moisture from that doesn't last long at all.

You live very close to Steve. Maybe he'll chime in on this thread and share his experiences growing in that area. I know he talks about the desiccating winds there on the high plains and that he has to protect his plants from them or they'll dry out quicker than they're able to rehydrate.

You may have to place the plant somewhere that's protected from the wind if it's especially hot and dry and windy.

The only spots that are protected from the wind, have little light.

Hi Jarhead11. I live over in New Mexico, just next to the border of the Texas panhandle, in the Clovis, New Mexico area.

Do you live in the country or a city? How fast does the wind blow, and how often? Is there any natural windbreak? Are there lots of trees around you?

What kind of potting soil are you using for your Venus Flytrap? What kind of water?

It's good that you have it in a large pot (10 inches wide by 6 inces deep). That will help to buffer the soil temperature and will help it retain water longer.

Best wishes, -Steve

cool i like the info that steve dd at the bottum!

I wonder if you can write how you take care of all your CP's all of them including sarr's and neps if u have some

Ok I live in a neighborhood but it is outside the city, so its kinda a country area. Right now the wind is blowing pretty hard and very often. There are a few trees but not many. The wind will blow for around 5 seconds and then stop for another 5 seconds and start up again. Its 79 degrees outside right now. Im just using the standard CP soil and I am using the distilled water that you buy in a jug at any store. I am finding that I can only get moisture in the soil by watering from the top. I checked how the soil was deeper in the pot, and it is only moist for about the bottom 1-2 inches. And my plant is quite small right now. Its growth recently halted for some reason.

Here is a picture of my set-up 5 minutes aftering watering. The soil moisture that is visible is from being watered from the top. I also filled the tray up.

I can see where you just watered it. That's interesting that the peat moss isn't wicking up the water. Any peat mix I've made the water gets wicked up all the way to the top of the pot if you set the pot in an inch or so of water.

Maybe the terra cotta pot has something to do with the drying out? I know that it's porous and evaporates the water quickly. Also, there are supposedly minerals in the clay that can make your flytrap sick after a time. I'd recommend switching to a foam or plastic pot to help control the amount of water usage and prevent any mineral burn on your flytrap.

I'm sure others will have more suggestions.

ok ill try and find a good sized pot that is either foam or plastic.

Matt wrote:Maybe the terra cotta pot has something to do with the drying out? I know that it's porous and evaporates the water quickly.

I'll bet that's the case. Growing medium in red clay pots dries out about twice as quickly as in plastic or glazed ceramic. It's possible to grow Venus Flytraps in real red earthenware clay pots that have been fired to maturity, because they are chemically pretty inert and insoluble. But there are very many imitations of true red earthenware clay pots that are actually very low-fired "ceramic bodies" that have lots of slowly soluble chemicals or minerals in them, so a person has to really know their clay, avoid those and be really sure that the clay pot is made of only red earthenware clay.

I'm growing a couple Fine Tooth x Red Venus Flytraps in a real red earthenware clay pot right now, and they're doing fine, but I really should have made the mix more moisture retentive to compensate for the porous red clay's tendency to wick water away from the medium and evaporate it from the pots outside surface.

There is not a tremendous danger of a buildup of minerals and other dissolved solids when using real red earthenware fired to its maturity (until it almost is ready to melt in the kiln) if both the water and the growing medium used are very low in soluble material. A quick scrub and rinse of the outside surface of the clay pot is good enough to remove any visible "bloom" of minerals left on the surface as the water evaporates.

Stoneware clay pots are fine to use. They are vitreous (non porous) if they are fired to maturity, and are as good as any glazed ceramic pot. However, lighter colors might be better, to keep the sun from heating the pots and the growing medium and roots too much.

Good luck and best wishes--

ok I got me a plastic pot, so that should help with the water problem. Im gonna try and get another soil mix ratio this time and hopefully it'll be better and everything will be good to go. Thanks guys. Everyone at this site is really helping me grow my first VFT. If it wasnt for yall it would probably be dead right now. =)