FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

So, this is my first VFT ever, and I love it!

It appears to be thriving, it is sprouting 3 new heads and it is growing both vertically and horizontally. I keep it inside, in my room in direct sunlight all day and feed it only purified or rain water. It's soil is always moist because it sits in a cup of water.

However, 2 of my "stems" with the heads included have turned completely black.

What is wrong with my plant? Is it dying? I really want to save it, because I feel like I've been doing everything right.

Help me please! =(

-kaypay91


By the way, it does get insects. I take it outside to feed.

well ususally it's normal for leaves to die as long as there is new growth still emerging you'll be okay.. but if you notice that the plant is going completely black than you have a problem. try and post some pictures if you can to better aid this situation. you need to use rain water or Distilled water cause purified water may contain minerals that are harmful to your plant.

allen,

kaypay91 wrote:... and feed it only purified or rain water. It's soil is always moist because it sits in a cup of water.

What is "purified water"? If it's not just pure distilled water with absolutely nothing else in it, it can burn the plants' roots and leaves.

kaypay91 wrote:However, 2 of my "stems" with the heads included have turned completely black.

Are those to leaves at the outside of the growing rosette? If so, they may simply be old and dying a natural death. All leaves on all plants die after a time, and Venus Flytraps are no different. A photo would help us very much to help you. If you have a camera (even a cell phone camera) a couple photos will enable other FlytrapCare.com members to quickly determine what might be happening and give you advice. Often there are other factors that you don't think about, or don't think to mention, that are obvious to other growers from a photo.

Best wishes,
Steve

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l12/R ... and003.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l12/R ... and019.jpg


There are some pictures of my plant.

kaypay91 wrote:There are some pictures of my plant.

Hi Kaypay-- Here are my thoughts after looking at the photos of your plant--

It looks like it is growing in conditions that are continuously too wet. The medium looks soggy. Either repot it into a looser medium, or water it carefully but don't let it stand in water all the time.

The traps that are turning black are the oldest ones around the outside of the rosette, which is natural, so don't worry about that too much and just cut the black parts off. However, it looks to me like there may be some additional stress from being both too moist and not having much air flow (because it is grown indoors). Being too wet but outdoors in full sunlight with a slight breeze is generally fine, but being too wet and also more shaded and with less air movement invites mold and rot. Just keeping it less wet will help a lot.

The new leaves look OK, but they are long and spindly, and the traps are very small. This suggests to me "water growth," a kind of weak, spindly growth that occurs when the plant is too wet all the time. You have to be careful that the plant never dries out completely, but it would be better to grow it "moist, not wet," which is a slogan most people here at FlytrapCare.com have heard me say (write) many times. The plant also looks like it would benefit from a lot more direct sunlight, but it will require some time to adapt since the new growth is thin, weak and may be easy to sunburn.

One other thing: the water. What do you mean by "purified water"? Exactly what kind of water is that, and what does the label say?

If it were my plant, I would repot it into a looser mixture, and I would let it dry out substantially between waterings. With a regular regimen of this drying out between waterings, a Venus Flytrap will grow a very nice and extensive root system such that the soil can almost dry out completely and the plant can still maintain hydration. But that's not the point; the point is simply to grow it with more light, and less constant water saturation, in air-ier medium.

Here is a young adult Venus Flytrap grown in "moist, not wet" conditions with lots and lots of sunlight, just for comparison--



Steve

I couldn't have said it better than Steve. I've done this before to a VFT long time ago. Now I'm very particular about when and how much I water.. I also used 50:50 sand:peat mixture which seemed to help drain excess water quicker.