FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

my flytrap came in a plastic container and it states to keep the plant in it and keep the humidity high. My question is; is this necessary? Also do I need to remove the dead leaves?

Thank' s in advance

Johnny.

Hi Johnny and welcome!

Yes, go ahead and remove the dead leaves, keeping anything that is green.

Also, It is very advisable to discard the plastic container, that your plant came in, as Dionaea are able to adapt to the humidity level in their growing environment very easily without the use of a dome. With a dome you run the risk of cooking your plants in the summer months as well as fungus and infections due to reduced air movement.

I hope this helps and please keep us update!

Giovanni

Hi Johnny

No, you don't have to have to keep in the plastic container. I would actually encourage you to take it out of the plastic container, because most of those containers are cheap excuses of humidity and can lead to no air flow thus possibly killing the plant from mold and so on. The purpose of the container is to keep humidity, just like it's natural habitat, but long as it has sunlight and distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water and a good peat moss/perlite mix with no fertilizer your a ok. Please ask more questions on this post if your still in need.

Budukai wrote:Hi Johnny

No, you don't have to have to keep in the plastic container. I would actually encourage you to take it out of the plastic container, because most of those containers are cheap excuses of humidity and can lead to no air flow thus possibly killing the plant from mold and so on. The purpose of the container is to keep humidity, just like it's natural habitat, but long as it has sunlight and distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water and a good peat moss/perlite mix with no fertilizer your a ok. Please ask more questions on this post if your still in need.

Thank you for your reply; I do have one more question, Is purified drinking water OK because that's what I been using? if not then how do I reverse the affects?

The containers also help nurseries ship potted plants to stores.

I would advise on removing the container gradually if you don't want to see burned/withered leaves. I personally don't care as the new leaves that grow are adjusted to the new conditions and look great. It also marks a time in the plant's life where you can say "these nice new leaves are the ones that grew since I got the plant". Your friends will be impressed.

Johnny0911 wrote:I do have one more question, Is purified drinking water OK because that's what I been using? if not then how do I reverse the affects?

No, drinking water (no matter how "purified") is probably not OK. It probably contains sodium or mineral salts for taste, or is from water from the earth that contains too many minerals for Venus Flytraps and was just "purified" through a filter to remove larger particles (but not the dissolved minerals, which flow right through the filter).

Water the medium several times to help flush out the old water, about 20-30 minutes apart, with just distilled water, rain water, or reverse osmosis water with absolutely nothing else added to the water. Read the label carefully.

Good luck and best wishes--
Steve

You've got some great advice already from some expert Dionaea growers, so I don't have anything to add. I just wanted to welcome you to flytrapcare. It's always nice to see new people join the forum that are excited about growing!

youcan take off the dome. it is also neccecary to keep the humidity high. but for the dead leaves, you can cut it to make it look nicer.

Steve_D wrote:

Johnny0911 wrote:I do have one more question, Is purified drinking water OK because that's what I been using? if not then how do I reverse the affects?

No, drinking water (no matter how "purified") is probably not OK. It probably contains sodium or mineral salts for taste, or is from water from the earth that contains too many minerals for Venus Flytraps and was just "purified" through a filter to remove larger particles (but not the dissolved minerals, which flow right through the filter).

Water the medium several times to help flush out the old water, about 20-30 minutes apart, with just distilled water, rain water, or reverse osmosis water with absolutely nothing else added to the water. Read the label carefully.

Good luck and best wishes--
Steve

Thank You

Welcome to the forum Johnny and good luck growing your plants