FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi! I recently bought my first VFT and I am keen to get into caring for it and hopefully more in the future if all goes well. I watched at least 10 youtube videos on caring for VFTs and it was safe to say I learnt all the basics, before going out and purchasing the goods the next day.
I bought a big, plastic, grey self-watering pot. Filled it with peat moss and perlite (I tried to make the ratio 1:1 but I am pretty sure I unintentionally put more moss in there than perlite.) I also made a small effort to wet the peat beforehand, but I would say It would be mostly dry by the time I put the plant in.
Now the VFT was in a small pot and had the entire surface covered so I couldn't find a way to get it out simply, so I got some scissors and cut downwards trying my best to avoid roots. It got harder as I reached the bottom, so I tried ripping the rest of the way... This resulted in the pot "exploding" into a cloud of soil and sending the poor plant to the concrete below. I was sitting on the floor so it wasn't much of a drop, but I was concerned that stressed the plant out too much.
After that clusterfeck I put the plant in demineralised water and removed the soil it came with (as much as I could without tearing the roots). I also noticed the plant was actually 3 smaller plants and I only managed to confidently separate 1 from the group which I put in the same pot next to the main cluster. I made sure I made a deep hole for each and made sure the ?core/heart? (I forgot what it's called) was mostly above soil level.
I filled the pots tray at the bottom and gave the plants some generous mists of water and immediately put it in the sun. Not even an hour later I noticed it's wilting and looking sad. The soil was dry so I gave it more squirts of water, I came back later and it was getting worse. I found a decent-sized ant (the size of a fly) and gave it to them hoping it would give them some kind of boost in energy or health, but none of the heads reacted to it. I put in every single open head's mouth and none of them reacted to it. This is when I realised I properly messed up. Upon reflection I realised there was multiple chances I could have messed it up. I will link the materials I used just in case there are some red flags I don't see:

• https://www.bunnings.com.au/brunnings-2 ... e_p0274287
  https://www.bunnings.com.au/brunnings-5 ... s_p3010202
  https://www.bunnings.com.au/2pure-5l-de ... r_p0220672
  https://www.bunnings.com.au/eden-15cm-g ... r_p0086690

I don't know if I have properly killed it; if I did I will try again with another one, but I don't want to keep making the same mistakes if I am not sure where I went wrong.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
(Also it is around 25 degrees celsius here at the moment for those who might take in the weather for consideration)
P.S I am new, so if you need to use Plant/VFT terminology can I please request I get a definition with it.

I take it from the au references in the email links you are in Australia? in which case you are coming into Autumn.
It sounds like at the very least you have stressed the plant waaay out, that's why the traps are non-reactive, dry soil won't help either, stand it in water, it needs to be wet. On top of that repotting it and putting it out directly into sunlight may well have stressed it further - if it has been grown indoors prior to you getting it and you have put it outside without acclimating it to the sunlight you have, in a dry soil then it will stress it.
The rhizome should be below the soil level, i.e. you should not see any white.
Your best bet is to stand it in water, make sure the rhizome is below the soil level, and gently introduce it to the sun over a couple of weeks. don't feed it yet that will stress it further. It will be sad for at least 2 weeks, during which time it wont do much if anything, some traps may well die off and turn black, but then you will notice new growth from the centre if it is surviving.
Don't give up on it, they are tough little characters.
Cheers
Steve

Feel so bad for the little guy
Okay, I will try my best to do those things.
Thanks so much!

You could bag it and put it in indirect light to help acclimate and also spraying it with water and then putting it in the sun may cause the leaves to get burned more

steve booth wrote: Your best bet is to stand it in water, make sure the rhizome is below the soil level, and gently introduce it to the sun over a couple of weeks. don't feed it yet that will stress it further.

Do you know how long I need to stand it in water? It has been since I read this, but I don't know when I should take it out.
Also a general question: It has been raining over here; should I keep it out of the rain?

I stand mine in 1/2" water all the growing season, spring to autumn, taking them out for dormancy. Others stand them in water for a couple of days then take them out and wait till the surface starts to dry before placing them back in the water. If the plant is in growth, the pot is over 4" tall and the weather is warm, it will be fine.
As far as the rain goes, they get it in the wild, so unless you are getting biblical levels of rain, don't worry about it.
May I suggest you have a look at this, it should tell you everything you need to know.
https://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2000.html

Cheers
Steve