FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi, my friend bought a vft 2 months ago. He was watering it with tap water. It is Looking really good. How? I thought you can't water it like that.

It depends on the water. My tap water is safe at 24ppm TDS because it comes from a mountain top lake fed by melting snow. If your water comes from a river, well, or low land lake it could have picked up minerals to harm your plants.

He should test his water it could be at a level that just takes longer to harm the plants.

Which solids are the worst for vft?

metals and salts, i know copper is one of the worst.

Also, I took some photos of the vft itself (indoors because its night in Poland) and its grown indoors. Based on this vft am I fine with watering mine with tap water?

So if my water is Below 100 ppm its ok to use? I ordered a TDS meter online

No. Flytraps need water that is free of salts and metals, particularly carbonates. A TDS less than 50 is safe. A TDS between 50 and 100 depends on the water chemistry and how you are growing the plants. You can get away with a higher TDS if the plants are being grown outdoors because regular rains will wash away any accumulated salts. Indoors the just continue to build in the pot until they become toxic. If you can test the chemistry of your water and see that the TDS or general hardness (gH) is high but the carbonate hardness (kH) is low, then you should be okay to use it.

Clearly, you are just starting out and only have 1 plant. Your best solution is to buy distilled water and collect rainwater.

Panman wrote: ↑Thu May 16, 2024 12:28 pm <snip>
Clearly, you are just starting out and only have 1 plant. Your best solution is to buy distilled water and collect rainwater.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What he said.

Well, when i repotted my flytrap (i saw in a video that if it comes from a big Store, you most likely need to repot it) i was dividing it and i got like 7 Plants from 1

Peat and perlite is the mix i used hope its good (the photos Above aren't my flytraps)

I just tested my tap water and it is about 190-200ppm. Is it okay if i water my flytraps with it every now and then (when there is no rain water or distilled water)? They are grown out doors now.

I'm a bit confused on why you posted photos of VFTs that are not yours to get an answer on the health of yours. Were you wishing to ask if you could compare yours to those or something?

Just be sure neither the peat or perlite has any additives to them. Such as any suggestion that their might be plant food/fertilizer in them or that minerals might have been added to make the ingredients' pH "neutral". Definitely stay away from Micracle-Gro products if you have those in your area.

190-200ppm is high. Maybe just once in a while would be okay, it's better than the plant dying from lack of water. You might could add four parts rain/distilled water to one part of you tap water to stretch your good water out a bit. But, then there are possible contaminants in the tap water such as chlorine, cloramines, copper, etc.,... For one or two flytraps, a gallon of distilled water will last at least a few weeks, maybe even a couple of months. Best wishes!

We live in the same House so if the water he's using is Bad, i will atleast know