FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi,

I bought a venus flytrap around March from a superstore.
I kept it indoors and provided it full spectrum light at night, and kept it by the window during the day. It didn't receive enough sunlight through the window,
which is why I think the traps have never turned red. I couldn't keep it outdoors because I lived in a dorm room at that time. IT did grow plenty of leaves, however.

It is planted in sphagnum moss and I water it once each day with distilled water only.

This is how it looked when I bought it.



This is how it turned out after 2 months.



Unfortunately, I had to leave my plant with a friend during summer holidays, as I had to go out of the country for 3 months. I had given him my 4 gallon bottle of distilled water, asked him to water it a little once a day. But I suppose some people are just plain lazy

So this is how it was after my return.



I've trimmed off the black leaves - which was probably all of them. Then I split the plant into 2 from the stem to let it grow out as 2 individual plants. Which seemed to have worked. The plant began to grow new leaves in 5 days. However, the older leaves were beginning to turn black completely, and so I trimmed them all off from the stem, and repotted the plant once more.

Now my plant gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight outdoors and gets watered once a day. I suppose I made a mistake by taking off the older leaves, because now the new emerging leaves have turned blackish at the tip. Even the most recent leaf that's emerging seems to be growing a black trap.

Is it getting too much sun now (temperature is extremely high, metal gets very very hot outside)? How can I fix this problem?

Current state.

Just keep giving it good care and it will recover. Don't worry about the frequency with which you water, but ensure that the soil is always moist. It looks a bit dry to me on the surface, but perhaps it's moist just underneath?

And as for the sun and heat, if it's over 90°F, it is best to keep it in filtered sun or dappled sun, such as under a tree or shade cloth, during the hottest times of the day. It will slowly put out new leaves and they will be hardened to full sun.

Matt wrote:Just keep giving it good care and it will recover. Don't worry about the frequency with which you water, but ensure that the soil is always moist. It looks a bit dry to me on the surface, but perhaps it's moist just underneath?

And as for the sun and heat, if it's over 90°F, it is best to keep it in filtered sun or dappled sun, such as under a tree or shade cloth, during the hottest times of the day. It will slowly put out new leaves and they will be hardened to full sun.

It is moist underneath, as the photo was snapped an hour after I watered it. The air is dry and sun is strong so the surface dries out fast. I suppose that is why the leaves have turned black, if it wasn't the tearing off the stem thing.

Thank you for your response. I'm relieved now.