FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

My Venus fly trap was transplanted over a month ago into only peat moss. It was doing fine then some of the adult traps died off.The new growth is weird because it never matures into a full trap. The leaf turns out fine but the traps turn to be little studs then die or die before. The growth is very slow, its under a fluorescent light, i water with half distilled water half rain or snow water. no sign of bugs over watering or under watering. None of the traps close <-----(the survivors of the mature traps) Please help

You should try giving it full sun light at least 4 hours a day or more if possible.

swat007j wrote:You should try giving it full sun light at least 4 hours a day or more if possible.

I recommend a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight a day, otherwise, it will continue to decline in health and ultimately die. Distorted traps is a positive sign severe photoperiod deficiency. Remember to acclimate your vft to full sun, as in: 1 hour on the first day, 2 hours on 2nd and so forth.

its beside the light which runs about 8 hours a day it gets actual sun light for at least 4 hours a day

It still needs more light. I have to ask about your light setup, what kind of bulbs you're using(compact or tube), actual watt usage and lumens rating, if possible.

N00b wrote:My Venus fly trap was transplanted over a month ago into only peat moss. It was doing fine then some of the adult traps died off.The new growth is weird because it never matures into a full trap. The leaf turns out fine but the traps turn to be little studs then die or die before. The growth is very slow, its under a fluorescent light, i water with half distilled water half rain or snow water. no sign of bugs over watering or under watering. None of the traps close <-----(the survivors of the mature traps) Please help

"The new growth is weird because it never matures into a full trap."

A sure sign that even though you think it may have enough light, it isnt getting enough.

Its a compact/bulb its one of those power saver ones now the light is right over the pot. About 4" from the light to pot. On the bulb it said 13w 120v/60Hz 210mA I just found it in my basement and decided to use it because the normal ones would heat it up and burn it/

13 watts is very low; and you're keeping it 4" away from the plant? Meh... If it was a random bulb you found in the basement, it's likely to have a very low colour temperature (probably something around 2000-3500k) which is not enough for healthy growth on any plant. A minimum of 6400k (daylight) is needed for healthy growth. Generally, the lower the wattage is, the lower the lumens which means that the light will have to be closer to the plant. (and I mean very close if it's 13watts)

When you said that it gets around 4 hours of sun a day, did you mean in-direct sun? Because if it was actually getting 4 hours or more of direct sun a day, it shouldn't be looking like that.

I suggest you get a stronger light fixture with the correct colour temperature or find it a sunnier spot where it gets at least 6 hours of full, direct sun a day.