FlyTrapCare Forums

I've noticed a number of threads with people concerned about their VFT's, so I wanted to share something with you all.

Flytraps are going dormant for the winter. If you have yours indoors in a window, they probably don't look nearly as bad as those that are left outside at the mercy of the fluctuating October temperatures.

The photos that follow are perfectly healthy venus flytraps going into dormancy. Three weeks ago, there wasn't a single dead trap on any of these. Notice even most of the live traps have closed - there are no bugs in them, the plant is just preparing for dormancy; for lack of a better way to explain, it's "shedding" its extraneous traps.

Looking this bad at this time of year is perfectly normal. Don't sweat it.

If anyone else has pics of their flytraps going dormant, please share them.

Cross-link: For after-trimming pictures of the dormant plants below with explanations of different types of dormancy, go here: http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/viewt ... f=3&t=3128

mine look normal although some of teh traps are turning black, i cant post pics i lost the cable to upload them just wait till x-mis i am getting a new camera (i forgot teh name of it)

Thanks for posting those photos Veronis. This thread will be a good place to point people to when they ask about what a flytrap that's going dormant looks like.

Matt wrote:Thanks for posting those photos Veronis. This thread will be a good place to point people to when they ask about what a flytrap that's going dormant looks like.

I agree. Sticky maybe?

ModeratelyExcessive wrote:I agree. Sticky maybe?

Done!

Yay sticky!

Is it normal if my plant isn't looking like that? It only has one blackening trap.

lemonlily wrote:Yay sticky!

Is it normal if my plant isn't looking like that? It only has one blackening trap.

I'm sure they turn black at different rates, depending on the weather conditions and how old the trap is. I have two out of 7 or so that are turning black.

My plant is still green.

It looks like Dormancy isn't here yet for my Vft.
@_@

Looking at my vft makes meh dizzy...
Yes.. I'm a strange one. XD

Esly wrote:My plant is still green.

It looks like Dormancy isn't here yet for my Vft.
@_@

Looking at my vft makes meh dizzy...
Yes.. I'm a strange one. XD

Well you are in SoCal.

My Flytap doesn't quite look like one of the images, but I am noticing a number of black traps and there are more than usual now I am decreasing water level. I usually cut black bits off, should I?

sterwick wrote:My Flytap doesn't quite look like one of the images, but I am noticing a number of black traps and there are more than usual now I am decreasing water level. I usually cut black bits off, should I?

It seems to be not a huge deal, more like a safety precaution. Leaving them may cause fungus or mold to grow and may spread onto the plant, but usually they'll just decompose and get blown away.

It's up to you, but I do cut them off just to be safe. But just the black, not any green parts.

ModeratelyExcessive wrote:It seems to be not a huge deal, more like a safety precaution.

Yep, exactly. I do it if I have time to get around to it. Most of the time I just let them go all the way until they basically fall off then I can just pick them up off the soil and throw them out of the greenhouse.

Hey, how about every week, we make a post about how mant traps are black or dead? I know some people have hundreds and even thousands of plants, but it's be cool to have a range of some sort.

And... two traps of my plant are having their meals.

GREAT post. I was looking around online for pictures of plants in dormancy, just so I'd know what to expect. Shoulda thought to look on here. Does anyone have pictures of a fully dormat plant? Does it pretty much look dead?

On a side note, I realize now why repotting right before dormancy is a bad idea: Can't tell if the plant is dying from the repotting, or if it is just going dormat.

chompy wrote:Does anyone have pictures of a fully dormat plant?

It depends on how cold you let them get. If they freeze, then they won't have any green left above ground. If not, you just lose all of the elongated growth, but they do keep their lower growing rosetted leaves. And they can even continue to put them out through dormancy at a very slow rate.
Here's a photo of my plants last year in dormancy:

And they pretty much looked like that all winter. For more photos see here:
http://www.flytrapcare.com/carnivorous- ... -here.html