FlyTrapCare Forums

I got a Venus FlyTrap back in May at a reptile expo, at first a couple days after I got it, it started to turn black so I read up on it, and I switched to a ceramic pot and used peat and sand for the soil mixture. We had a HUGE thunderstorm the other day and the day after that, all of a sudden my trap was droopy and soft. I just watered with distilled water hoping they’ll get better. I was told they get stress, but I don’t know if that’s true. I’m also new at doing this stuff, I mainly care for spider plants and cacti, so I’m new at caring for carnivorous plants. Can someone explain what’s going on and how I can fix it?

First, I personally wouldn't use ceramic Terra cotta pots, because they can leech minerals that aren't good for your plant. And second, from the picture it looks like the crown of the plants is buried a little bit to deeply. Also how much light is your plant getting per day?

I keep it right on my windowsill which gets the most sunlight? And are you saying I should pull the plant up more to not make it so deep?

Is that what the root system should look like?

It's not getting enough light. Also looks like it may have dried out a bit too much during some point contributing to the decline in leaf health. It is extremely difficult to provide them with enough light indoors, those that do buy grow lights (but then there is still the issue of dormancy). The best thing is to just treat VFTs as outdoor plants and give them some protection in the winter. I would acclimate it to the outdoors and give it a good watering. Repotting into something that isn't terra-cotta is also a good idea.

Edit: Yeah, that's interesting. VFT roots are pretty much just a few taproots coming from the rhizome. Looks like yours is in one of those "peat pellets" or pods or whatever the official name is, with some fabric around it. It's not helping anything so I would get rid of that and repot it normally.

Thank you, I will switch my trap to outdoors and I will get rid of that “coating” tomorrow.

Remember, don't stick it in full sun right away since it will almost certainly burn. Give it some medium light at first or cover with some shade cloth.

Alright, thank you!