FlyTrapCare Forums

I bought my Venus Flay Trap back in January off of Amazon. It was free really, so you know. I didn't expect it to live, but the little guy is thriving. So much so that I am pretty sure he needs to be replanted. I am just not sure what to do....I purchased this soil:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0761 ... UTF8&psc=1

But what do I put him IN? And what do I do with the blue gel he is currently growing in?

I have read about basics, so I have somewhat of an idea. I live in region 7, so he would stay inside most of the time. Also, in the winter, we only heat with a wood stove. Any tips or pointers would be great. He was a whim thing, but I want him to grow happy and healthy....LOL!

That mix should be safe. I would moisten the mix before you plant the Venus Flytrap in it because peat moss is very hard to moisten. Plant him in a pot (be sure it is not terracotta or clay or anything like that because they leak nutrients into the soil.) I would try to put it in a pot at least 4 inches deep. When it is time to take it out open the jar, take them out rinse off the roots with distilled water and put it in the soil.

I have to find distilled water. With this virus thing going on, there is very few places that have water at all, let alone distilled. I am on a well, but I am afraid to even try well water. I also need to find some sort of pot. All I could find at the dollar store beside me are the seed starter pots. Everything else was really really big, and I am sharing the bag of soil that I got with my friend who has a VFT. She needs to replant hers too.

Search up DIY water distillation. You could also buy a ZeroWater filter.

The soil mix you bought will work fine for the media. Get a pot that is at least 4 inches deep and use that when potting the flytrap into soil for the first time.

Definitely don't use well water for the plant when you water it. Figure out a way to get your hands on rainwater, reverse osmosis water or distilled water. Collecting rainwater this time of year should be doable in NY, right?

You can always make a temporary pot by cutting off the top of a milk, soda or juice bottle. While the plastic won't last forever, it should get you through this crisis until you can find the right pot. I think the bottom 4-5" of an orange juice bottle (50-60 oz size) would work well.

Matt wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:32 am The soil mix you bought will work fine for the media. Get a pot that is at least 4 inches deep and use that when potting the flytrap into soil for the first time.

Definitely don't use well water for the plant when you water it. Figure out a way to get your hands on rainwater, reverse osmosis water or distilled water. Collecting rainwater this time of year should be doable in NY, right?

Probably not, if I lived in NY I live in PA, but about 30 minutes from the southern border. We did have a lot of rain this last week but I didn't think about collecting it.

sanguinearocks101 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:14 am Search up DIY water distillation. You could also buy a ZeroWater filter.

unfortunately i cannot afford to buy too much, not working and have no income coming in right now due to the shut down. I am fighting to collect unemployment, but so far that's been a bust. I have to run to my grocery store later for our weekly groceries so I am hoping they have some (I know when they restock...LOL) I will look up the DIY and see if it is something I can do, in case.

smschwentner wrote:Probably not, if I lived in NY I live in PA, but about 30 minutes from the southern border. We did have a lot of rain this last week but I didn't think about collecting it.

Sorry I got your location wrong. If you edit your profile and put in your location, it is helpful to others (like me!) when offering advice

You should still be able to collect rainwater as this time of year it rains quite a bit in most places in the NE, right?

Yeah, in NJ it rains a lot in the spring and fall.

Anyone gonna mention that it’s obviously in tissue culture? You’re gonna acclimate it to lower humidity. So contrary to what the general advice is you need to put a bag on it once you plant it to keep humidity as high as possible

I’m in North East PA and it has been raining since forever it seems. More sun for the plants will be nice if it ever happens. In the meanwhile I have a few HD pails that are full of rainwater. Don't
forget to get lids for them else evaporation will occur.

If you can get water from a clean AC unit, you can use that.

Cheers
Steve

I replanted it yesterday, into the CP soil. I know it needs humidity, so it is in a sealed jar right now, that I allow open for short periods of time so that it doesn't get really humid. It is on those clear decorative stones that I washed with distilled water (I scored a few gallons the other day at the store!), with water just to the top of them and the pot sitting on top of those rocks. Because I couldn't find any other pots, I used one of the biodegradable seed starter pots until I get a chance to get somewhere else to find something. It seems to be ok today. It got a bit clumped up when I was rinsing off the gel but it leaves have straightened themselves back out and are spreading out nicely so far. I don't want to keep it in that pot long, but so far it is working ok. The soil is wet but not soaking.

Looks good! You'll want to keep it in that jar and keep the jar closed for a couple of weeks. We always treat our plants out of tissue culture with a fungicide because if any mold spores are in the potting soil, with the lack of air movement and high humidity, the mold can quickly overrun the plant tissue.

After a couple of weeks, open the top of the jar. After a month, remove it from the jar. Two weeks after that, start giving it dappled, indirect sunlight. Then gradually start introducing it to full sun for an hour or two a day until it starts growing new, fully hardened leaves and traps.

Then enjoy your plant the rest of the summer and fall!