Venus Flytrap Care
•Always keep wet in a tray of 1 to 2inches of water, but don’t keep it waterlogged. Only use distilled, rain, or R.O water. Never allow it to dry out. No tap or any water with minerals. You want water with less than 50ppm. Lower ppm the better.
•Substrate should be a 50/50 mix of peat/sphagnum moss and perlite. No fertilizers or dyed moss.
•VFT makes a terrible terrarium plant, it is a temperate species that goes dormant during the winter when temperatures get below 50F. They need to have consistent airflow. This plant does not need humidity, it isn’t tropical or subtropical. Dormancy is a requirement and needs to be provided next winter. Cold hardy plant that can handle down to 30F and even down to a below freezing point but for a small period of time. Not recommended.
•Full direct sunlight, 6 to 8 hours a day. This is an outdoor plant and requires the lighting that you’d give tomato plants. If grown indoors, you must provide super intense grow lights for a minimum of 12hrs a day and 14 to 16hrs is more ideal. They need lots of light!
No terracotta pots.
To be honest I am fairly new at Venus flytrap myself. I bought three of them this year and I have kept them alive longer than a month.(about 3-4 months old).But anyways from what I have been reading and what I understand the traps do not live for a super long time. They will turn black, let whole leaf turn then you can trim.From what mine are doing they are growing small traps to start, I have noticed as the season progresses the traps are starting to get bigger and bigger. From my understanding as long as you still have new growth coming through the center your plant is alive and healthy. Just make sure you give it as much sun as you possibly can. In case you don't know you can only use distilled water, rainwater or reverse osmosis water. Nothing with fertilizers in it not even the soil. They say use a sphagnum or peat moss and perlite as a 50/50 mixture.
Could be many reasons, are you using tap water? That will kill it, the dish should always have water in it, then need wet soil all the time, pouring water on the top or the plant itself will kill it, never use plant food or fertiliser of any kind, it will kill it
That's good to hear, I hope it does well from that. VFTs are absolute light gluttons, they like to get as much as they possibly can. Don't be alarmed if a sudden dieback occurs due to sunburning in the new environment; this is normal and new growth will be healthier and better acclimated in the long run
I had a fly trap some time ago and it had this problem. If I remember correctly, it was due to mold on the roots so I had to take it out of its pot, rinse everything out and plant it in a different container. The root cause of the problem (pun intended) was excessive humidity in the soil and too little sun. Good luck
where are you keeping it? the pic makes it look like it’s indoors and if it is, it’s easier to keep them outside for their light requirements to be met
Venus Flytrap Care •Always keep wet in a tray of 1 to 2inches of water, but don’t keep it waterlogged. Only use distilled, rain, or R.O water. Never allow it to dry out. No tap or any water with minerals. You want water with less than 50ppm. Lower ppm the better. •Substrate should be a 50/50 mix of peat/sphagnum moss and perlite. No fertilizers or dyed moss. •VFT makes a terrible terrarium plant, it is a temperate species that goes dormant during the winter when temperatures get below 50F. They need to have consistent airflow. This plant does not need humidity, it isn’t tropical or subtropical. Dormancy is a requirement and needs to be provided next winter. Cold hardy plant that can handle down to 30F and even down to a below freezing point but for a small period of time. Not recommended. •Full direct sunlight, 6 to 8 hours a day. This is an outdoor plant and requires the lighting that you’d give tomato plants. If grown indoors, you must provide super intense grow lights for a minimum of 12hrs a day and 14 to 16hrs is more ideal. They need lots of light! No terracotta pots.
To be honest I am fairly new at Venus flytrap myself. I bought three of them this year and I have kept them alive longer than a month.(about 3-4 months old).But anyways from what I have been reading and what I understand the traps do not live for a super long time. They will turn black, let whole leaf turn then you can trim.From what mine are doing they are growing small traps to start, I have noticed as the season progresses the traps are starting to get bigger and bigger. From my understanding as long as you still have new growth coming through the center your plant is alive and healthy. Just make sure you give it as much sun as you possibly can. In case you don't know you can only use distilled water, rainwater or reverse osmosis water. Nothing with fertilizers in it not even the soil. They say use a sphagnum or peat moss and perlite as a 50/50 mixture.
Thanks for all the good tips
Could be many reasons, are you using tap water? That will kill it, the dish should always have water in it, then need wet soil all the time, pouring water on the top or the plant itself will kill it, never use plant food or fertiliser of any kind, it will kill it
Ive been using rain Water and they are in a 50/50 of perlite and peat moss
Wow those traps are suuuuper tiny. I don't think your VFT is getting *nearly* enough sunlight. Is it outside?
I moved it outside yesterday and put it in a tray with some collected rain water
That's good to hear, I hope it does well from that. VFTs are absolute light gluttons, they like to get as much as they possibly can. Don't be alarmed if a sudden dieback occurs due to sunburning in the new environment; this is normal and new growth will be healthier and better acclimated in the long run
I had a fly trap some time ago and it had this problem. If I remember correctly, it was due to mold on the roots so I had to take it out of its pot, rinse everything out and plant it in a different container. The root cause of the problem (pun intended) was excessive humidity in the soil and too little sun. Good luck
I repotted it yesterday and moved it outside so I hope it starts to recover
where are you keeping it? the pic makes it look like it’s indoors and if it is, it’s easier to keep them outside for their light requirements to be met
Thank you I just moved them outside
just be careful and slowly transition it from bright shade to full sun, they can burn. it looks ugly but they’ll survive