My Venus Fly Trap is dying. :/

11 years ago

Hello everyone,
I'm totally new to growing plants and I really need help. So I had bought a Venus Fly trap at a museum and took it home with me. I put the pot in a little cup of water (filtered water because I didn't know it was not distilled) as it told me to and put it in my living room where it would get some sunlight. However, I had to head back to San Diego for school and couldn't take my plant back this time. I went back a week later, and it looked like this. The soil feels moist. And I was wondering if I would need to put new soil or if I just start watering distilled water and putting it in the sunlight if it would revive. I live in a dorm so my plant would be indoors at all times.
So if anyone could give me any tips on how to revive it I would deeply appreciate it!

Featured Answer

elishaw_ca

9 years ago

Yes, I agree!:) but you also have to water enough! so the Venus Fly trap's pot leaks (the water) through the holes at the bottom!:) I tried, first I though I watered too much but then my grand-ma watered it and it became better!:) But in that picture, you might watered TOO much!:o

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Comments (10)

tommyr_gw Zone 6
11 years ago
Throw it out and start over. First mistake is using filtered water. Second mistake keeping it inside. Get a new HEALTHY one but in the meantime Google Venus Flytrap care.
Morpheus119
11 years ago
I'm fairly new to this also but I don't think you should throw it out. I've talked to a lot of people and they say these plants are very tough. If I was you I would remove the plant from its current media and repot in long-fibered sphagnum, peat moss, peat-perlight, or a mix of all three and water with distilled or rainwater. It might pull through or it might not. The new growth suggests its not completely dead so it's worth a shot.
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What happened is that you dropped a dead bug. The bug did trigger the trap to close over it but it didn't do anything else to indicate to the trap it caught something. It is the stimuli of the bug moving inside the trap that educes the trap. to go into the the digestive phase. When the bugs moves inside the closed trap, it keeps on brushing against the trigger hair. The trigger hair isn't just only the cause the trap to close. It also send single to the trap that it had captured a live digestible prey. That's what allows a trap to distinguish between a live nutritious prey from inanimate debris. That way the trap doesn't expand needlessly digesting debris with no nutritional value. That's why your trapped opened again, there was no further stimuli from the dead bugs because they weren't moving, so the trap had no reason to stay close & digest it. It opened up again.
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Well, I remember when I had gone through the stage of anxiety that you did... As far as I can tell, your flytrap is fine, and you even took the extra mile to cut off the dead leaves. If it's on your porch and outside, it might be dormant. Although I don't know if it gets cold or dark enough for VFT to go dormant in Florida, it certainly does in New Jersey. Traps not responding is a sign of dormancy, or just adapting to your new environment. To sum it all up, no, your flytrap is not dead, it might be in dormancy(you can do some research on that online), and since you're doing everything right, like using distilled water and such, your flytrap will most likely live. P.S flytraps like to be in direct sun, so it's fine to take it out of the bag, and I also got my first flytrap in Lowes too :D. David
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Your plants are weak from not getting enough light (that's why they are wilting and losing the color). Flytraps are plants that need direct sunlight to be healty so unless you can move them outside you will need to add a better light to compensate. Perhaps the windows are filtering the light. How are you watering? Don't do it from above, put the pot in a plate with water so the substrate is always moist but not waterlogged, these are bog plants.
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The steam from the the hot water won't kill your plant, sound like your friend triggered the traps. Another thing, if you used water from the compost to water your Venus flytrap, I suggest you change the soil immediately, the rich nitrogen will contaminate the growing media & will kill the plant. I suggest you by long fiber sphagnum moss, or use the true & tried mixture of 50/50. half part perlite & half part sphagnum peat moss, make sure the perlite & sphagnum peat moss hasn't been fortified with fertilizer or wetting agents; read the labels. Use distilled water, or 2nd choice if that's not available, reversed osmosis (R/O) water. One more thing, triggering the traps will eventually kill your plant. Th act of closing wastes a lot of reserved energy stored in the plant. The plant can easily tolerate one or two traps closed with no prey in them. But doing it too much will exhaust your plant, stressing your plant & eventually making susceptible to fungus infection. This could result into a smaller weaker plant, or at worse it may die. People have done everything right to grow their plant but the end up killing by triggering the traps frequently,
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ordphien
11 years ago
It also looks saveable to me.
My advice would be to repot.
I keep my Venus fly traps in pure sphagnum. Home Depot carries a bag for$5.
For aesthetic reasons, and practicality, I like to keep my carnivorous plants in clear glass containers.
I've found that those small clear $4 fish bowls from Michaels make great containers.
It allows me to check the moisture levels at all times at a glance.
But it's not needed.
I personally use RODI water from a local fish store. but whatever you use make sure it's pure.
I water when the moss is damp but not dry.
Every month I drop about 3 pillbugs in each container and let them crawl into a random trap.
Lastly is light.
Fly traps like a lot of light.
I keep mine in full sun outside. They get 8 hours of direct sun.
So put them in the brightest spot available, and get a light.
I personally use the Jansjo desk reading lamp from Ikea.
it costs $8 and has worked for a variety of my growing needs.
a desk lamp with the right bulb works just as well.

anything else.... hmm... brightest spot, media, watering... Ooh. And I'm sure you know but they need a winter rest.
KaitlynnPaige
10 years ago
My Venus flytrap is coming out of dormancy and I was wondering how much water I am supposted to be giving it, if there is a limit for when they first start coming out of dormancy. Also before it went into dormancy it started growing a flower stalk and I cut it off then it did it again and I cut it off and it went dormant now it is trying to come out and I have cut 3 more flowerstalks off! What is going on, it still looks sluggish and will not stop trying to produce flowers. Any advice? Thank you!
tommyr_gw Zone 6
10 years ago
Keep it in a shallow tray of distilled water or rainwater. If the plant is weak looking just keep cutting off the flower stalks. Slowly accustom it to full Sun OUTDOORS.
elishaw_ca
9 years ago
distilled water is pure water. check on internet to find out. you can also use rain water
purslanegarden
9 years ago
I think it's also saveable. However, that potting media looks pretty gross. I'm not even sure what it is. You may have overwatered the first time or it was just some really absorbent material. You'll definitely want to repot it and feel free to cut off the black leaves or traps.

As for distilled water, since you have just a small cup/pot, you'll just need a little water, so buying a 1-gallon container of distilled water for under $1 (hopefully in your area) should last you a long time. Just mark it clearly so that you or your roommates don't drink it. It's safe to drink but then it just means you have to go get more.
HU-758924096
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
first of all if your new to plants don't but a Venus fly trap because they are extremely hard to look after that is why you rarely see them in plant nursery's, secondly your plant needs sun at all times if you live in a dorm don't own it then. thirdly you never researched how to look after them. otherwise you would know how to. they need food (flies) and rain water not filtered water from a SINK! and if you did research them you'd know what the colours mean, that the roots have growing issues and you DO!! need to replace the soil and transfer them. NEXT TIME CHOOSE AN EASIER PLANT FOR A BEGIINER!!
Veronica Pennachi
last year
Its not dead its dormant thats what it does :/

My Venus Fly Trap is dying. :/

elishaw_ca

Comments (10)

tommyr_gw Zone 6

Morpheus119

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