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Carnivorous Plants

Help, new VFT is acting weird?

11 years ago

I have had venus flytraps before, the first couple died but then i got the hang of it and took such good care of one it bloomed! but, that one never came out of dormancy for some reason... it just rotted.

well it's been a while since i had one and i just got a new one at walmart, i transplanted it into 100% sphagnum peat and it is sitting on a tray of pumice with a string through the holes in the pot to wick moisture. also, how much light do they need? i thought they didnt need much so i put it in a north facing window next to my orchid. is this ok? should i add a flourescent light or move it to a west window?

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Comments (6)

tommyr_gw Zone 6
11 years ago
You're failing in most ways with these. They need to be in a 50/50 mix of peat moss and perlite. FULL SUN. Sit in a tray of rain or distilled water about 3/4" deep. BELOW their rhizomes. They NEED a dormancy period in fall winter. about 35-40 degrees F.
greenthumz1
Original Author
11 years ago
Yeah it had some deformed leaves when i bought it... probably because it was already in 100% peat moss (which is why i transplanted it into the same). Thanks for the help :) I transplanted it into 50/50 and put it into a south facing (but filtered with reflective tint) window and a big cfl light. It now has many, many new leaves coming up so it's obviously happier :)

OH, also, I used a mycorrhizae treatment on the roots when i transplanted it, but I know carnivorous plants are sensitive to synthetic chemicals and salts and fertilizers... a mycorrhizal fungi shouldnt hurt it though right? I'm thinking that may be why it's showing practically NO signs of transplant shock and has all the new leaves already.
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When a Venus Flytrap has slow trap response time, it's almost always the result of poor conditions. So let me see if I can help you out :) First of all, what kind of water do you have in the dish it sits in? Most carnivorous (including VFTs) require water devoid of any mineral content, which translates roughly to either rain water of distilled water (you can buy this at most grocery stores). If you're using tap water, the plant will surely (but slowly) die. Next, is it getting enough light? Venus Flytraps require full sun during their growing period. If you're growing it on a windowsill, it should get roughly 4-6 (at least) hours of direct sun a day. If you want to try your luck with it outside, you'll need to harden it off to outside conditions, which I can explain if you'd like. It really depends on where you bought the plant. See if any of this helps and post again if you have any questions. We'll get your plant trapping those pesky flies in no time!
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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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dethcheez
11 years ago
50/50 peat sand is also a good soil mix

How were keeping the dormant one that rotted???

This is how "I" do it & have never had any problems
Carefully dig it up / Cut off all the traps & place the corm (root stock) ether in a ziplock full of just barely moist peat or wrap it in barely moist moss then put it in a ziplock & keep them in the veggie drawer in my fridge for about 3 months

Good Luck
greenthumz1
Original Author
11 years ago
Ok thanks I will try that :)

The last one i dug up, trimmed the roots & traps off the corm, dusted the corm with rootone powder (it has fungicide in it so i figured that would keep it from molding), and then placed it in a moist folded paper towel in a ziploc bag. 3 months later, it was a ziploc bag full of moldy paper towel and a moldy corm.

And I think I figured out why this VFT keeps losing traps and growing new, deformed ones. because all the traps started falling off and i pulled on it and the whole corm lifted out because it had some kind of bugs in the soil eating the roots and old traps from the base... but i'm going to try to save this corm by putting it into dormancy and then replanting in spring.
doowop_6116
11 years ago
My VFT'S are going into there second yr. dormancy period . Last yr I kept them on a window sill that averaged a temp of 40 F. There were some heart breaking experiance's over the yr's though ..Although this sight sure is fantastic to prevent certain desater's .Bug's are a heck of a neusence to the ryesume's . Microscopic insect's are devistating.Some one know's I'm sure how to rid these pest's . Sincerly Doowop_6116.
tommyr_gw Zone 6
11 years ago
Go watch this video!

http://bit.ly/IIBnyu

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