Arghh, my plant is dying! What am I doing wrong?
Well, that could be one of many things.
The most likely answer however, is inadequate lighting. Venus fltraps require huge amounts of light and if your plant isn’t getting it then it will likely die. Full, bright sun all day long is the best solution to keep Venus flytraps healthy. With good lighting they can survive without being fed, minimal water, poor’ish soil conditions and lots of other nasty problems which afflict them. But if you keep your plant inside or live somewhere which is regularly overcast then you will likely have trouble keeping your plant healthy.
Remember that just because a few of your traps have turned black that doesn’t mean your plant is dying! Those traps will probably grow back nice and healthy in a few weeks anway.
Also, if you don’t know about winter dormancy, then go visit the winter dormancy post.
Nicola Anderson responded on 15 May 2009 at 8:51 am #
Relloo
My sister and myself have recently recieved venus fly traps and im concerned about my sisters one.
We left it out in the sun one day because it was nice out and to our delight when we took it back in it had caught an ant!
I have read about its eating habits and ive found out that eating ants is good for it so i wasnt really concerned but after around 4 or 5 days it didnt open and it began to blacken.
Now it looks completely dead! I read that they can die after four meals but im sure that wasnt what happened as i got it from a small flower shop and the chances of four flys going into the one trap is pretty slim. Im wondering what could have happened and will this effect the rest of her plant?
Many Thanks
Nicola Anderson
Ryan responded on 19 May 2009 at 2:58 am #
Nicola, I wouldn’t worry too much. Traps often die, it’s part of their natural cycle. If it happens repeatedly then there may be a problem, but a single trap dying doesn’t really signal any real problems.