Q&A
If you have a question about Venus flytraps or would like help with a particular problem then leave a comment here and we will try to answer it for you.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Duke.
If you have a question about Venus flytraps or would like help with a particular problem then leave a comment here and we will try to answer it for you.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Duke.
Pete responded on 27 Oct 2007 at 12:52 am #
Hi.
Our flytrap is looking a bit sad at the moment. We water her with rain water, but some of the leaves turned black and I had to cut them off. There is lots of new growth coming though, and there is a long stem with a small flower starting to appear. I undrstand it’s coming to time for winter so the flytrap should be allowed to rest. Is this best done after flowering?
Also, we now keep her in our bathroom as the atmosphere in there is much more humid and there is less direct hot sunlight (the window is textured so it can’t be seen through properly). Is this better than where we had her before which was on the living room window ledge, over a radiator (heater) and in bright sun for whole afternoon? I wonder if these conditions were too stressful.
Thanks
Pete
Ryan responded on 27 Oct 2007 at 10:55 pm #
Hi Pete,
Direct sunlight is always the best situation for Venus flytraps. Even if it’s dryer than another part of your house and the radiator is keeping it warm then it’s still probably better off there than in your bathroom. Particularly if you live somewhere with regular overcast weather (I have this problem here in New Zealand).
If it’s just some ambient heat coming off the radiator then it’s probably not going to affect your plant too badly. They’re originally from North/South Carolina in the USA so are used to living in quite hot, albeit humid conditions. If it’s an intense burning heat, then your plant will probably dry out and die.
I’m guessing your plant isn’t in a terrarium either. Terrariums usually fix the humidity issue nicely and you don’t need to water them as often as it doesn’t evaporate out of the pot very quickly. In fact a terrarium might help your radiator problem as it may keep it insulated from the heat - or act like a green house and make it worse, I’m not sure which
The main problem I see, is that your plant is flowering. Only very healthy plants survive the flowering process, many die. And you need to snip them off when they’re a small stalk as by that stage the plant is already into flowering mode and it can’t turn back. I’ll have a post on this topic eventually, but in the mean time here’s a page by Flytrap expert Barry Rice about what to do if your plant flowers … http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2480.html
Barry is a little melodramatic though and many people seem to be able to get their plants to survive in some pretty hideous conditions, flower and still come back fighting fit and trapping flies.
Here’s some posts from here at http://flytrapgrowing.info which may be helpful to your particular situation:
Flowers … http://flytrapgrowing.info/flowers/
Lighting … http://flytrapgrowing.info/arghh-my-plant-is-dying-what-am-i-doing-wrong/
Winter dormancy … http://flytrapgrowing.info/dormancy-my-plant-died-during-winter-what-did-i-do-wrong/
Watering … http://flytrapgrowing.info/watering/
cheers,
Ryan
Robert responded on 03 Nov 2007 at 7:21 am #
Hi. I just read your comments about dormancy. How likely is that not putting my CP into dormancy will kill it? I just bought it and I’d like to keep it for showing to my family at Xmas time.
Ryan responded on 03 Nov 2007 at 6:00 pm #
Hi Robert,
Thanks for the question. It will depend on the situation your plant is in. If it is outside, then your Venus flytrap will enter dormancy naturally and you won’t have any choice. If it inside and the area it is in is heated, then it probably wont become properly dormant. Whether it can survive without going into dormancy will depend on it’s general health and well being. If it has nice big traps with red colouration inside each trap then it may be strong enough to survive the winter, if not it may die. It’s hard to judge. At the very least it isn’t going to do it any good by not going into dormancy.
The thing is though, as long as you don’t force into dormancy by placing it in the fridge, then you should still be able to show it off to your family. It will just be a little more wilted than normal. The traps will still be there and if you really must demonstrate it eating a bug then perhaps you could just demonstrate it once for them. One bug over winter isn’t likely to do too much harm, although that particular trap may not like it very much. Even outside they still catch the occasional bug during winter, just not as many that’s all.
Hopefully my answer wasn’t too vague!
benson responded on 04 Nov 2007 at 2:47 pm #
How about over-wintering where there is no winter? I live in Costa Rica and temperatures never fall below 60.
[edit: 60 degrees Fahrenheit = ~16 degrees Celcius]
Ryan responded on 04 Nov 2007 at 6:08 pm #
Good point Benson. Where I live the temperature gets down to about -6 deg. C in winter so I’ve never really thought about that before.
I guess that’s where sticking your plant in the fridge for the winter could be a good idea.
If the plant is healthy it should still be able to survive the winter without going dormant though. It just may not be as healthy looking as it would be if it were allowed to go properly dormant.
Avi responded on 12 Nov 2007 at 9:55 pm #
I have left my flytrap in a terrarium and have left the pot sitting in a tray of h20 and the traps have turned black,is this bad?
Is it better if i elevate them from the water.
Ryan responded on 16 Nov 2007 at 4:25 pm #
Hi Avi,
Apologies for the delay in responding! The website is supposed to email me whenever someone leaves a comment but for some reason it didn’t … anyhows, on to your question …
It isn’t bad to leave your pot sitting in a tray of water as long as it isn’t too deep. I usually leave mine in about 5 mm of water, although others leave them in even deeper water. I wouldn’t go much further than 10 mm though. Your leaves most likely turned black due to other reasons.
There are a whole heap of reasons your traps may have turned black. Including …
Water Quality
Recent change of potting mix
Your plant entered dormancy
Inadequate Lighting
Flow responded on 18 Nov 2007 at 7:27 pm #
if you do not feed your venus fly trap will it still live and just do photosynthesis?
Ryan responded on 19 Nov 2007 at 10:51 pm #
Thanks for the question Flow,
Yes your Venus flytrap will survive perfectly well without catching any bugs. The bugs are only used as an extra kick and they aren’t necessary for survival.
Growers sometimes report slower growth and smaller traps when they don’t catch anything for long periods of time (6 months +).
Photosynthesis should keep them chugging along quite nicely so don’t panic too much if your plant doesn’t find anything to eat. It won’t cause them too die unless they’re not very healthy to start off with.
Kristopher responded on 23 Nov 2007 at 12:05 am #
So i recently bought a dente flytrap from a local gardenshop, and in the past month has grown 3 times its original size and now has 30+ traps, (more than likely 2 or more plants, i realize this) however it was growing a flower stem, i removed it however. Some of the newer traps are turning black now so im sure its finally entering dormancy, i also have an Akai Ryu i recently bought, however when i received it (just yesterday infact, November 21st)the plant seemed rather….dead but had a couple of new traps growing, i place them in a small aquarium and spray the sides down, but keep them in their seperate pots, and every once in awhile stick them infront of a heat source to humidify the tank, is that a good thing to do? Also is it possible to cross breed the two cultivars?
Ryan responded on 23 Nov 2007 at 5:15 am #
Hi Kristopher,
You shouldn’t need to heat the tank to humidify it, just having a water supply in the tank should do the trick - particularly if the aquarium has a lid. All Venus flytrap cultivars are (in theory) cross breedable with other cultivars.
Kristopher also sent me before and after photos which you can see here … As purchased and After two weeks
Kristopher responded on 24 Nov 2007 at 8:14 pm #
i just recently transfered my two plants to the aquarium. i have them in with 2 parts premium canadian sphagnum, and 1 part perlite. is this right? i also watered the mixture before and after transplanting the plants to make sure the soil set right around the rhizome. i did not split the rhizome however, because of the time of year although it looked like i could. i also only covered to the top of the bulb so the rhizome wasnt more than a quarter inch under the soil. is that correct?
Ryan responded on 25 Nov 2007 at 8:27 pm #
Kristopher - I don’t have any experience with Canadian sphagnum but from all accounts it is good for use with Venus flytraps. Different people recommend different ratios of sphagnum : perlite : sand and I’m not sure which is the best option, I guess it depends on the particular batch of soil etc.
Your transplant method sounds good to me, although I must admit I’m no expert in this area. There are differences of opinion on this issue, but in general, even if some of the leaves are underneath the soil they will soon pop through the surface and continue growing as per normal.
I’ll post an article about planting at some stage. But it probably wont be until 2008.
Tonia responded on 28 Nov 2007 at 9:35 pm #
I am a college student and I recently bought a small venus flytrap for fun and to gussy up my apartment. I know that they become dormant around winter, but is it normal for the plant to not move at all when it is touched? I bought the plant at walmart and it is very green, but it will only close about 2 days after I initially put something in the plant, or touch it lightly. Why would it do this?
Ryan responded on 30 Nov 2007 at 6:19 pm #
Tonia - no that is not normal at all. Even in winter the traps will normally close quite rapidly when triggered.
Are you touching the small trigger hairs inside the trap? If not, that is the problem. The traps are only triggered when the trigger hairs are touched. The trigger hairs then need to be repeatedly touched after the trap has closed or the trap will eventually re-open.
If you are touching the small trigger hairs inside the trap, then there is something wrong with your plant. The best thing to do is to give it plenty of light, lots of water (rain or distilled) and don’t give it any fertilizer/plant food. Hopefully when in good conditions it will start trapping properly again.
Also, don’t intentionally trigger the traps with your fingers or any other non bug-like object as you will damage the plant. Live bugs are the only thing you should be putting in your traps.
We have some information about trap movement here … http://flytrapgrowing.info/how-do-the-traps-move/
Johnnie responded on 05 Dec 2007 at 8:29 am #
Hi, Someone from the North Carolina once told me that she has seen Venus Flytraps in the wild and she said she has seen traps up to FOUR inches wide!!! Is this true? Would that get that big if they were in their natural habitate and the conditions were just right? I don’t think this woman would intentionally lie to me, but do you think she was mistaken? I mean I could see a 4 inch trap being believable but it STILL seems pretty big!
Ryan responded on 06 Dec 2007 at 5:51 am #
It’s not impossible!
I haven’t seen any in the wild to know. But apparently some Venus flytraps have been found with traps up to 12 cm (~4 inches) wide.
That’s certainly at the extremely high end of the size range though. Most plants in the wild are much smaller.
Mitch responded on 17 Dec 2007 at 6:19 pm #
I’m thinking about buying a fly trap and i was just wondering
I live in Australia and is it necessary to water with distilled or rain water?
Ryan responded on 18 Dec 2007 at 4:34 am #
Hi Mitch,
Is watering your plant with rain water or distilled water a good idea?
Yes.
Necessary? Possibly not. It depends on the quality of your tap water. If your tap water contains a lot of dissolved solids, then it is wise to not water your plant with it.
Having said that, if your plant is well looked after it will probably still survive for a long time even with very poor quality tap water.
Another option is to use a high quality water filter, as many of them are quite effective at stripping out dissolved chemicals.
Or if you want to get really exotic and have access to one, you could use a reverse osmosis filter.
Cricket responded on 18 Dec 2007 at 1:05 pm #
how long does it usually take to grow a Venus Fly Trap
Ryan responded on 18 Dec 2007 at 7:57 pm #
Hi Cricket.
Venus flytraps take around about two to four years to grow to full size if they’re grown in good conditions from seed. Plants propagated vegatively will generally reach full size a little faster than from seed.
nickie responded on 26 Dec 2007 at 8:44 am #
hey is it okay to force a venus fly trap open… cos i tried and im kind of regretting that i had forced it open, its still closed… how long until it will open again?
Ryan responded on 26 Dec 2007 at 9:14 pm #
Whoa! You can definitely not force the trap open without damaging it.
The trap needs to open naturally through a series of reactions in the leaves which gradually pull the trap back into the open position.
Traps will normally open within one to two weeks. Although if you have forced it open you may have damaged it so it may take longer or not open at all. Don’t worry too much though. The worst that will happen is that the trap will die, turn black and fall off. A new one will replace it so it’s not the end of the world. Just don’t do it again!
Marcela responded on 26 Dec 2007 at 10:02 pm #
I just bought a venus flytrap and its still very green and small. I live in Costa Rica, and we dont really have a cold winter, will my plant be ok wthout going dormant? I read on another question that maybe putting it in the fridge is a good idea, if so, for how long?
And one more question, if I place my plant near a window how much light is enough? Im scared to burn it! thanks in advance for the help
Ryan responded on 27 Dec 2007 at 9:25 pm #
Marcela - your plant will probably survive fine without going dormant as long as it is in good condition, gets plenty of quality water and receives lots of light. However your plant will definitely be healthier if it is allowed to enter dormancy.
The length of time you leave your plant in the fridge is quite flexible, although most seem to put the in the fridge for the whole winter (three months). But it should be okay to put in the fridge for a shorter period of time (say two months).
There is no limit to how much light your plant can receive. However if your plant is actually warming up from the extreme heat radiated from the sun then you could possibly consider moving it away from the window to keep it a little cooler.
Dinara responded on 27 Dec 2007 at 9:37 pm #
Hello Ryan,
Happy Holidays!
“If you live in a moderate climate (above freezing temperatures) and usually keep your plant inside, a simple way to place your plant into dormancy is to move it outside for the winter. […] If you live in a colder climate (below freezing temperatures) then place your plant […]inside sealed bag and stick it in your fridge for the winter” - I live in Seattle, it is usually about 0 degrees Celcius in winter. 1. Should I place it outside or in a fridge? 2. Should it also be in the bag in case you say it can be out outside? Is it okay if it rains a lot (it’s Seattle!) on the plant?3. Should it be the same watering schedule/putting a pot 5 mm in water if I place it outside? Lastly, I’ve read on this website that pouring water directly into the soil is not beneficial. What can I do if I don’t have a terrarium/greenhouse, besides immersing a pot into water that’s 5-10 mm in depth?
I realize that I’ve asked questions that have been addressed in parts on this website. I would like to make sure, however, that, for instance, watering schedule is the same when the plant is dormant. Thank you!
Ryan responded on 28 Dec 2007 at 3:54 am #
Hi Dinara,
You should be able to just plonk your plant outside, even mild frosts shouldn’t do it any harm. As long as it doesn’t get below -5 degrees Celcius for more than a week your plant should survive just fine.
It’s definitely okay if it rains a lot, rain will not harm your plant at all. A monsoon may do some damage, but Seattle aint that rainy.
Pouring water onto the soil isn’t harmful at all, it just isn’t necessary as long as you keep the soil nice and moist by keeping a small pool of water in the base of your pot.
You should treat the plant the same outdoors as you would indoors, although hopefully the rain will keep your watering habits to a minimum.
As long as the pot has some water in the base at all times it should be fine. My plants usually fluctuate between 10 mm and 1 mm of water depending on how much water has evaporated/absorbed into the soil. Sometimes they even go dry if I haven’t paid them enough attention. But as long as the soil is always moist the plants shouldn’t be too bothered by
it.
And no, you shouldn’t water your plant as often when it is dormant. Since the plant is not growing, it is not as important to keep your plant heavily watered, in fact some people report that their plants have suffered rot from excessive water during dormancy. So you should usually let the soil get a little less moist than normal during dormancy, although you should never let it get dry.
Good to see you’ve found some useful information on here and good luck with your plant
Jennifer responded on 02 Jan 2008 at 4:30 pm #
It is January 2nd and my plant is rather small but growing well and putting out new growth. Do I need to transition the plant so the foliage dies back before putting it in the refrigerator?
I am in Santa Barbara CA so it does not get cold enough during the day for the plant to go dormant.
Ryan responded on 03 Jan 2008 at 6:32 pm #
Hi Jennifer,
I’d love to hear how your plant copes with the process as I have never tried this method myself.
No, you shouldn’t need to transition the plant in any way. Hopefully it will happily enter dormancy of it’s own accord. Ultimately it would be nice for the plant to slowly cool down and then enter a natural dormancy, but since you don’t have that option then a rapid transition is probably the best you can do. Good luck with refrigerating your plant
vftLover responded on 03 Jan 2008 at 8:49 pm #
Hello Ryan.
I could not find anywhere on this website to contact you directly so are using the Q&A page. I hope you do not mind.
I love reading your site and like the addition of comments to the pages and the Q&A page. I think a forum would be a nice idea or a similar section to allow us to discuss things in more depth. There are other forums which I use, but your site is much nicer and more professional so it makes sense to me for you to move into this area.
Thanks for listening and I hope you do not mind me offering my advice.
Ryan responded on 03 Jan 2008 at 9:54 pm #
Hi vftLover. I did have a contact form here on the site but I had to remove as many people were sending me emails with questions instead of posting here in the Q&A section.
I do have some upgrades in the works, but they wont be ready for a wee while yet. The upgrades will include a forum though. If you or anyone else have any opinions on what other content I should add feel free to let me know.
Thanks for the input
Caitlin responded on 07 Jan 2008 at 5:58 pm #
Hi Ryan,
I recently bought a Venus Fly trap about a month and a half ago and it looked really healthy.
After about 2 weeks (I was keeping it in our bathroom as it gets quite sunny) it had grown an extra 10 traps(there was multiple plants) but then at the end of the week a few went black. the next day more were black and so on.
What was I doing wrong.
It was at this time I left my plant at my grandparents house for about 3 weeks(because we wwere going on holidays)and I went back to collect it and it looked horrible.
Since i came back about a week and a half ago i’ve had them outside in a sunny position and it has been quite humid and there has been a fair amount of rain and it hasnt perked up.
I live in Brisbane, Australia and i am wonderng if the climate has anything to do with it as my friend bought one the day after me and hers is getting lots of black leaves as well.
Another thing is that there are quite a few more traps growing but they are starting to go black before they open, why is this happening?
Caitlin
Ryan responded on 08 Jan 2008 at 3:35 am #
Hi Caitlin.
Having a few traps turn black isn’t a major problem, it is a normal part of the life cycle of your plant and is to be expected. However an excess of black traps is not good at all. Traps turning black before they have even opened is also not a good sign, although sometimes traps of seemingly healthy plants do this on occasion (but not regularly).
Is it possible that the soil is drying up? If the temperature is warm enough, the soil could dry out too much and cause some serious problems for your plant. I’ve never tried growing any plants in Brisbane like temperatures before so don’t have first hand experience, but it is my understanding that as long as the plant has a steady pool of water in the base, then the soil should stay sufficiently moist. Although combining a high temperature with a low humidity could swing the balance perhaps.
The actual temperature outside shouldn’t be a major problem as their native habitat of North/South Carolina also have extremely high temperatures, although possibly not quite as high as Brisbane. Perhaps your plant is being baked in the sun behind a window? In general, the experts recommend not letting the environment your plant is in exceed a temperature of 40 deg. celcius for an extended period of time, so as long as your plant isn’t being exposed to temperatures above that, it should fine.
Another potential catastrophic cause of rapid plant death is through the user of fertilizers. Fertilizers will rapidly kill your plant and leave it in a very sorry state of repair. There are some articles about this topic in the “habitat” section.
Finding the exact cause(s) of this type of problem can be tricky though as it’s hard to tell exactly where the problem may lie.
Good luck with recuperating your plant
Caitlin responded on 08 Jan 2008 at 2:46 pm #
Hi Ryan,
I was just reading through some of your articles looking for some reasons for why my plant might be the way it is and i found the article on Dozens of Traps and thought my plant might have been fresh out of tissue culture. When i bought it i remember there being heaps of traps and then lots started dying about a week after i bought it. That would also explain why my friends is going black too.
Caitlin
Dominique responded on 08 Jan 2008 at 5:19 pm #
Hey Ryan,
I purchased some VFT seeds in November and I put them in cold strat for a little while. Following the instructions that came with the seeds, I placed them in a peat/sand mix in a small pot and placed that in a zip lock bag. I guess this is to keep the moisture? Anyway, my question is how long does it take for seedlings to start growing?
Thanks!
Ryan responded on 09 Jan 2008 at 2:47 am #
Catilin - I forgot about that! I haven’t noticed this being a huge problem myself, but many others have reported this to be a problem with newly purchased plants. So perhaps you are one of the unlucky ones. At any rate, it’s definitely a good idea to keep your plants in their optimal condition to make sure that they get back to full health as soon as possible and in case the problem is related to something else. Perhaps you could contact the shop you purchased it from and ask them if this is a common issue for the plants they sell.
Dominque - the answer is … a REALLY long time! They will likely still be quite small even after two years of growth. They shouldn’t take too long to germinate though as long as they’re in good conditions - maybe 3-4 weeks.
Justin responded on 10 Jan 2008 at 11:09 pm #
Hello. I just recently picked up my venus fly trap from a local greenhouse. It’s looks very healthy, as far as I can tell. I’ve been doing some research and I know that sunlight is key, but I live in part of a building that doesn’t receive much sunlight. I was wondering if some kind of UV lamp would suffice. If so, is there any special kind? I do plan on growing my plant in a terrarium.
Thank You.
Ryan responded on 11 Jan 2008 at 1:06 am #
Yes, extra lighting does help a lot. However you need to be quite particular about what kind you use as regular UV lamps will cook your plant long before your plant receives any benefit from the light. I’m not an expert on artificial lighting for Venus flytraps, so I suggest you take a look at the following pages by Barry Rice which cover in depth the use of artificial lighting …
Light Intensity and Light quality
Thomas Choi responded on 02 Feb 2008 at 2:32 pm #
Hello, I’ve recently received a Venus Fly Trap and asked about it on Wikipedia, someone informed me about this website and it really has helped.
I’m no scientist, and I don’t have a green thumb but I’m starting out with some easy plants.
My mother bought the Venus Fly Trap at the dollar store (ewww) and despite the fact it was bought at the dollar store, I have been keeping it alive, and so far it’s been successful for 2 months.
The inside isn’t BRIGHT red, but it’s pinkish dark red in some traps.
I know it’s dormancy, but I fed it a few arachnids, and a bug too long. According to BBC and this website, that’s bad.
I can’t just take the bug out of there from it’s abdomen that’s showing, and the digestive enzymes have already started going out. What should I do? Can my plant survive a bug bigger than what I should feed it?
How should I make a terrarium? I would like more specific details, because I have a two liter bottle with the top cut off. I don’t understand where to go from here.
As for where I live, I live in Arizona. My plant is only okay because it’s winter and barely surviving. I’m not sure if I accidentally took it out of it’s dormancy period because it’s been growing a few leaves.
So far all I’ve really done to the plant is dip it in water, give it some insects dead and live, but the dead ones seem to kill my plant somehow.
I really want to put it in a terrarium because I think that would help. The ones bought at home depot, Lowe’s and the dollar store are like cylindrical terrariums. They have been elevated, and I made a hole in the bottom so water could go through it.
Then, at the top there is a detachable roof I can put that has holes in it to keep the humidity in, but it’s hard to reach the plant since the cylinder is so small.
P.S. If measurement’s are required, metric please.
Thomas Choi responded on 02 Feb 2008 at 2:53 pm #
One thing I forgot to add:
I have Perlite, and Sphagnum Peat Moss, does that work? I’m not sure if it’s Sphagnum Moss, or Peat Moss, it just says “Sphagnum Peat Moss.”
Ryan responded on 03 Feb 2008 at 2:28 am #
Thomas - I’m glad to hear you are finding the site useful.
Some plants wont gain a bright red colour unless under extreme sunlight conditions, so don’t worry if your traps aren’t as red as some of the images you see on the internet are.
Feeding your traps bugs which are too long is not good for them, but it usually won’t kill your plant. It is possible/likely that the individual trap will not reopen, turn black and then fall off. It will be replaced in time though. They are used to big insects landing in them in the wild, so the occasional mishap won’t cause too much harm - hopefully. Spiders are a particular problem for this as their legs often stick out of the trap, however the traps often seal around the legs anyway so often it doesn’t matter.
Simple terrarium’s are easy to make. Just take a big coke bottle (or other clear plastic bottle) and chop the bottom off. Stick it over the top of your plant (and the pot it is in) and bam! You have a terrarium! Depending on the end of the bottle you chop off, either the cap will be pointing upwards, or the bottom of the bottle will be. It doesn’t matter too much which end is pointing upwards. Totally sealing your plant up is not a good idea as it will need some air flow (but not much) to keep the CO2 level around the plant up.
When you want to feed or water your plant, just remove the whole bottle for easy access. It doesn’t matter if your plant is not in the terrarium all the time and taking the lid off will give it some fresh air.
Feeding your plant dead insects isn’t a good idea at all as they need to trigger the hairs inside the trap repeatedly or the trap will reopen. This topic is covered in the manual feeding page … http://flytrapgrowing.info/manual-feeding/
Sphagnum peat moss will be fine. Various people advise different concoctions of soils, but sphagnum peat moss is quite standard and used by many carnivorous plant enthusiasts.
Thomas Choi responded on 03 Feb 2008 at 3:15 pm #
Alright, thank you.
But according to the website putting in a terrarium can be devastating if the temperature in my region gets hot as well.
Well…that’s a tad bit of a big problem.
I live in Arizona where the temperature can reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
During May - October-ish the plant is apparently supposed to grow, it gets pretty hot during that time, and according to this place, it should be around 75 - 90 degree-ish.
How could I keep my plant that warm?
Thomas Choi responded on 03 Feb 2008 at 5:42 pm #
I also just now repotted it into what BBC says to do.
That was my first repotting ever, so I know I didn’t do so well.
Hopefully this picture shows if I did it okay.
An extra side note for the matter is that I accidentally triggered one of the traps with that Sphagnum Peat Moss stuff.
I got a feeling the whole plant will go black. -_-
I have a picture:
http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd61/TheCutNut/?action=view¤t=IMGP0590.jpg
Does it look alright? Despite that I pretty much pinched it with my hand and all.
P.S. It’s two bulbs which I didn’t know myself until I took it out.
Ryan responded on 05 Feb 2008 at 5:30 am #
Hmmm, that could be a problem then if your plant will be exposed to extremely high temperatures. That’s not a problem I ever have myself, as I live in a much milder climate. The only solution I can think of is some sort of cooling system, but you have to be quite serious about your carnivorous plant growing to go down that route. If you have an air conditioning unit, you could place it near that I guess and hope that the cooling effect from the air conditioner will do the trick perhaps.
Otherwise I guess the best you can do is give it lots of pure water in a big saucer and hope that it will provide enough humidity around the plant to keep it from drying out.
The trap which triggered with sphagnum moss will probably die off, but hopefully your plant will survive. It’s hard to tell much from your photo, but it looks like some of your traps are bent which isn’t good. But hopefully it will survive the repotting process anyway. This isn’t the best time for you to repot either, early spring or very late winter as the plant is leaving dormancy is usually the best time of year.
Good luck with your plant
Thomas Choi responded on 07 Feb 2008 at 2:40 am #
It kind of is the end of winter.
As for the the pure water in a saucer. It is in pure water in a saucer.
I followed BBC’s method and that’s how it came out to be.
I doubt the roots will make it past the perlite into the water though, so I guess I will have to keep watering it.
So far, I have that, but I bought another bottle of pepsi (2 liters) and I plan to drink it all, cut off the top and cover it with tape only to have a few holes.
Is that a good idea?
As for cooling, can I just place it in the shade or something or give it less light?
Ryan responded on 07 Feb 2008 at 4:06 am #
I’m stumped. I’ll do some research and find out what other people in ultra hot climates do to avoid this problem.
This isn’t something I’ve thought about in any depth as it isn’t something I’ve ever had to deal with.
Ryan responded on 09 Feb 2008 at 4:22 am #
Thomas - I’ve done asking around and have some tips for growing in extremely hot conditions.
By using larger pots, you can reduce the surface area exposed to the sun and hence amount of heat which is absorbed by your pot. Larger pots also take longer to heat up, so will keep a more even temperature throughout the day. Another solution is to bury the plant in the ground for an even more effective solution.
You can also use foam or clay plant holders, which allow the water to evaporate from the pot, hence allowing some dissipation of heat. Clay pots should be unglased, to allow dissipation of water.
Clay and foam pots usually require more watering than their water proof counterparts due to evaporation through the walls of the pot.
– Thanks to Warren at ICPS for the tips
James responded on 10 Feb 2008 at 7:30 am #
Hi, I just noticed that on the “Propagation page” you have some funny google toolbar HTML present that uses the horrible LAYER tag and gives the word “flytrap” a yellow background. What up wid dat?
James
Ryan responded on 11 Feb 2008 at 12:45 am #
James - thanks for pointing that out. I have no idea where that has come from! I’ll go inspect and see if I can find the culprit. I certainly never put that there intentionally.
EDIT: It’s fixed now, but I have no idea where it came from!
Anne responded on 15 Feb 2008 at 10:54 pm #
My fly trap is about four or five years old judging by the fact that it has three bulbs. I just got it in September and i didn’t allow it to go dormant. It seems to be flowering okay, but the flowers are going brown a day after blooming. Does this mean I need to force it into refridgerator dormancy?
Thanks.
Ryan responded on 16 Feb 2008 at 4:44 am #
Hi Anne,
Are you aware of the risks of growing flowers? Venus flytrap’s do not cope well with growing flowers unless they are very healthy. Here are some articles on the subject …
Removing flower stalks and Flowers.
I’m not sure why your flowers would be going brown a day after blooming. Is you plant generally in good health otherwise? A healthy plant will (in theory) grow good, healthy flowers.
A crude way of measuring how healthy your plant is, is to look at how upright the leaves are and how red the insides of the traps are. If you plant is healthy, the inside of the traps will generally be red and raised off the ground. This is not a definite measure of plant healthiness as some plants can be very healthy with bright green traps which lie on the ground, but it is a good sign of healthy plant growth.
Idman responded on 21 Feb 2008 at 3:05 pm #
I put my flytrap into dormancy at the end of November and and took her out at the beggining of February, it’s been a week and it won’t wake up, please tell me how i can wake it up. How do i wake it up?
Idman responded on 21 Feb 2008 at 3:10 pm #
Let me be more clear on the problem of my flytrap that won’t wake up. Her leaf is closed, and she is not growing at all, plaese, what do i do.
Ryan responded on 22 Feb 2008 at 3:05 am #
Idman - don’t worry, I’m not surprised your plant is taking a while to come out of dormancy. One week isn’t particularly long in plant terms and hopefully the traps will open up eventually.
How did you place your plant into dormancy? Did you place it in the fridge perhaps?
A more important concern is what colour the traps are and how stiff the leaves are. If your plants traps are raised above the soil and have a red colouration inside the traps then it is probably going to be fine.
As long as you keep giving it a good supply of pure water and it receives lots of good sunlight then hopefully the traps will open soon and begin growing quickly.
If your plant is suffering in any other way then post back here as it may be something more serious. But simply having closed traps and not growing rapidly is usually not a cause for concern.
Idman responded on 23 Feb 2008 at 8:09 pm #
Thank you Ryan,I can’t give it much light though because my dad won’t let me leave the light on for very long and he won’t let me buy a lamp for it. Plus outside is cloudy and has been for a while.
Idman responded on 23 Feb 2008 at 9:27 pm #
Bryan, how long will my flytrap live, i have heard that the longest living one was over 30 years old! Plus I want to know how to provide my flytrap with the right conditions for it to live that long or longer, so please tell me what conditions to give it, and if you don’t mind, i would like to know how long yours has lived, and thatnks for the advice earlier!
Idman responded on 23 Feb 2008 at 9:36 pm #
Sorry for the rapid questions, but how many divisions and how many traps will my plant make before I should transplant it into a bigger pot. It currently has only 1 leaf with 3 new ones coming up, so how long untill it gets & and up?
Devyn responded on 25 Feb 2008 at 11:42 am #
hi how long dos it tak a fltrap to grow
Amac responded on 25 Feb 2008 at 8:03 pm #
HI i live up in Canada and I was just wondering how to make it go dormant without putting it in the fridge or exposing it to the canadian cold(-8to-20)and when to start the dormancy period.
teara responded on 26 Feb 2008 at 10:43 pm #
ok im getting a venus fly trap soon and my dad said i needed to do a research on them first so could i use a lamp instead of sunlight because theres not much sun over here in oregon??
Ryan responded on 27 Feb 2008 at 3:36 am #
Devyn - about 2-3 years to grow to a decent flytraping size from seed.
Ryan responded on 27 Feb 2008 at 3:39 am #
Almac - I used to live in Calgary and my house had shockingly poor insulation and our windows always leaked cool air inside. If you house is the same, then just place your plant near the window and it should stay nice and cool. Even if your windows are well insulated, chances are that your window area will be cooler than other areas of your house so this should hopefully do the trick.
Also keep the plant closer to the bottom of the window (don’t hang it from the ceiling) as the air will likely be cooler closer to ground level.
Ryan responded on 27 Feb 2008 at 3:43 am #
Teara - last time I was in Oregon there was plenty of sun. Unless you are very serious about growing a super huge Venus flytrap, then you should be able to grow your plant fine as long as you have a nice sunny window to place it in. Or even better, a sunny area outside to grow it.
Make sure you give it lots of good clean water (read the articles about water here if you haven’t already) and don’t fertilize the soil. Other than that, as long as your plant is placed in the direct path of sunlight then it should grow into a good healthy plant.
AFAIK Oregon is quite wet too, which is good for Venus flytrap growing.
Idman responded on 27 Feb 2008 at 6:24 pm #
Ryan, it has been 3 weeks and my flytrap isn’t awake yet. How many more weeks untill it comes out of dormancy.
Ryan responded on 28 Feb 2008 at 4:12 am #
Idman - it doesn’t matter if it is cloudy outside. There is still likely to be more light outside than inside.
Also, I’m assuming you are using purpose designed lights for growing plants with? If you are using regular indoor house lights, these will not be having much effect on your plants as they do not emit light at an appropriate frequency.
Venus flytraps should (in theory) keep growing for quite a long time. Measuring how long they live for is tricky as often one plant will die and another will replace it without you even noticing it unless you dig the roots up regularly.
My longest lasting plant is about four years old I think. But I’ve moved countries/cities quite a bit and never had anywhere to put my existing plants so have often had to give them away instead of keeping them long term.
You don’t need to repot your plant at all. It will likely survive quite happily for a long time in the pot it came in from the shop. People normally repot their plants if they want them to grow more traps.
To grow your plant for as long as possible, just make sure it receives as much good quality light as possible (preferably sun light) and follow the advice here on flytrapgrowing.info about watering, feeding and soil maintenance and your plant should live to a ripe old age.
I have no idea how long your plant will take to come out of dormancy. If you post back with detailed information about why you think your plant isn’t out of dormancy yet I may be able to offer more advice.
Idman responded on 28 Feb 2008 at 4:58 pm #
Thanks Ryan and my plant has no red in it and lays there on the soil slowly rotting. I think it is because it has very little light and so should I take it outside even if it might snow and it is still very cold? I am not using plant lights because I can’t find any at the store.
Amac responded on 28 Feb 2008 at 7:16 pm #
hi me again, just wonderin what vtf breeds most nurserys sell
New Ryan responded on 29 Feb 2008 at 5:37 pm #
Amac, most nurseries sell Dentate traps and mostly typical traps.
New Ryan responded on 29 Feb 2008 at 5:44 pm #
Idman, you should order a light from online and shouldn’t leave your flytrap outside if it’s freezing.
Ryan responded on 01 Mar 2008 at 4:39 am #
Thanks New Ryan!
You are correct of course, Venus flytraps should not be left outside in extremely cold conditions. Although some exposure to snow is okay so long as the temperature doesn’t plunge to far below zero. I’ve heard various theories about how cold the plants can be taken before suffering ill effects including suggestions that even -10 deg. C is okay for them. Personally I wouldn’t want to let my plants get much more than a degree or so below zero for more than a week or so though. A major advantage of snow coverage is that it insulates the plant so that even if the temperature outside gets quite cold, the temperature exposed to the plant can still be within its tolerances.
Dentate traps are not available from any nurseries in my area. So I guess it depends on where you live. My local nurseries only stock typical Venus flytraps.
Amac responded on 01 Mar 2008 at 11:49 pm #
thanks for the quick reply,i read somewhere that typical ones can produce some of the fatest traps and the large vfts aren’t as fast is this true
Idman responded on 02 Mar 2008 at 11:49 am #
Amac, it is not neccesarily true, because B52 flytraps are large but grow fast as well, and typical traps grow about the same speed as other traps.
Ryan responded on 04 Mar 2008 at 4:29 am #
I don’t have any evidence to support my assumption. But I suspect that there is little/no difference in the growth rate of various similarly coloured Venus flytrap cultivars.
I assume red varieties probably grow slower though due to their inferior ability to photosynthesise.
My understanding is that B52’s have a tendency grow larger, but not necessarily at a faster rate. If anybody has evidence otherwise I’d love to hear though.
tash responded on 04 Mar 2008 at 7:03 am #
Hi!
I just got a flytrap for my birthday and its doing pretty well (i think), it has recently sprouted new traps but now they seem to be blackening from the stem.
I live in South Africa and average tempreture is about 30C not counting humidity and my plant does stay outside so maybe its just too hot for the little guy?
anyway i’m pretty worried about him so i’m hoping its nothing too serious.
thanks
Ryan responded on 04 Mar 2008 at 7:42 am #
Hi Tash,
It is quite hard to judge these things without seeing the conditions first hand. But if your plant is receiving plenty of light, is kept well watered (constant water in pot) and the humidity isn’t below 60% then it should be okay at 30 deg. C I think.
Blackening of the stems isn’t entirely uncommon, so as long as the entire plant isn’t turning black then it should be okay.
If you are sure that the high temperatures are causing a problem, then you could try using a larger pot as this will decrease the surface area exposed to the sun. You could also try an unglazed clay or foam pot as the water evaporation from these can help keep the pot cooler, although this will require more watering. Burying your plant in the ground is a more drastic solution to keeping it cool, although this makes it difficult to keep it watered as you can just keep the base with a constant pool of water.
If you do repot your plant, make sure you follow the advice on repotting and potting mix:
http://flytrapgrowing.info/potting-mix/
http://flytrapgrowing.info/should-i-repot/
Amac responded on 05 Mar 2008 at 3:08 pm #
hi sorry but i didn’t explain properly, what i meant was that typical vfts produce some of the fastest closing traps and giger ones close more slowly
Idman responded on 06 Mar 2008 at 4:41 pm #
Amac that is not necesarily true. The healthier the trap, the faster it will close. Also traps close faster on colder days.
Idman responded on 06 Mar 2008 at 4:42 pm #
I meant faster on warmer days.
laura responded on 12 Mar 2008 at 1:36 pm #
Hi i bought my plant last year, fed it on bugs it did very well and grew a flower on a stalk about 40 cm long. I left it and it has grown annother this year but very few traps. I have removed the flower stalk after reading your comments (thanks!!). Is there anything else I can do to support it ?
I live in the UK if that makes a difference, the plant has plenty of sunlight and warmth thanks to double glasing and rain water which i collect for it.
Thank you
Idman responded on 14 Mar 2008 at 8:07 pm #
MY FLYTRAP IS DeiNG, BUT STILL IS IN DORMANCY. All the leaves haved deied, exect for one which is now almost half dead, so i cut off some of its black spots, i know that the root ball can grow back the plant, but what do i do in the meantime.
Caitlin responded on 14 Mar 2008 at 11:35 pm #
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for all of your help in the past, my flytrap is looking really good now and it has lasted over 4 months now. It has been catching heaps of insects lately and we have been getting alot of light. I was just wondering, can venus flytraps get to much light, and how cold does it have to be for a venus fly trap to go into domancy?
thanks.
Ryan responded on 15 Mar 2008 at 5:04 am #
Hi Caitlin,
Good to hear your plant is growing well
It is generally impossible for your plant to receive too much light, the more the merrier.
The only time excess light can become a problem is if it causes your plant to become to warm and/or dry up, but that is more of a temperature issue. So as long as your plant isn’t burning up (consistent 40+ deg. C temperatures) it should never be a problem.
Venus flytraps usually enter dormancy when below 10 deg. C., although temperature changes may be more important than the absolute temperature. Ie: if your plant spends the summer at 40 deg. C, then the temperature drops to 15 deg. C there is a reasonable chance that the plant may enter dormancy, whereas if the temperature was 15 deg. C during the summer, a drop to around 5-10 deg. C may be necessary to trigger the dormancy process.
There is no exact temperature however and it entirely depends on the plant and it’s current growing conditions. And a bit of randomness
Ryan responded on 15 Mar 2008 at 5:05 am #
Idman - the only thing I can think of that could help is to make sure your plant is in the best conditions possible … good water, plenty of light, humid environment etc.
Ryan responded on 15 Mar 2008 at 5:08 am #
Hi Laura,
It sounds like your plant is being treated very well. Rain water is good, lots of sunlight is good and as long as your soil is nice and healthy then there isn’t much else you can do.
The key is always light, the more light the better. So if you really want to take things up a notch, you could install special plant lights in a terrarium to give it the best conditions possible. That is a big step though and not something I’m a big fan of as I prefer to have my plants out in the open where they can be admired rather than cooped up in a box somewhere with a light on top of them.
Aaron responded on 16 Mar 2008 at 2:45 am #
Hi Ryan,
I live in Malaysia and I’ve just received some small VFT from a local expert. The traps are pure green and about 1.3 cm. I grow them in pure sphagnum moss and water from top using filtered water. When will the traps grow bigger cause I want bigger traps?
Ryan responded on 17 Mar 2008 at 12:53 am #
Hi Aaron,
Determining when your traps will grow larger is tricky at best, impossible at worst.
13 mm isn’t too bad, the plant is probably quite yound and if you give it good conditions it may grow to 20 mm or so in the next 6 months if you are lucky.
As a rough guide, in the most recent article on growing in poor conditions, I reported that the tap water fed plant now had a trap with a 37 mm width, whereas when the experiment was first started, the largest trap was only 29 mm across, so that’s an 8 mm increase within 14 weeks.
Mimosa lover responded on 19 Mar 2008 at 2:57 pm #
I was wondering if some one could tell me how to grow my mimosa pudica well, thanks, and I hate venus flytraps!
Mimosa lover responded on 19 Mar 2008 at 3:00 pm #
Down with flytraps!
Ryan responded on 24 Mar 2008 at 6:16 am #
Mimosa lover - Here is a link to information about minosa pudica … http://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pdf/shrubs/Mimosa%20pudica.pdf
Oh, and everyone knows that Venus flytraps are the greatest plant ever to grace the face of the earth. And if you don’t agree, there is clearly something wrong with you
Mimosa lover responded on 24 Mar 2008 at 9:02 pm #
Do venus flytraps have any medical properties, since they are herbs?
Idman responded on 24 Mar 2008 at 9:06 pm #
I don’t think so but, I’m not sure.
Idman responded on 24 Mar 2008 at 9:07 pm #
Ryan, do flytraps have any medical properties?
Odhran responded on 26 Mar 2008 at 4:45 am #
Hi,
I have a problem with my venus fly trap. He’s a bit sick at the moment! My mother bought it in the Netherlands in September of 2007 and brought it home to the kitchen to help with flies. He was perfectly healthy for a few months but then he started to get droopy before christmas. Basically all the stalks with heads began to droop and hang over the side. Later a few of the heads started to go black and die. So we cut them off. I read up online to see if i could find a reason for this. I came across a website which stated that a venus fly trap needed a kind of hibernation period when it isnt in its natural habitat. I thought this could be the reason for its condition as maybe it had expended too much energy and nutrients trying to stay active and ‘awake’ all year round. So I did as the website recommended and took him out of the kitchen and left him in the out house where it was relatively cold. I left him out there for about a month but this didnt do anything really. So we took him back inside and began to cut the dead/ dying heads off. I was just wondering if perhaps you knew what could be wrong. I’d greatly appreciate any help you can give me! I live in cork in Ireland and we keep the fly trap in our kitchen on the windowsill of a large window. The kitchen is heated to room temperature most days. If you need any further info please ask.
thanks very much!!
Ryan responded on 27 Mar 2008 at 3:11 am #
Mimosa lover - nope, no medical properties. Unless you call feeling ill after eating them a medical property.
Ryan responded on 27 Mar 2008 at 3:16 am #
Hi Odhran,
If you are trying to put your plant into dormancy, you want to do it and leave it. The plant should then start to die off a little and once the winter is over it should start looking more normal again.
Make sure that wherever you put your plant isn’t too dark though. Even though they prefer cooler temperatures in winter, they still need a good amount of sun light. Placing your plant closer to the window can help (particularly if you don’t have double glazing).
I wouldn’t worry too much about your plant at this stage. It’s probably a little confused about whether it’s supposed to be dormany right now or not. But come spring it will hopefully burst back to life (in theory).
Just make sure it’s well watered, gets plenty of light and it should be fine.
It may be best not to worry about dormancy now as it’s quite late in Irish winter now so you may cause more harm than good by forcing it back into an unwanted dormancy. Although it may already be dormant - it’s hard to tell.
Good luck
jake responded on 27 Mar 2008 at 4:18 pm #
I suggest you take your plant OUT of the terrarium. Its somewhat of a myth that vft’s need such high humidity. You should grow it outside in full sunlight as long as your temperatures do not exceed much over 100 daily in the summer, or drop too far below freezing for days at a time during winter.
Plant Dude responded on 28 Mar 2008 at 11:44 pm #
How do I get my flytrap out of dormancy, I kept it in the fridge and have taken it out since February, but its leaves have just died, all off them, should I cut them all off, whan will they grow back, and do you know any good websites on plant growing tips?
Ryan responded on 29 Mar 2008 at 3:31 am #
Hi jake,
Venus flytraps will indeed survive outside of a terrarium, but it should in theory help a little, particularly in very dry areas.
An added bonus of using a terrarium is that you don’t need to water them as often, this is my main reason for keeping my own plants in terraria.
Ryan responded on 29 Mar 2008 at 3:33 am #
Hi Plant dude,
Well the website I know of best is this one! We have plenty of articles on growing Venus flytraps.
There is no way to know when your leaves will grow back. Good things take time and hopefully they will grow back eventually. In the mean time, make sure you keep your plant well watered, receives as much sunlight as possible and is kept in the best conditions possible.
Beetle lover responded on 31 Mar 2008 at 4:04 pm #
Do you know any good ladybug faq’s where you can just type in your question without regeristing or download something, thanks!
P.S. I also like flytraps to!
Ryan responded on 31 Mar 2008 at 5:50 pm #
Sorry, but no, I don’t know any good ladybug FAQ’s.
Plant Dude responded on 03 Apr 2008 at 3:47 pm #
I er… I forgot to water my dormant flytrap for about 2 or 3 weeks, and it has been black ever since I put it in dormancy, I just watered it now, will it survive?
Ryan responded on 04 Apr 2008 at 9:06 am #
Plant Dude - I have no idea! That certainly won’t help your situation, but not watering for 2-3 weeks is unlikely to kill your plant alone. I’ve left plants for much longer without water and not noticed any long term ill effects. Although rate of evaporation is quite important. If the temperature was quite low and the humidity quite high the situation shouldn’t be too bad as the plant will have kept some water for most of it’s dry spell.
It’s impossible for me to tell how healthy your plant is from here. But good luck and I hope it grows back nice and healthy.
And as always, make sure your plant gets plenty of light, pure water (although a little less during dormancy) and never feed it fertilizers or food for human consumption.
Alonzo responded on 04 Apr 2008 at 4:22 pm #
Hi Ryan
I bought a Venus fly trap just few days ago and it came in a little container because the venus fly trap is very little. My question is:
Is necessary to change it to a bigger container?
Murasaki responded on 06 Apr 2008 at 4:01 pm #
Hi… nice that there are sites like this ones…
I have a question, I read half of the already answered ones, and i didnt find the answer for mine…
What is the size of a Venus fly-trap seed?
Cos a friend gave me a kit and the packet of the seeds seems empty…
thank you very much!
Ryan responded on 06 Apr 2008 at 5:14 pm #
Hi Alonzo,
4×6 cm is usually big enough for them to grow healthily. But if you want more traps, then you would need to move to a bigger pot.
You may find the “Should I Repot” article useful.
Ryan responded on 06 Apr 2008 at 5:15 pm #
Murasaki - Venus flytrap seeds are usually 1 - 2 mm across.
Christina responded on 06 Apr 2008 at 9:15 pm #
Wondering if I should do anything about the carcasses left behind in my traps. I bought the plant about 3 months ago - and I’ve managed to kill and revive it since then - and it just successfully ate its first fruit fly (hooray!) I water the plant using a spray bottle, and I was thinking in the wild, maybe the rain would wash the bug remains out of the plant, so I’ve been considering just giving it a little spray of water to get it out of there. But is this even necessary? I’m just wondering if it’s harmful for the trap if it catches another bug while the previous bug’s remains are still in there.
Thanks! And I love your site
Thomas responded on 07 Apr 2008 at 12:09 pm #
Ryan, first off thanks for putting up a web site full of great information on the Venus Fly Traps, my traps are now all looking great, I even have one I’m going to allow to flower and I don’t think it will die off. ( Yep I know the risks )
I was looking at your propagation pages and didn’t find any info on how to do a leaf or cutting type propagation of a Venus fly traps and was wondering if it is possible to use this method… because micropropagation or tissue culture seems fairly involved for my needs, I only wanting to get a few more plants to grow…
Ryan responded on 09 Apr 2008 at 12:09 am #
Hi Thomas,
Yep, it’s definitely possible to do leaf cuttings. I’m no expert on this matter though, hence I don’t have any information on it.
I’ll see what information I can rustle up tonight and post it for you.
If I don’t get back to you within the next week then post back because I’ve probably forgotten!
Ryan,
Ryan responded on 09 Apr 2008 at 12:11 am #
Hi Christina,
No, you can just leave the bugs there if you like. Often they become stuck and are impossible to remove anyway. Sometimes they can be plucked out with tweezers, but this is always quite tricky as may trigger the trap again by accident.
kim Elliott responded on 15 Apr 2008 at 3:41 am #
Hi,
I bought a venus trap on teh weekend. It has 6 traps which were all closed but now opening nicely, and 2 tiny growing traps. the plant stems are about 3 - 4″ long and traps just less than an inch. Its kept well watered (distilled) and in a mini Terrarium…..but
The stems are just sitting on the soil and not upright at all (n the pics ive seen on the net all teh plants have sticking up leaves/stems), so this is making the traps just hang off the edge of the pot? is this ok? is he sick?
thanks kim
Ryan responded on 15 Apr 2008 at 4:12 am #
Hi Kim,
I doubt there is any problem with your plant.
If you look in the research section here you will see that the control plant I used for the low light experiment started off with quite low lying traps. They’ve started to grow taller lately though.
As long as your plant is kept in good conditions the traps may raise off the ground in time.
I also had a very sick looking plant I stored in the dark for the winter. It was very unhealthy when put it in the light at the start of spring, it’s traps were yellowish and lying on the soil, but now that summer is nearly over it is growing very healthily and it’s traps have raised up off the soil.
Plant Dude responded on 20 Apr 2008 at 10:26 am #
Hi Ryan I just got a new flytraps yesterday, it is very big and healthy but some of the traps won’t close when i feed them, all of the triger hairs were touched and I know that there is a time when the traps stop working, but they don’t look like they have stopped working yet, whats going on.
Plant Dude responded on 21 Apr 2008 at 5:52 pm #
I have been Idman, Plant Dude, Mimosa lover, New Ryan, beetle lover, and maybe some others, I can’t remember.
Plant Dude responded on 21 Apr 2008 at 5:54 pm #
I just like pranks, but from now on, Ill just be plant lover.
Plant Lover(Idman, mimosa lover, plant dude, New Ryan, beetle lover, and maybe some others, I can't remember.) responded on 21 Apr 2008 at 6:14 pm #
How do u make that little smiley face at the end of your sentences. thanks
plz write back responded on 24 Apr 2008 at 5:51 pm #
hi,
i just got a vft, venus fly trap at the store. it had a hard plastic cover over it so i thought i would kill some ants and feed it to it =. i did and it closed. but its been 2 days and it isnt opening should i be worried? plz write back im geting upset?
Ryan responded on 24 Apr 2008 at 7:39 pm #
Plant Dude - Yes, I had noticed your multiple usernames. You will likely start getting yourself caught by the Akismet spam filter if you keep doing that and then your comments will stop appearing on blogs.
You can make smiley faces by adding : and ) straight after each other (no spaces or ‘and’ in the middle)
plz write back - Don’t panic. Your trap may take up to two weeks before it reopens. Incidentally, ants aren’t particularly good food for them. The hard exoskeleton can’t be digested very well. Try flies, spiders and other softer bugs.
Plant Dude responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 3:04 pm #
Thanks Ryan:(
Plant Dude responded on 28 Apr 2008 at 3:06 pm #
plus there are 2 new emerging heads on my traps leaf, I have heard of this before, but will it be safe for my trap, thanks:)
CS responded on 02 May 2008 at 5:27 am #
Hi Ryan,
My God what a wealth of information! I have successfully smuggled a Venus Fly Trap home to South India (from a dollar shop in the USA!). It has looked healthier since it has been here than from the shop but recently I’ve become worried. It’s continually putting out new leafs and traps. But lately the older ones start by the traps turning brown at the outer edges and the brown slowly works it way to the leaf and then I cut the whole bit off. We are talking about a SMALL plant here! I keep it on the balcony which recieves all day bright but indirect sunlight. The temps here range from lows of 25C to highs of 34C with the relative humidity never going much below 75pct and generally higher. Should I be worried? There seems to be a continual supply of new leaves and traps and perhaps the ones that have died off were all the “originals”? I water it with boiled and filtered (through ceramic candles) water same as I drink. Any suggestions? I realize that it will have to be going into the refrigerator at some time for its dormancy period and should adjust this for my location? Thanks.
Ryan responded on 04 May 2008 at 2:52 am #
Hi CS,
There is no point in boiling the water, unless there is a very serious bacteria in your water.
If filtering through ceramic candles is as ineffective as it sounds (I’ve never heard of it before) then that won’t make any difference either.
You need distilled or rain water for your plant. Or at the very least, heavily filtered water (charcoal filtered preferably).
How often are your plants leaves dying off? It isn’t uncommon for them to be replaced every few months. They usually turn black/very dark brown before falling off and being replaced by fresh green/red ones.
Aaron responded on 08 May 2008 at 5:07 am #
Aaron again. I’ve propagrated by Venus Flytrap using leaf cutting. the white ends are turning red in colour. Why??? Is it going to grow a plantlet.
Aaron responded on 09 May 2008 at 8:45 pm #
Hi,
This is Aaron again.
There are very short traps coming out from the side.Why?I don’t think they are other VFT.
Tyler responded on 10 May 2008 at 12:32 am #
I just bought a VF and i was just wondering what kind of surface to keep the plant on? i have a overturned plastic barrel that i usually keep my personal stash on, but this might get to hot for the flytrap. The alternative is brick it outlines the outside of our house and that may soak up some of its water but it may help i dont know. or should i just keep it in a very shallow dish of rain/distilled water? any help would be appreatiated thank you
tom responded on 10 May 2008 at 4:42 am #
would i be able to grow a venus fly trap in a north facing room in england?
And how often do they need watering
Ryan responded on 10 May 2008 at 4:57 am #
Aaron - What are the “white bits” you are referring to?
Ryan responded on 10 May 2008 at 5:03 am #
Tyler - The very shallow dish of rain/distilled water sounds like the best option. Although it is hard to know without more information. In particular, if you live in a cold environment it may actually be beneficial to put it on a warmer surface.
Ryan responded on 10 May 2008 at 5:07 am #
Tom - You can grow them anywhere as long as they get plenty of light, good soil and water. Lots of people successfully grow them in England.
You need to keep the soil moist, the exact rate of watering will depend on how rapidly the soil dries out.
Aaron responded on 10 May 2008 at 5:20 am #
The white bits are part of the bulb when you tear out the leaves.
Tyler responded on 10 May 2008 at 2:03 pm #
I live in northern TX VERY HUMID RIGHT NOW and obout 85 degrees already the very top of the soil is dry but i bet its still very moist below, there are some traps that are burieed underneath the soil? what do i do with those?
Angie responded on 11 May 2008 at 4:48 am #
If it’s possible to grow vft in Thailand? The weather is hot and humid, but I want to grow them in my office. I have another problem, I got my vft for my present and it flowering right now some of them were open and some already gone. Should I remove them now or should I leave it till it’s gone? *Little help please..*
Ian responded on 11 May 2008 at 8:26 am #
recently my flytrap had flowered but all the flowers bloomed and then died later on. should i cut the stem off?
Heather responded on 11 May 2008 at 8:10 pm #
I just got a little venus flytrap and now the leave are wilting and closing. I had to cut off many black leaves already. Should I feed the plant or put it in to a warmer room it is not warn here right now? What do I do to save my plant?
Patrick responded on 14 May 2008 at 11:16 am #
Hi i bought my first VFT from a garden centre, then one of the internet as a pack with a sarrencinian and a cape sundew. then back and my garden centre i saw a venus fly trap bright red and big traps. i know it is a normal one that has just been given good care but.
do you have to let your new grown traps mature in a way, before feeding them? because at the moment i am feeding them straight away and i am thinking thats why some of my traps are miniscule. and also its not very sunny in north yorkshire ( England ) only on odd actions. i have a asian water dragon and she has a UVB flurensent light and a normal flurensent light. i have been putting the plants on a chair close to the glass. when it’s not sunny but will this be doing anything for them?
its about 15 inches away from the UVB and about a whole meter away from the normal light. i cant get it closer without putting it inside the vivarium and since the plants are not from the asian jungle it will be to hot and humid for them.
any advice Welcome
pat
Tyler responded on 15 May 2008 at 1:37 pm #
Ryan i have a question about my flytrap, i have tried to trigger the hairs with a soft-bodies insect and no matter how many times i try it the trap wont close or if it does it takes about 5 minuts, which is a snails pace. am i doing something wrong? i know they aer supposed to be moving much faster, any help would be great!
Nate responded on 15 May 2008 at 5:15 pm #
I was wondering how to grow a seperate venus fly trap off of the one I already own. Such as seeds or maybe cutting off half the plant and giving it TLC.
Ryan responded on 15 May 2008 at 8:54 pm #
Tyler, you can try to remove the soil from around traps, although I tend to just leave them to do their own thing, they generally make their way to the surface eventually - or die off and are replaced by ones growing above ground.
Angie, yes it is possible to grow Venus flytraps in Thailand. As long as the conditions are right, you can grow them anywhere. If your plant is flowering, you may as well leave it continue the process, there is little benefit in removing it now.
Ian - Nope, there is no need to remove them stem. Although if it looks ugly then you may as well remove it, particularly if it is dried up and raggedy looking.
Heather - If it is inside, then it probably doesn’t need to be anywhere warmer. The amount of light they receive is much more important than their temperature so try to make sure it is in the sunniest part of the house. And keep it well watered.
Patrick - No, it shouldn’t matter if you feed them straight away. If they have traps, then the plant is intending to gobble something up with them. Just make sure you don’t overfeed them. Once a month should be plenty to keep the plant happy. And don’t place large bugs in small traps. A bug should be ~1/3 the size of the trap. The fluorescent lights will definitely help, just make sure they don’t get baked under them.
Tyler - Traps sometimes close slowly simply because the trap is malfunctioning. If it is only a few traps and the rest of them are functioning fine then don’t worry about it. If they are all behaving that way, then your plant is probably not very healthy. The usual recipe of light, light, light, more light and healthy dose of watering will usually do the trick.
Nate - I don’t have much information on here about cultivating new plants as this isn’t an area I have a huge amount of experience in. From what I’ve heard, the best advice is to take a cutting and grow a new plant from that. Growing from seeds takes a very long time.
Josh responded on 16 May 2008 at 2:00 pm #
I have 2 venus flytraps and for some reason they seem to be growing very oddly. The leaves grow fine but the traps stay very small or dont even grow from a bud. The leaves are all tangled up, Should i trim off most of them? I used to get big traps but now they are all small or dont grow at all. I use distilled water and keep it in peet moss and sphagnum moss.
Angie responded on 19 May 2008 at 8:35 am #
Another question please.. Do VFT needs wind or just good amount of water, warm/humid weather and a right sunlight? If they dont need wind so I can grow them in my office just fine. *Thanks again
Nathan Sokalski responded on 24 May 2008 at 1:50 pm #
I received my Venus Flytrap several days ago, and I beleive that it is in dormancy. One of the traps has a bug in it (which was there when I received it). The trap has been half open for about two days now (since I received it). Is this safe? I thought the trap was supposed to be sealed while digesting, and open in about a day for false alarms (it was like this when I received it, so I guess it could be a peice of dirt that fell in). Is there anything I should be doing?
Ryan responded on 27 May 2008 at 6:17 am #
Hi Josh,
I don’t think trimming them off will help. It sounds like your plant isn’t very healthy. Is it getting enough light? Is it possible that it was receiving a lot more light in the past and now isn’t?
Ryan responded on 27 May 2008 at 6:18 am #
Hi Angie,
No, Venus flytraps do not need wind at all. Just water and lots of sunlight will keep them happy.
Ryan responded on 27 May 2008 at 6:20 am #
Hi Nathan,
Sometimes traps do not shut properly. Don’t worry about it, there isn’t anything you can do (normally). The trap may become damaged, but a new one will grow to take it’s place eventually. This is a common problem in nature when large bugs/animals get half caught in the trap.
Josh responded on 28 May 2008 at 12:12 pm #
Well when i bought it it wasnt in direct sunlight at all and it looked normal so i dont know if im doing something rong.
Alec responded on 29 May 2008 at 12:47 pm #
My fly trap soil has dried up a little and I haven’t seen a sign of my fly trap for four weeks. Do I need a new seed or new soil, has it died???
Matthew responded on 31 May 2008 at 10:24 pm #
My Venus Fly trap is around a year and a half old I would guess and it was bought in a store in a fairly decent plant pot, it has survived a flower growing spree, and went through a period of every trap in the plant dying at christmas.
I am left with a very healthy plant to say the least.
My question is!
I noticed my plant has 9+ traps that are growing upwards(you know the stem thing that holds them) Is this normal?
(The traps are almost an Inch in size)
I also have 8 tiny traps growing on the soil, which are redish inside, am I right to assume the plant has split into two flowers?
If I could add more information
After the trap essentially died it was growing long thin things, I assume attempting to recover itself, the temperature was very cold, And I assumed the plant should ideally be hibernating and cut them back, did I do the right thing? they were growing out from the soil and were eventually going black before the trap could grow.
I’m not an expert but a few months later when the temperature picked up the plant went into grow mode, and now literally day by day the thing is just growing.
It’s amazing the way Venus Fly Traps can seemingly fool you into thinking its dying/dead and just… recover.
I pretty much am glad I stuck with the thing although I had people saying to me the thing is dead, and not to bother.
I’m glad I did, I think the Plant has personality, and was just telling me that christmas is a time it just has to rest and rest it did for months..
(Growing conditions)
Near the window, but not an open one.
Has direct sunlight.
Is fed mineral water/spring water(Which I guess it likes)
Alex responded on 01 Jun 2008 at 1:19 am #
i bought a vft from lowes last week and i put it on a window sill for another week and it started drying up so i gave it some rain water through the bottom and it perked back up. I recently put it in a bigger pot that has nothing but sphagnum peat moss in it. im not sure how deep the pot is but im worried that its not getting water because the roots arent that long. do you think its getting water. is it safe to mist it with rain water on the leaves? also will the plant grow more than the 3 traps that it had when i bought it? thanks
Ann responded on 01 Jun 2008 at 4:31 pm #
I want to start a bog garden, and I was wondering if it would be safe in winter for my venus fly traps. I live in northern Utah.