Comments on: Venus flytrap care

By: pqsd1984

pqsd1984 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:43:58 +0000

i have had a VFT for years, it gave me heaps of flowers and seeds, i never cut off the flowers, and never died from it!
having flowers for a plant is part of its natural process, i don’t know why it should be avoided! if your plant is healthy, you can keep the flowers.

By: Luke

Luke — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:25:45 +0000

Dormancy
hello there, so When you grow Venus flytraps in the winter, i dont get the part about dusting it with fungicide?

Hi Luke
Venus fly trap is dusted with a fungicide powder to protect them from rot while they are dormant (resting) in the frig. During dormancy, it should not be allowed to dry out. It should be stored moist but not wet, if too wet, they can get mildew and rot. Dormancy usually starts in late fall to early spring.

By: rocksea

rocksea — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:08:10 +0000

thanks for the detailed info on VTF! we just bought a fly trap, yet to find the name. it has long tubular leafs standing vertical, with one flap at the top tip.

You may have a type of pitcher plant (Nepenthes)

By: Sarah C

Sarah C — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:52:56 +0000

I just bought a VFT, it’s small and looks young, i’d like to re-plant it to give it more room to grow but should i wait to re-plant until next spring since it’s already August?

Hi Sarah
I would wait till next spring to re-plant your VFT especially if its not overflowing in the container.

By: SPC:BRAY

SPC:BRAY — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:01:32 +0000

hello, i am in the army deployed to baghdad, iraq and i have just got my 1st vft and i read the above QanA but nothing really was asked or said on my area or temp situation. 1st off it took 11 days for my plant to get here from michigan. then once it arrived two plants looked ok and were tall and green and one was small and black and one other one was small and green. my vft i believe is a starter one it is in a small square plastic case two inch wide by 4inch tall with a plastic top on it. can you give me some info on how to take care of it with me being in baghdad. also there is a thin plastic liner that is in the case with a half inch hole in the middle were the plants are growing thru should i take that out to give the plants more room or is it there for a reason. also it gets to be about 100-110 in the shade here. thank you for your help.

Hello SPC: Bray
Thank you for your service to our country. Hopefully, I can help you with your VFT. It is a plant that requires humidity and temperatures of 50-75F. It grows in boggy areas of the Carolinas so that’s the kind of environment you need to establish. A mini terrarium made out of a jar or plastic 2 liter bottle would work. I would recommend that you transplant it into a soil mix of peat moss and perlite (a well-drained soil mix) but that may not be accessible to you in Baghdad. Instead, keep the plastic container in a saucer filled with a couple inches of water to increase the humidity around the plant. Remove the dome or your VFT will “cook” inside the container in high temperatures. The plant should be moist but not wet and allowed not to dry out. Misting will help. The plastic liner is there to keep the plant in place. It will survive if keep indoors in partial direct sun(4 hrs) or under flourescent light (6″ above plant) in a “cooler” environment. Good luck.

By: Raminta

Raminta — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:35:23 +0000

What should I do if my plant leaves are turning black?

Hi Raminta
Cut off the black leaves. See comment on 2/19/2008 to Alison http://hortchat.com/info/venus-flytrap-care#comments

By: carnivourcactiman

carnivourcactiman — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:07:15 +0000

i have flytraps, i live in southern cali. and have them in full sun and set in a bog enviorment, i use reverse osmosis treated water and fill a try on the bottom of the pot, when the tray is about dry i fill it back up, i don’t feed it i let it catch its own bugs and it is doing great no problems,

By: Lara

Lara — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:41:53 +0000

When I purchased my VFT from a local garden store, it came with a little tab in the soil that told me to water it frequently with distilled water & give it plenty of sunlight. So I’ve been watering it every day with a half a dixie cup of distilled water and letting it sit on a windowsill that gets plenty of sunlight. Several websites confirm this is good treatment, but some, like this one, suggest it should only be watered once a week, and not necessarily sit in direct sunlight. One morning I forgot to water the VFT, and when I came home the soil seemed disturbingly dry, which would seem to suggest it does need to be watered every day. I don’t know. The spoke it came with also suggests feeding it powdered milk if it’s not eating flies. Now, this is the time of year we start getting fruit flies in the house. I’ve sat there and watched fruit flies crawl into the traps, stay there for a good 30 seconds, and leave without triggering the feeding mechanism. Are they simply too small to trigger the hairs?

In other news, I went to water the plant this morning to discover that my cat had gotten up there somehow and eaten several of the traps. There are still about three remaining, although one of them looks ready to go black & die. Should I be worried about my cat? Should I be worried about the plant? There are two shoots that look ready to grow new heads, so I’m hoping it will regenerate itself. Oy vey.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 20:45:54 +0000

Okay I bought my Venus flytrap about 6 days ago, and it has been doing great! It is eating a ladybug right now, and I have trimmed it, gave it plenty of water, and kept it under a light because it has been rainy down here, and there has been no sunlight. But I have comed worried about the humidity! I have nothing to put over it to have humidity, and I was wanting to know if just watering it good everyday will do fine? And I keep it inside, and hand feed it often, is handfeeding it ok, as long as the trap shuts by itself?
Thanks, Aaron

HI Aaron
You are going to drown the plant if you water it everyday. It needs to be kept moist but not soggy. Once a week may be sufficient. If its raining a lot, I would not worry about humidity, there should be enough in the air to satisfy your Venus flytrap. I know it a cool novelty to watch the traps close but its best not feed the plant, it will feed itself.

By: alex

alex — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:54:41 +0000

okay today i found the food for the venus fly trap i put it in the mouth and it won’t close i don’t get why it dosen’t it can you help me!

HI Alex
You need to read the above article of Venus fly trap care. It tells you how the traps feed there are trigger hairs that will cause it to close. You shouldn’t be feeding the plant. It will feed itself. Otherwise you will kill the trap and eventually the plant.