Question

First  

Second   Hi i'm from Puerto Rico

I buy a Venus and at first his trap were red and very green. But is now faded and lost its red color.  She recieves sunlight like 5 hours.

In the picture you can see that babies turn black and also leaves. Is getting yellow but not to much, but i can see the difference ( second picture.) Whats Wrong ? However it is still out new traps i guess that is good news...i say guess lol

So...i live on a tropical island. HERE IN PUERTO RIO IS HOT ALL YEAR..How will I know when the Venus need hibernate?

I've seen videos on youtube where they put the plant in the fridge, that would help?
For how long?

When?


What happens if the plant has Thick-skinnes babies below, I can let it grow the right there or i have to separate them ?

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I buy a Drosera Intermedia shes doing great! i want to know at what time I have to change it pot for a bigger one.

THanks For the help

=)

Answer
Hello Gabriel,

Venus Flytraps need a lot of full sunlight to survive. Full sunlight means outside, not in a window, and all day, not just for 5 hours. Venus Flytraps lose coloration in lower light and can weaken and die if the light levels go too low.

For now, don't worry about young plants growing under the adult. They grow like that in nature anyways, so it is normal. Just get the plant in full sunlight and make sure it is back to normal before any other considerations.

In a tropical climate they will die back after a year or so if they do not receive 3-4 months of cold, low light conditions. Venus Flytraps do not seem to have a particular time they go dormant,they just wait for the weather and light levels to tell then when they need to get ready to sleep for the winter. You would have to be able to give the plant cues when to start getting ready by giving it one less hour of light per day each week until the plant gets less than 8 hours of light a day, then providing a cold place for it to begin dormancy. Some people use refrigerators, but I do not trust that method as refrigerators do not provide any light and can dry out anything left inside. Venus Flytraps need moisture and some light as well as air movement so that they have a more "natural" environment to work with. A good compromise is an ice chest with cold packs or frozen water bottles. I use the ice chest in winter and just place the entire pot inside with ice or cold packs around the pot all night. In daytime, I open the chest and replace the ice to keep the temperature low and just leave the ice chest open all day in a place with some indirect light for a few hours. This requires more work, but it has kept my one Venus Flytrap alive for over 7 years and it has by now been divided into over 30 separate plants (with some seeds thrown in for good measure). A good time to begin dormancy would be in October to November. Take the plant out of cold conditions after February and place it in progressively longer lit days each week until it is back in full sun conditions all day.

Drosera intermedia is a small plant and really does not need a larger pot unless it is in a very small pot to begin with. Just repot is every year or so and get a larger pot based on the size of the plant and the number of plants that divide off of the parent.

The main thing for now is make sure the Venus Flytrap is getting full, direct sun all day.