Question

Sickly Venus Flytrap  

Healthy Dente   Hello~

I've had my Venus flytrap now for a couple seasons that I bought from Sarracenia NW.  This year I've noticed that it seems to be declining compared to last year.  It's sparce in traps, looks pale yellowy green and the traps are blackening as soon as they grow.  Next to it is the Dente Flytrap I bought at the same time.  It's doing just as well as ever, it's the 2nd season it's flowered.  It's bright green, upright and healthy.

The plants are potted (and I repotted them this spring after the thaw) in a mix of peat moss and perlite (I followed the instructions on the e-book I bought from Sarracenia online).  

I live in the Pacific NW.  

I have both plants sitting in a saucer of water from the garden hose.  I investigated our water when I bought the plants based on what I read in the ebook and our water fits the criteria. In fact, I have 2 other carniverous plants in the same saucer - 2 pitcher plants and they're all thriving.

The only thing I can possibly think of is that particular flytrap doesn't like the peat moss.  It was an older bag I planted it in.  Perhaps I need to repot it in some peat moss that comes in a brick???

There are no evidence of bugs.  I sprayed all of the carnivorous plants in the spring with a systemic insect killer.  I planned to respray them soon with Neem.  

All plants are in a great spot with plenty of full sun per day.

It's a mystery why this plant is doing so poorly.  Today I inspected it and found moss growing around the rhizome.  I took it out.  Could the moss have been choking it out?  The other flytrap doesn't have moss around it as much.

Thanks for any advice - PIX ATTACHED of the sickly flytrap and to compare the Dente which is very healthy looking and green.

Answer
Hi Christy,

This looks very suspiciously like either hard water damage, or exposure to fertilizer in the soil.  What is the actual Total Dissolved Solids of your water?  Switch to distilled water and see if the plant turns around.  Flush it well from the top of the pot to give the soil a good rinsing.  Sarracenia pitcher plants are much less sensitive to hard water than flytraps.  Also, how many actual hours of sun are the plants getting?  The Dente looks ok, but this time of year the traps should be darker.  Is this location sunny enough for tomatoes or other vegetables?  If not, it should be a sunnier location.  Transplanting to some fresh peat from a bale is a good idea also.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com