Question
2 venus fly traps
About 3 weeks ago I purchased these 2 plants from the local garden shop. They are sold in these pots with clear plastic cups over them (to keep in the humidity I assume). Shortly after getting them home I removed the plastic cups and put them outside on our patio table (south side of the house). We live in the Pacific Northwest, so the weather has been coolish and overcast so far this year - only a few days of really warm sunny weather. The plants started to show sign of stress soon after going outside, so thinking it was probably too cool for them I brought them inside.
I'm a little concerned that I might be keeping them too wet based on information I've seen on the internet. The moss on the tops of the pots always feels very wet and soggy. I DO water them with collected rain water, so there should be no issues with that. I have the plants sitting in a south facing window so they are getting as much light (albiet not bright on the overcast days) as possible.
So far there doesn't seem to be any signs of fungus or mold but I'm wondering if I should remove the moss from around the base of the plants to provide air circulation around the base of the plants.
Should I be let the potting material dry out some between waterings? . . . . keep it just damp. Also, getting them acclimated to the outdoors . . . . put them out on warm sunny days and bring them in at night and when it's cool and rainy for a few weeks? Once our weather has settled into a warm, sunny summer pattern I hope to leave them out all the time - until it's time for their dormancy in the fall.
Both plants are looking poor, although the Red Dragon looks to be in a worse state than the green one. Thanks for your time.
AnswerHi Anne,
The plant on the left looks pretty much dead. The pot on the right still has some hope.
What you need to do is transplant the plants out of the current media into a mix of 1/2 peat moss (not the long-fiber sphagnum they're currently in) to 1/2 perlite or good clean sand. Be sure the peat moss is from a bale since the small bags usually have fertilizer in them. (Fertilizer is toxic to most carnivorous plants) Use about a 5-8 inch pot. When you take the plants out inspect the rhizome to make sure they are nice and white. If they are brown, it's too late. :( If not however, repot them in the new media. Be sure it's nice and wet before you use it. Peat moss takes a little working to absorb water at first.
Once transplanted, move the pot outside and set it in shallow tray of water in a full sun location. By full sun, I mean you should be able to grow a tomato plant in the same location. Our weather is supposed to improve dramatically in the Pacific Northwest this weekend, so you should have better conditions. You should always have a little water in the tray. The main rule here is that the soil should never dry out.
Last step, and the most drastic, cut all of the leaves off of the plant, and I mean all of them. When Venus flytraps are marketed in those cups it weakens their leaves to the point of no return. I've tried lots of hardening off techniques, but nothing works better than just removing all of the leaves down to the soil surface. It will take about a month, but once the new growth comes out it will be strong and healthy.
For general care visit our cares pages here: http://cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=7&chapter=1heet Also consider our volume #1 DVD: http://cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=38&products_id=205 or http://www.amazon.com/Grow-Carnivorous-Plants-Flytraps-No-Nonsense/dp/B001PBA4WC... The DVD will give you a solid, hands-on grasp of growing North American carnivorous plants and help you to avoid the pitfalls so common to first time growers.
Good Growing!
Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com
