Question
Recently i transferred my venus flytraps into a terrarium to maintain higher humidity and synthesize a more natural microclimate for them. i planted them with the remaining soil from the original pot and mixed a 10;1 ratio of sphagnum peat to one part mineral soil at the bottom of the terrarium to maintain moisture. In the last couple of days new traps have been forming and within a couple days they are turning black and falling off. i water them regularly and they get plenty of morning sun. Can you give me some advice for better care?
Also my N. ventricosa lies on its side and i have been considering replanting it in a larger pot and keeping it more upright. it is a year old and some of the first formed leaves are turning yellow, the traps are turning black around the operculum and mouth of the trap. i suspect it is being over-watered what do you  think? this is my first experience with growing carnivorous plants and i want them to live. i read your article about replant N. alata and assume the same conditions apply but wanted to get some advice on the symptoms my plants are experiencing

Answer
Hello Jake,

Contrary to popular belief, high humidity and terrariums are not a substitute microclimate for most plants, particularly Venus Flytraps. Terrariums create more problems than they solve by inducing mold, reducing the amount of light the plants can get, increasing humidity to the point in which plants develop weak growth, increase heat levels, reduce naural insect attraction and trapping in carnivorous plants, and create a breeding ground for bacteria in the stagnant water held in the bottom of the terrarium.

Mineral soil, from what I understand, is a soil conditioner that increases the mineral content of low nutrient soils. This is contrary to the natural environment of Venus Flytraps as well. When most species of carnivorous plants are fertilized or have mineral contents added to their soils, they begin to die rather quickly. Most species of carnivorous plants live in low nutrient and low mineral content soils which forced evolutionary adaptation in these plants to trap and digest insects to obtain the nutrients and trace minerals the plants need. Their roots are simply not able to derive nutrients from the soil and can be easily burned or rotted by fertilizers and minerals in the soil that alter the Ph level of their environment.

First off, remove the plants from the terrarium and wash the roots with mineral free water, like distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water. Next, repot the plants in regular 4-5 inch pots with drain holes in the bottom, using unfertilized sphagnum peat moss and perlite in a 50/50 mix of these materials. Place the potted plants back in the empty terrarium and, every three days, open the lid a fraction of an inch and leave it open. Increase the opening another fraction of an inch every three days until it no longer holds in humidity. After about two weeks of such humidity adaptation, the lid should be open a couple of inches and can be removed. The plants will be adapted to your local humidity and can live open pot, as I grow all of mine.

Venus Flytraps are full sun plants. You will need to adapt them to full sun outside by placing them in a South facing window for one week, then place them outside where they will receive morning sunlight for a few hours each day. Do that for another week, then place them in an area where they get sun all day long. They should be adapted to full sun after about 3 weeks of such treatment.

Venus Flytraps like to have about 1/4 of the pot submerged in water, so place a large tray under the pots and keep it filled with fresh distilled, reverse osmosis, or rain water.

Hopefully, it is not too late to save the Flytraps. (Any time you see Flytraps grow new leaves that die within a couple days, it is generally a bad sign).

Nepenthes are a bit different in care than Venus Flytraps. Nepenthes are tropicals, unlike the temperate nature of Flytraps, so do not go dormant in winter.

Here are some tips for caring for a Nepenthes.

Soil should be 1 part sphagnum peat, 1 part perlite, and 1 part orchid bark, or 1 part of the peat and 2 parts orchid bark. The main thing is to use the peat for acidity and water absorbtion while having two parts of drainage materials that are neutral and airy. Never use fertilized materials with Nepenthes soils.

Water with distilled, reverse osmosis, or rain water as tap water and mineral, spring, or drinking water from stores often contain added minerals that build up in carnivorous plant soil and alter the Ph, killing the plants. Nepenthes prefer being watered often, but do not like their roots in standing water. Keep a tray under the pots, but only allow a fraction of an inch to drain into the pot, then stop watering and let the moss sop up the extra water (keep the tray dry most of the time between waterings). Water about twice a week a little at a time so that the moss stays moist at all times.

Nepenthes enjoy partial sun, so place them in an East or even South facing window, or use about 12000 to 18000 lumens of flourescent shop lights for 16 hours a day about 6-8 inches from the plant's upper leaves.

If the Nepenthes recently experienced a drop in humidity or temperature that was drastic and lasted for over several hours, it could experience damage and dehydration to its pitchers and might fail to pitcher for weeks or months afterward until it adapts to the new conditions.

Nepenthes often trail along the ground or up trees and rocks as their vines grow. You can set up a brace or lattice around the plant to allow it something to climb. Each species has its own way of growing. Some scramble along the ground and others are stout enough to grow upright several feet.

Repotting a Nepenthes is basically just loosening the old soil and gently drawing the plant up out of the pot. You might spill some fluid from the pitchers, but that is not a cause for alarm. Next, have a half-filled pot ready for the roots and just set the plant in it after removing some of the old soil from the root ball. Gently fill in some soil a little at a time on each side until the plant is positioned at the right angle and depth and is held in place so it does not accidentally uproot, fall over, or wobble around in the pot.

Yellowing leaves around the base of the plant and browning pitchers occurs naturally as the old leaves die back and make way for new ones. Just clip off dead material and make room for new growth. If the Nepenthes blackens from the top down, it is experiencing root rot and is dying from too much standing water under the pot.

Christopher