Question
Hi, I live in south Florida and own 10 carnivorous plants.  I am eleven years old and grow 3 Venus flytraps and one sarracenia doodle bug in one big pot with sphagnum moss and some of the soil that you sell on your site.  Last year the flytraps had started to like... deform.  The typical Venus petioles were starting to extend and the traps were getting smaller.  Then all of the traps died in winter and the flytraps rebuilt themselves into a small beauties.  I assumed that they only went into dormancy even though Florida is pretty warm.  But the plants are beginning to go down the same road again and it's summer, not winter.  Also, the doodle bug's opening are shut. the pitcher would come up perfectly and then the top would bend and seal the opening.  They all get full sun all day.  I just put them all into the same pot about a month ago.  What's gong on.  Is their a way for me to adjust their growing positions so they are large robust traps and not just scraggly, ugly flytraps?

Answer
Hi Nathan,

What you've described is quite typical for flytraps growing in sub-tropical climates, like in south Florida.  Flytraps need cold temperatures and an extended dormancy in winter.  They'll often go dormant in response to lower light levels, but if the temperature isn't cold enough for a deep dormancy, they will lose their vigor during the following growing season.  People in true tropical climates, like Hawaii, have a difficult time growing flytraps for more than a year.  So you might need to resign to the fact that flytraps won't reach their full potential in your climate.

Doodle Bugs will also have closed pitchers.  This is the nature of the hybrid.  When the plant reaches maturity, it will produce large open pitchers.  

Good growing!
Jacob Farin