Question
Hi all.

I've had my VFT for just over a year now. From the size that it was when I got it I'm guesssing that it's 2-3 years old now.
I have done a lot of reading up all VFT issues and made a decision to repot my plant a few months ago. I thought it needed space as some of the trapa were growing so small that I thought it was stunting.
I put the plant into acidic sphagum peat moss.

Now for the first little while the plant didn't grow much which, correct me if I'm wrong, is normal from what I've read.
My plant then, a few weeks later, seemingly started to thrive. New bigger stronger traps and I think there are three crowns (is that their name?)
Now the traps on two of them seem to be absolutely fine but the one for some reason keeps on growing normal looking leaves until the traps try to open. Many of them have no teeth at all and are completely lopsided.
I've tried to look for mites with a magnifying glass but don't really know what to look for. (I live in south africa if that helps)
I've just been watching the plant for a little while and the other parts seem fine.
come to think of it there are also some baby baby functionless traps that seem to be growing quite abundantly but it looks as if that may be a separate little plant.

So guys that's about the jist of it. I keep my plant on a sunny windowsil and the soil is always damp ( not wet)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm sure someone has had this before but i really couln't find anything on part of the plant being ok and part not.

Thank you very much

i look forward to the ideas:)

Grant

Answer
Hello Grant,

It is normal for a Venus Flytrap to slow in growth after a repotting as it reestablishes roots that might have been injured in the move.

Several ideas come to mind. First off, make sure the potting mix you used does not contain any fertilizers. Many brands of sphagnum peat sold at stores have fertilizers added as they are for regular, non-carnivorous plants, so that moss would be completely deadly to carnivorous plants of most species. Since only the traps and leaves are deforming, and the rest of the plant seems fine, I do not think it would be fertilizer unless the plant has yet to show other signs of fertilizer damage, which would result in rotted roots and blackening leaves.

Make sure the water you use is mineral free. Minerals in water can build up in the moss and alter the acidity of the mix until it becomes no better than regular fertilized potting soil for these plants. Reverse osmosis, rain water, or distilled water that has no added minerals would be best. Anything that says drinking water is suspect as often it has minerals added for human consumption.

The main thing that comes to mind is that you say the plant is growing in a window. Venus Flytraps are full sun plants that do best with roses and cabbage, actually being an extemely distant ancestor of the cabbage and spinach. If you can, place the plant outside on a sunny patio or add a 12000 lumen bank of florescent lights over the plant within 4 inches of the leaves to help the plant out. Inadequate lighting is often the first problem in Venus Flytrap care and is often the cause of most of the deaths of this interesting plant.

Christopher