Question
Attention Mr. Jacob Farin:

        Hi. You probably don't remember me, but I was the person who was
growing my carnivorous plants on my screened in porch this past summer. I
live in NJ.  I have a doodlebug, 3 venus fly traps, a purple pitcher plant and a
cape sundew.   I just got them in August. They are young plants.
   You had suggested to keep them inside my house for the winter and
therefore skip dormancy, b/c I was moving them around too much and they
may not be acclimated to very cold weather and therefore may die.  You had
said this b/c I was bringing them back and forth between my house and the
outside porch. When there was frost outside, I brought them in my house.  
When the frost was gone the next day, I put them back outside.  I only did
this moving around for a week or two.  Before that they were outside on my
screened in porch experiencing cold temps. On somedays at night the temps
were down into the mid 30s.  They began to go I guess semi-dormant, b/c
many of their leaves had started to turn brown and some leaves died and the
venus fly traps' traps didn't work anymore.   
        About 2 months ago, I brought them inside my house (no more moving
them outside) and they began to grow again.  They were getting some east
sun in my house for a month or so, but  I recently had to put heavy curtains
up b/c of the cold.  So now for the past maybe 3 weeks, they are only getting
light from a 4' shoplight with 2 -40 watt florescent bulbs. They are not
getting any natural sun.  Is this ok?
         They don't seem to be doing too well.  You had told me they will
flower. I wish!! I can't even get new traps on the venus fly traps to open. The
venus fly traps are growing, but their new traps do not open.  Also, the tips of
the traps are turning yellow and eventually the whole trap turns yellow and
then eventually turn brown and dies.   
             On one of my venuses- only ONE of its traps have gotten to the
stage where it has teeth on it, but it hasn't opened yet, either.  It's been like
this for weeks. Why aren't their new traps opening and why do the traps keep
turning yellow?
     I was thinking that this may be a light issue.  Is it possible they are either
too close to the light or not close enough to the light?  I originally had them
10 inches away from the light.  About a week ago, I moved them closer.  Now
they are 7 inches away from the light.  Is it possible that the light is burning
them and this is why the tips of the leaves are turning yellow?
        Also, I was going to put plastic wrap over their pots (like I do with my
sundew seeds) for humididty.  I was thinking that maybe the tips of their
traps are turning yellow b/c its too dry in my house.  On one of the new
leaves coming up too, the side is ripped alittle, like what happens when
plant's leaves get dry.  I also thought that maybe they are getting burned fro
the light.?        
     I keep my house at 64 degrees.  Somedays it's very cold in my house and
other days it's warm.  I have the florescent light on them 12 hours a  day-
what you told me to do.  
     There's is no other place that I can put them where they would get
enough light.  I also do not want to put them outside, b/c I feel it's too cold
for them.  I want to try to help them where they are now. If they make it to
the spring, I will find a place for them outside and keep them there for good.        
        People grow fly traps successfully indoors.  That's why I know I am
doing something wrong.  I think it may be the fact that I don't have them in a
terrarium under the light.  What do you think?
       I guess I am doing everything else right.  I water them using distilled
water.  They are in a soil mix of 50/50 peat moss and perilite. Maybe they
problem is that i'm keeping them too dry.  I keep the tops inch or 1/2 inch of
their soil comepletely dry, b/c I was having a mold problem.  Is it ok for the
top of their soil to be completely dry? The venuses are in 4 inch pots. My
doodlebug and pitcher plant are in 6 1/2 inch pots.  I water the vensues once
a week and I water the others oncle a week -2 weeks.  I stick my hands in
their soil every other day to make sure it's not dry.  I don't water them when  
the soil feels moist to me.  You had said not to keep them sitting in water.  
You said to water them so they are just moist.  I guess I am keeping them
moist.
        One last thing, a few weeks ago my doodle's bugs leaves shriveled up.  
This happened overnight.  It still has new growth that grows once in awhile.  
Why did this happen to my doodlebug.  Thank you again.  

Answer
Hi Tracy,

There are several factors going on with your plants.  However, before addressing them, I'd like to first address the questions you submitted to both Chris and Jeff.  I had the opportunity to read their responses, and in many respects I agree with them.  I also reread my responses to you earlier, and the same issues apply both then as they do now.  So I'm a bit confused as to what type of answer you're looking for.

The bottom line is that you're trying to make your plants grow in a situation that is incompatible with their genetic makeup.  You'd face a similar issue if you were attempting to grow lilies, strawberries, rosemary and other garden perennials in your home.  In most situations, it just doesn't work.

While it is possible to grow flytraps in your home, as you've pointed out, you have to be extremely careful in applying that type of care to your situation.  Some homes have the proper microclimate to grow temperate carnivorous plants.  However, these homes are rare.  I've encountered only one home in which a friend was able to keep a flytrap alive for four years in an extremely large west window.  I've yet to live in a home that can do just that.  (Incidentally, the flytrap died when she moved to another home that didn't have the same type of windows.)  Given the struggles you're facing, I have to conclude that your home simply doesn't have the correct microclimate to successfully support the growing conditions for North American carnivorous plants

This is why we never recommend growing these plants indoors.  Nine out of ten people fail when they attempt to do so.  Even with our horticultural skills it's a struggle.  In an experiment, we managed to keep a flytrap alive for only 18 months in a sunny south window.  On the flip side, we have flytraps growing outdoors for 10+ years.

I can empathize with your desire to keep your plants alive and be successful in this new venture.  The most you can do is optimize your situation given the parameters you're dealing with.  To do that, move the lighting closer to your plants.  The light source should be about 6-8 inches above your plants.  Yellowing of leaves can be from too much light AND it can be from not enough light.  Since I grow my flytraps outdoors in full sun during the summer months, I doubt that the yellowing is from too much light.

The second thing you could do is to top water your plants to reduce fungus and mold.  There is no hard and fast rule about when to water.  Just keep the soil moist rather than sopping wet.  If you're letting the upper 1/2 inch of the soil go completely dry before watering, you're going a bit too far with my recommendations.  The idea is to keep the soil moist, not dry or sopping wet.  If you press the soil and water comes up, the soil is too wet.  This occurs with standing water.  If you press the soil and it feels completely dry, you need to water immediately.  If mold is an issue, spray the top of the soil with a sulfur-based fungicide to prevent outbreaks.

In regards to flowering, the issue was that if your plants flowered in spring, you'll need to cut them off since your plants hadn't gone dormant.  You should allow plants to flower in spring only if they had gone through the recommended winter dormancy.

With these recommendations, we're only optimizing the situation that you're already in.  Keep in mind that your growing conditions are still far from optimal.  Ideally your plants should be dormant outdoors in very cool conditions.  In their current growing conditions, many things can affect their health, such as being too warm to go dormant, being too cool to grow properly and not having adequate lighting for healthy leaves.  You really can't expect your plants to be in peak condition when the growing conditions are less than ideal.

So this goes back to what type of answer you're looking for.  Chris's and Jeff's responses are very reasonable, and each person has a valid perspective about growing plants.  I can't offer a magic bullet that will make everything all right.  We can tackle each plant imperfection as they occur, but that would miss the big picture.  The bottom line is that your plants can't figure out if they should go dormant or if they should continue to grow; it's too warm to go dormant and it's too cool to grow properly, not to mention that the lighting isn't strong enough and you're dealing with mold in your home.  So there will be unavoidable health issues from this type of growing condition.  The most I can do is guide you through the process of keeping your plants alive until spring.  

So if your plants don't make it, chalk it up to experience.  That's how I gained my knowledge and experience in growing carnivorous plants.  I killed my share of them, as did Jeff and Chris.  We also base our recommendations on our background in plant physiology, natural history and years in growing carnivorous plants.  Sometimes our recommendations sound so far fetched that first-time growers will shop for other answers.  They then struggle to find out for themselves what works and what doesn't.  I know that the idea of growing flytraps outdoors without terrariums seems loony, but that's how they grow in their natural habitat in North Carolina.  

So if you want to continue with this new hobby, you'd need a dose of patience and persistence.  I also recommend growing other types of plants that are best suited for current growing conditions.  Use the winter months to learn how to grow tropical plants.  Also visit your local library to read about growing houesplants.  Plants come in many different shapes, sizes and color.  Each plant also has its own unique growing condition, so you'll likely to find one that would absolutely love growing in your home.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin