i think my trap is dead...

[SpongerBob]

i think my trap is dead. it is all black and shriveled. is this how it looks when it is dormant? or is it dead?

 

[unknownclown]

I think we need a little more info than that. Like some background on the plant like what you have been watering it with, lighting, air circulation, what it's planted in things like that. I wouldn't go pulling it up and tossing it away just yet it may be saveable.

 

[SpongerBob]

well i just got it on october 17. its a red dragon fly trap, and its planted in whatever it came in (sorghum peat moss i think). its next to a window and gets lots of light, and the temperature is kinda cool. theres lots of air circulation too. i water it every other day, in a little dish with about a 1/2 inch of standing water. i dont know whats wrong so if anyone could help me that would be nice! )

 

[Tony Paroubek]

The whole thing is black?? no new traps poking up in the middle? Even during the winter they will grow, unless it is very cold. But there should still be green leaves. What kind of water are you using? VFT HATE anything but distilled, rain, RO or DI water. Also if you just got it just recently and it's dead.. contact the place you got it from and see if they will replace it.

Tony

 

[SpongerBob]

well, its red, not green, and there is a little red in the middle. but no new traps. the water im using is pure water, the kind you get from the supermarket in a milk jug. it says its purified by distillation and ozonation. is that bad?

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Distilled water from the supermarket is fine! Avoid spring water since it May or May not contain sodium and it will not necessarily say on the label. Well the red dragon should be all red if grown in high light.. leaves and all. If you see some young leaves poking up from the middle then it is not dead. I would cut back any black portions on the leaves. Sounds like it is time to send it to bed for the winter. There are a couple of threads going already on various procedures for doing that. Personally I am of the school to remove the plant from the pot and clean it up, give it a shot of fungicide and wrap it in moist paper towel in a ziplock and toss in the fridge. I think there is great risk of disease by putting the whole plant pot and all away. I would rather risk a little root damage than have the whole plant die from rot. I also feel that they should be repotted every spring anyway into fresh medium, since even with quality water you will still get a build up of salts and decay of the peat. So why put them into dormancy in their pot without cleaning and treating for disease if I am going to repot in the spring?

Tony

 

[Dionaea Enthusiast]

Hey Kate,
Have you visited this website?

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html

That site will explain everything Tony hasn't told you already. That and (the book) The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato were what first got me interested in carnivorous plants. I think they would interest you, too.

Good luck,
Chris

 

[phlitrapguy]

Hey SpongerBob,

Did you get the plant from us?

IF so, let me know... email me at pcrane@petflytrap.com