Problem with my flytrap!

[Nostalgia]

I have two venus flytraps, one is a green dragon and the other a common. Now the green dragon I got near the end of September and the common I got near the end of October which was just recently. Now I have them both in a small terrarium and the space on the inside is exactly the size of both plants and I  water them about a 1/2 inch high daily and have two florescent lights right above the terrarium and aluminum foil surrounding the tank. Now my problem is my green dragon is flourishing while the common ones traps are all dead and all the stems that seem to grow into a trap are dying also. Im not sure why this is happening and Im starting to think this plant might need some kind of special attention or that maybe it has to do with receiving this plant recently. Please help!

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Hmm.. Not sure what you mean by "water them about a 1/2 inch high daily" If they are in a covered terrarium this sounds like alot of water! I suspect the one plant is waterlogged..

In my experience VFT turn black pretty fast for me if I keep the water level high in the tray.. I prefer to keep just a tad bit of water at the bottom of the pot, so that it stays wet but isn't submerged.

Only other thing I can think of is the plant got some bad water.. or it's desperate for a rest...

Tony

 

[Nostalgia]

I know its not bad water but exactly how much is enough water? And how can I tell if Ive put too much or too little? Can one plant want to go dormant before the other?

(Edited by Nostalgia at 5:12 pm on Nov. 11, 2001)

 

[Tony Paroubek]

How deep is the potting media in the terrarium and can you see the water level through the side of it??

Could one want to go dormant before the other? Probably if you got them from different sources and at different times of the year.

Tony

 

[Nostalgia]

What exactly is potting media? I got both plants from Exotic gardens about a month apart.

 

[RamPuppy]

potting media is the soil bud!

most plants use dirt, so people think soil = dirt... we use moss, perlite, and other not so 'mineral enriched' stuff... so we call it media.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

ok.. what I gather you have done is just placed both pots inside a terrarium so that they are just sitting in there with nothing around the pots AND... the water level is 1/2 inch deep at most

Tony

 

[Nostalgia]

Yes there is nothing around the pots and at most 1/2 inch deep.

 

[RamPuppy]

I think your water level is a bit high... I personally would go th the other extreme here, either dump what water you have in thre out, or soak it up with something, keep a tight cover to maintain humidity, and hopefully, you have a fan blowing in there some how to keep the air moving (Not to strong a fan, something on the order of a CPU fan for a computer. 5 inches maximum diameter)

OK, now, watch your soil closely, my guess is that if your terrarium is anything like mine, the soil will stay moist for another two to three weeks, but watch CLOSELY... don't let it dry out... when it gets just damp to the touch, not water logged, then you can put water back in the bottom... I think about just enough to cover the bottom so it doesn't pool up in places, maybe 1/4 of an inch... and let that go dry before you add any more... don't keep it at that leve.

Remember, flytraps live in areas of the bog where it's a little less wet, they don't like to be suba guys like sarracenia...

Now, if you ever add sars, go ahead and raise the water table in there, just add rocks or something under neath the flytrap pots, and they should be happy.

 

[Nostalgia]

What did u mean by soak it up with something? Soak it up with something to take out the water or leave like a paper towel or something at the bottom of the terrarium soaked? And thanks for the advice.