Hey everyone! Yesterday I got my first Venus fly trap and I've… | Carnivorous Corner | Communauté Planta
R
Rita
Hey everyone! Yesterday I got my first Venus fly trap and I've watched some videos and read a few articles but I want some opinions and advice from others with more experience. I am planning on getting a bigger lightly coloured plastic pot with good drainage in a few days and I have rinsed the current soil which is what I was told to do by an expert grower online. I've heard of the downtime it has during the winter and I'm still confused about that. I've fed it a spider as well. Ive heard that they need lots of light so it's been under a grow light all day. 3 of the mouths are red on the inside, which is a good sign, while some are just green.
Based off of the photos, let me know if there's anything you think I should do or if anything is wrong.
2 commentaires
Speeps
I’m not an expert on these guys, but I do have one (6 months in) and have also done a bunch of research lol. The winter thing is unique to flytraps. A lot of carnivores live in tropical climates that don’t really get cold. These guys are native to North and South Carolina where it actually gets pretty cold in the winter. Because of this they have a “downtime” during the winter where they require cold temps. Mine is chilling outside, put him there in November and I’ll bring him back in when it gets a bit warmer. They tend to die without this dormancy period. Other carnivores like sundews and pitchers don’t do this.
Fun fact about carnivores, they evolved to live in places where the soil has no nutrients. That’s why they eat bugs, to make up for what the soil doesn’t have. Because of this they can’t be planted in normal soil, they have to be on specialized soil with nothing nutritious in it. Putting them in regular dirt and fertilizing them will kill them. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but that’s just how they like it. That’s why mine is in moss, but they make other things you can put it in. Also the moss helps with water retention for the plant since they like it moist.
Some people seem to say you don’t need to feed them while others say you do, and I’m no expert so I won’t comment on that part, but I will say they can photosynthesize like any other plant, so I’m sure they can at least make some food on their own. Also they require constant moisture in the soil.
As for pot size, carnivores in general (ignore pitchers, pretend they don’t exist) don’t get very big. This ties back to the whole “soil has no nutrition in it” thing. They’re kinda limited in size by the environment they evolved in. There’s other factors that have limited their size, such as what they’re eating in the wild, but there’s nothing you can do about that. That’s evolutions fault. Your flytrap is never going to get bigger than a 3-4 inch pot, so I wouldn’t repot any bigger than that.
I see a lot of people better with plants than I am leave them in dishes of water, so mine lives in a plastic pot set inside of a teacup not too much bigger so it isn’t drowning in water, but is still constantly wet.
Mine has always laid flat and the plant lady I got it from said it was just this variety in particular, and some varieties have red mouths while others have green. Some flytraps seem to stand upright, mine doesn’t.
Also about the mouth color, lots of plants new leaves start differently colored than the older leaves, so if it’s just the baby leaves on your plant that are green inside I wouldn’t worry too much, they might turn red with time.
One last thing, don’t play with the mouths. I know it’s tempting to stick things in there to watch them close, but this puts stress on the plant. It’s best for its health if you don’t.
Aside from that though, I’m sure you’ve already seen the whole “all the light, all the time, rainwater only” things they require. Mine gets 14 hours of bright, direct light a day when it’s inside. I’m still new-ish to carnivores, so for sure keep researching, but good luck, I have faith in you!
