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I’ve had “Fireballs” for about 6 months now and overall it has been… | Carnivorous Corner | Planta community

Nicholas Cramer

I’ve had “Fireballs” for about 6 months now and overall it has been doing fine. You can see it’s been busy with flies at the window. Today I noticed that the oldest traps on the bottom seem to less green and almost like they are drying out. It could be paranoia, but it almost looks like the entire plant is less green. It gets plenty of sun via the window sill. And I always have a half inch or so of distilled water in the stainless steel bowl it sits in. Recently, my family and I left town, so I put a bit more water in it…and overall in the last couple of weeks I’ve been giving it a tiny bit more water than I used to; earlier on (last time I did that) it seemed to like it. So now to my question: what would the group say is the right amount of water it vs let it run dry - meaning, should the bowl get dry and stay dry for a day or two, or is it always supposed to have the fresh, distilled, standing water in it’s bowl? Also, can it get too much sun? Cheers!

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11 comments

  1. Ezzeldin Yaqoub

    Sun isn’t the problem because the more direct sunlight it gets the better. Also it is totally normal for old traps to die off, so the reason could be letting the growing medium dry out(which is bad if too long like that) or the humidity is not high enough.

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    • Nicholas Cramer

      Is there ever reason to pour distilled water on the top of the plant? The top of mine stays moist and it’s never dry, but I’m wondering if it needs some extra water ever now and then?

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    • Cowro

      There should never be a reason to pour water on top as long as the top looks moist. Crown rot is a huge risk when watering from the top. The more sun the better but not the more water the better. Just make sure it’s always damp and it’s fine.

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  2. eatyacarbs

    you can’t give it too much sun, and it should never dry out 👍🏻 if you could get it a growlight it would thank you. you can tell it could use more sun because it’s all green, no pink/red coloring

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    • Nicholas Cramer

      Good to know. I’ll try switching windows.

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  3. Williamg314

    I have mine just outside my window sitting in a similar container of water. They're bog plants so I always like to make sure its got some water at its feet. The traps dying back is normal too. Do you plan on keeping it indoors longterm?

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    • Nicholas Cramer

      Good question. I haven’t put much thought into that. I’m inclined to say no. I’m outside of Austin, TX so it typically doesn’t get too cold, but I don’t really have a safe space for it. Do these plants like warmer weather?

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    • Williamg314

      I ask since it will be happiest outside in direct sun, though it may need to be watered more often being in texas, and if you do want to keep it thriving long term they need a dormancy period being outside when it gets cold even in frost (I'm in NY) and they'll come back in the spring. Without that dormancy period they may live for some years but their health will drop over time. They're actually native to North and South Carolina but before I got mine I swore they were from a rainforest or some warm climate like that.

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  4. DanishGramma

    They do go dormant for the winter 🥶

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  5. DanishGramma

    The long skinny leaves are from summer and the new ones are short and curly Remember this one has a potato 🥔 in the middle and that’s the heart ❤️ It puts so much energy all summer into storage so it can sleep through winter in the pot and not feel a thing ☺️

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  6. DanishGramma

    I use the plastic trays and keep them clean daily but fill them up once they are finished with the water then fill again and in winter I put a towel under them and just keep the towel moist and it’s good for them to freeze a little every winter, some put them in the fridge for the winter 😅

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