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new vft

I have recently acquire a pot of vft. I noticed that some of the trap have a slightly blackish side. I place it near the window to enable it to have sufficient sunlight. What do i have to do to make sure it grows well? Do i nd to place insects for it to eat? (I heard they thrive on neglect) :0o:. i noticed some traps have closed but there does not seem to have any insect inside. Is this a bad sign? does constant pruning is needed. i plan to get more cps. Are vft encourged to keep in a tank wth others cps or vfts? or do they survive better indiviually potted? Thanks for your help
 
i'm not an expert, but i will tell you what i know

giving the venus flytrap lots of light is good, and it's soil should always be damp (ie the pot should be standing in around half an inch of water). you don't need to feed it, it will catch food for itself. don't prune the leaves, as it needs them to photosynthesise. the traps that are closed and empty are not a problem. you can keep it with other cps, but you need to make sure they like the same conditions.

if it begins to flower, some people cut off the flower stem so that the plant conserves energy. this isn't vital though if the plant is in good condition
 
Put it outside. It's the best place wherever you live IMO.
Use Distilled Water.
They can be potted together. :)

~NeciFiX
 
Put it ouside, harden it off to full sun. Rainwater or distilled water, NO TAP WATER.

These are not indoor plants.
 
I seem to be doing a lot disagreeing with people today!

A VFT will grow happily on a sunny windowsill. It may grow better outside if you live in a warm and sunny climate. If you're in the UK for example, a greenhouse is best.

Your plant might be tatty if you've just bought it. Traps naturally die off over time when they're old. Snip these off, but don't cut into any green tissue.

Give it maximum light and keep in a saucer or rain or distilled water. Insects are fertiliser - your plant will be happy without ever eating anything, but grow better if fed occasionally with LIVE prey.
 
as for live prey, i always found that wax worms were fun. where i buy them, they even come in nice pots that io can keep other things in
 
I would place a storebought VFT at a window sill or under a porch ("bright shade") for a few weeks and allow the plant to build up some strength / display new growth - before placing in full sunshine. Nothing like fried plants!
 
I had an issue with the traps on mine closing when I sunburnt/underwatered it, but that does not sound like what is happening here to you, unless perhaps the watering part is the case.

Mine has grown consistently better in a terrarium of some sort (had it in its own, till it cracked and was sharp and nasty) , but lots of the people here have more experience than me, and plenty have said that open air outside is fine and even preferred.

Feeding mine a lot when I got it as a small plant originally made it grow dramatically/ perk up. Could considering trying that.
 
1) Blackish side: all traps eventually turn black and die. Don't worry. It's natural. New ones come up from the center
2) Bright sunlight for at least 8 hours is good. Windowsills work fine as long as its providing good, strong light. A north window wouldn't be enough...a southern exposure would be good. Outside is best.
3) To grow well: lots of sun, kept wet or moist with PURE water, don't trick the traps, don't fertilize, grow in nutrient-poor soil
4) Bugs: I'd let it get its own bugs naturally but that's my preference. If you do feed it yourself: only live prey, must fit comfortably inside trap
5) Closed empty traps may have been triggered by rain, a fast bug--something touching the hairs inside. They will open back up
6) You can remove blacken plant material if you like to keep them neat and clean looking but you don't have to.
7) I do not recommend tanks for growing VFTs but that's my preference. I found they do better outside in a plastic pot
 
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