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Reeeeal sluggish

Hello! Something weird happened, I want to know what you guys think...

I came back home late yesterday and took the opportunity to catch a yummy fly enjoying my porch light.
So, naturally, I gave it, or tried to give it, to my Red Dragon Flytrap, which, I admit, I haven't fed in a while (read : about a month).

But when I put the fly (refrigerated to make it numb) into a trap, it wouldn't close, so I figured it was too old a trap, and thus tried every single trap available...with no success!  Even the new ones!
It only worked when I shoved the poor, manhandled fly into a young trap and pushed the leave closed.  It DID work!  Under the prodding, the leave started to close on it's own sloooowly until it was completly sealed.  Good thing that fly was stoned as a rock!

What gives?  Too cold?  Not liking me?  Not hungry?
Or just plain too lazy and used to  being hand-fed by mama?

My guess is we.. perhaps it was tired of biting the dust during the summer?  (I left it outside and it kept chewing bits of soil the wind blew in it's traps.)
 
well probably it would be better if you put it in more sun maybe, some of mine do this too, did it have outward pointing teeth?
 
Getting colder every day, wet, barely any sun at all.
(I feel like I'm withering too! This didn't feel like summer at all! =( )
 
Again, it is probably the temperatures and light combined, at the warmest point of the summer my VFT was lightning-fast, but for the last few weeks it has slowed down to nothing, same as with your D.intermedia, it is likely easing its way into dormancy from the sound of it....
So once again, a Canadian having trouble with lousy weather.....

PS you're right, too, Cath, we need a refund for this summer, I got one eggplant, 3 green peppers,maybe 10 tomatoes and maybe a dozen habanero peppers out of maybe 50-60 vegetable plants
smile_h_32.gif
 
Dionaea are all teetering on the edge of dormancy here, and sluggish traps this time of year indicates your plant is preparing for the dormancy soon to come. Other issues could be at play here, but this is the most likely explanation for the condition.

I will hop on the "summer sucked" bus. Even worse (for me) the cool conditions and frequent rain has favored the growth of ragweed, to which I am allergic. Now with the short days, this is flowering with abandon raising my irritation index to "through the roof" while my patience index drops into the negative numbers.

This is a good time of year to stay out of my way.
 
So...it's already over?!? Noooooooo!
*snif snif I'll miss them...

Tamlin : Lol, stay out your way...does that mean you're till making those desperate windmill motion then? I'd stay out of reach of anyone walking around doing that ^_^.
What exactly is ragweed anyway? -> Herbe à poux?

Mabudon : Harabeno? So...were you the one who's had this little...misadventure with one and posted this delectable thread about it on the general forum? o_O
 
Lol this year sucked and continues to suck! *writhes in pain while posting and yells "thank GOD for clonapin,zophran,and prevacid!"*
 
hey,

I'm also having the problem of heads not closing. Reading this thread, I think I understand why...I moved recently and instead of keeping the plant out in the summer DC weather like I used to (still getting into the 80's in the afternoons) I've moved it indoors, so I guess the plant thinks summer is over.

Question is, should I put it back outside, or just keep it in here and get used to the indoor life? And do I have to worry about its not getting enough nutrients since it's not eating?
 
  • #10
I notice that my VFT closes a lot faster on a warm day with lots of sun(snaps shut faster then a second)
But when its cool/chilly/cold/freezing or at ngiht, the traps take about 3 or so seconds to close, then a further 3+ to seal.
 
  • #11
We were fortunate in SW Michigan this summer. Temps were between 70 & 85 with lots of sunshine! I placed almost all my plants on the southern porch exposure for the second half of the summer where they received roughly 6 1/2 hours direct sun everyday. This was by far one of the best growing seasons I've experienced in some time. My VFTs are still closing quickly and producing the largest traps of the season as I write. This will all be coming to an end this weekend as we're finally expecting temps to begin dipping into the 40s saturday night. My purpurea ssp.purpurea have all stopped actve growth and are turning a beautiful deep purple. The hybrid pitchers are producing the best growth of the year like the flytraps.
 
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