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Looking for some help

I got my first fly trap about a month ago, I've kept it well watered and stuff like that, but I'm just looking for some tips and suggestions.

Now, I haven't watered it for a few days now, because I gave it water often, but then got like a white mould on the top of the soil asif I had over-watered it?
Looking for if this is the case and what I should/shouldn't do.

Also, How long until it should start to turn red in the middle? Like I said I've had it for about a month now, There is some new ones in the local garden centre and those are full and red in the middle, but mine are still green.

Any other tips/suggestions for getting a nice plant are welcome.

Cheers
 
Is it outside in full sun?? The high light will turn it red. Also the sun should burn off whatever is growing on top of your peat. I have never noticed anything like tht growing on mine, and my traps can be a little water logged at times with the water just below the oil surface. I duno if you can over water these guys. Also are you using rain water, distilled water, or reverse osmosis water?
 
I live in England so I'm not sure if the conditions are right for outside so I keep it inside.

I put it on my windowsill in the morning and take it off and leave it on my desk through the night.

For the water I was using rain water but theres not any of that lately, So I read about if you use tapwater and leave it for 3-4 days to let the chlorine evaporate is ok, So I've been boiling tap water and leaving it for 3 days before using it.

Another question I have is that when I watered it and the water became waterlogged these little like see-through slug/worms came up with like a black line in the middle of them, any ideas what they are? anything to get rid of them asI know alot of stuff you use on plants can harm FTs.

Is it ideal for the plant to be in waterlogged water?

Cheers (So many questions eh?
biggrin.gif
)
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (r4z3l @ April 27 2006,10:46)]I live in England so I'm not sure if the conditions are right for outside so I keep it inside.

I put it on my windowsill in the morning and take it off and leave it on my desk through the night.
If your weather has warmed up to where your nights are staying at or above freezing, you can leave your plants outside all the time. They can handle mild freezes and frosts without much problem. Give them time to get used to the conditions outdoors though. Many people have taken a plant that had had only a little window light and placed it in direct sun. Can you say Crispy Critter??

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]For the water I was using rain water but theres not any of that lately, So I read about if you use tapwater and leave it for 3-4 days to let the chlorine evaporate is ok, So I've been boiling tap water and leaving it for 3 days before using it.
Tap water can leave minerals behind when it evaporates. It's the minerals which will eventually kill your VFTs over time, especially if you use the tray system and don't occasionally flush the compost to reduce the mineral build up. You should use purified water if you can get it.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Another question I have is that when I watered it and the water became waterlogged these little like see-through slug/worms came up with like a black line in the middle of them, any ideas what they are? anything to get rid of them asI know alot of stuff you use on plants can harm FTs.
Sounds like fungus gnat larva. In small numbers they are food for sundews and pings. In large numbers, they can damage plant roots enough to kill seedling. You can't get rid of them too easily as they are just about everywhere. If they get to bad in one of my plants, I replace the soil (it's probably bad anyway or it wouldn't be full of gnats) and pot the plant up in fresh compost.

Is it ideal for the plant to be in waterlogged water?
Hmmm.. that's a tough one. Most water I have is waterlogged to saturation, so I suppose it's OK. VFTs don't mind being in waterlogged compost either. Just let it dry occasionally to get oxygen into the compost.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (r4z3l @ April 27 2006,9:46)]For the water I was using rain water but theres not any of that lately, So I read about if you use tapwater and leave it for 3-4 days to let the chlorine evaporate is ok, So I've been boiling tap water and leaving it for 3 days before using it.
This doesn't help at all. Chlorine gas isn't the problem with water, it's heavy minerals. Boiling will kill disease in the water, but all it does for plants is raise the concentration of total dissolved solids by evaporating off pure water. Boiling does not remove these minerals; they are too heavy to escape the water as gas. CPs require mineral-free water because they naturally occur in nutrient-depleted soil and have adapted to survive on water that is relatively free of dissolved minerals. Nutrients in the soil and water will overwork and kill the roots of most CPs, and plants which do survive these conditions, such as Nepenthes, may temporarily stop trapping because they no longer need insects to fulfill their nutritional needs.
There is no way to treat water for CPs without advanced filtering techniques (passive carbon filters like a Brita won't cut it.) You need distilled, reverse osmosis, or deionized water. Or fresh water that is pure and soft enough to begin with (rainwater or tap water with less than 60 ppm total dissolved solids/TDS.)
As for watering your VFT, keep it in some water at all times. I've found that, at least in my area, VFTs don't appreciate being particularly close to the water table; I think they like having a little air around their roots. Mine have all done much better when planted in tall pots where they can be 3-5 inches above the water line, but still wet at all times.
Best luck,
~Joe
 
If you have a plant that turns red in direct sun, consider yourself fortunate! Otherwise, go into the forum page where you started this post, and at the top of the page in gray are articles written by forum members all about care and feeding of your plants. Also included are threads on coloring up in VFT's, and how some respond to other stimuli for color, while others never turn colors at all.
 
Cheers.

Now I know about water I need some other troubles.

The white on the top of the soil looks like mould, any ideas how it got there? How to remove and prevent in future?

And those little larvae that there is, how can i get rid of those?
 
Get some indoor/outdoor fugicide for the white stuff and get an indoor/outdoor insecticide for the bugs. As long as they don't have any fertilizer in them they will be fine for the plants.
 
Also consider that your mold may be mold, but then again, just might be the start of a nice carpet moss. It can sometimes look like mold when it first starts. Can also overgrow young plants, and kill them.
 
  • #10
Thanks lads.

Do you know where the mould comes from? And how I could take steps to stop it in future?
 
  • #11
For me, it seems helpful to remember the following regarding VFTs--

The sunnier and warmer it is, and the more the plant is growing, the more moist it can be.

The darker and cooler it is, and the less the plant is growing, the less moist it should be.

Problems such as the fungal problem you mentioned can happen when the plant is too soggy for too long, and is in chilly or cold temperatures.

What can make the situation worse is when the plant is not growing much nor very actively (like during dormancy), or when the plant grows too fast and becomes weak (like when it has too much water and not enough sun).

During dormancy or when it is darker and cool, try to keep the medium just moist, even on the dry side of moist for VFTs. Give it more water only when there is more light and warmer temperatures.

These are just my own personal guidelines. They may or may not be helpful to you. Best wishes and good luck--
smile.gif
 
  • #12
Just wanted to say welcome. the advice provided has been great!
 
  • #13
Thanks, Its all been very helpful so far!

so I've bought some insecticide and Fungicide, fertilizer free, and sprayed it throughorly (spelling.) A seem to of gotten quite a bit on the traps on one side though, this shouldn't cause too much of a problem should it?
And also will this just being sprayed on the top be effective on the larvae which seem to be down underneith the soil?

finally (hopefully)

If its soggy or just too wet, which is the reason I thought I had mould.
What would be the best thing to do? Just let it dry out a little? How dry until it starts affecting the plant etc.

Sorry about all the questions its just I'm new to VFTs and want to be successful in growing them!
laugh.gif
 
  • #14
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]
And also will this just being sprayed on the top be effective on the larvae which seem to be down underneith the soil?

If they're just fungus gnats, don't worry too much about them.

Fungus Gnats - Information and ID

In fact, fungus gnats are great food for drosera. I had a moderate infestation of fungus gnat larvae and adults last year in one of my orchids, and I put my big drosera capensis next to it and it feasted on them for a couple weeks before they were gone. It was odd and funny to see the new mature fungus gnats make their first flight straight into the drosera and get caught immediately in a drop of the "dew," as though the drosera were a magnet of some sort.

To get rid of the fungus gnats, it helps to keep the plant on the dry side. Overwatering promotes both fungus (the white stuff you mentioned sounds like it might be fungus) and fungus gnats. I got rid of the ones in my greenhouse just by lowering the water to that orchid. I would try the same thing (within limits) to a VFT.

Remember that a VFT can be drier than you think it should be and grow just fine, or even thrive once it develops a better, deeper and more extensive root system, and that itself is encouraged by keeping the VFT just moist, not soggy for very long.

I know everybody's getting tired of me harping about this single point (treating VFTs like moist, grassy savannah plants (which they are) and not swamp dwellers), so I apologize--
smile.gif
 
  • #15
Thank alot.

I think that covers everything so far, so thanks alot everyone, although I'm still happy for more tips to come in.

As for the larvae i've not seem them for about a week so I don't know if they are still there under the soil or what.

Although I did try to dry the plant out for 3-4 days so maybe that got rid of them.
 
  • #16
Hi

I've never come across mould, but it may be due to the old peat you see the plants sitting in in garden centres (if you bought it from a shop).

It shouldn't do any harm, but I would recommend repotting the whole thing, especially if you've been watering it with boiled tap water (number one myth that that will magicaly make all the bad stuff disappear - it concentrates it!).

Get hold of some Irish Peat Moss and repot it. Use rainwater and keep the plant in tray with a couple of centimetres of water in it at all times). VFTs are bog plants and like it wet.
 
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