What to do? No new traps

[Iris]

Back in January I bought an new baby VFT from a store at a botanical garden. It looked healthy, and I have treated it the same as I treat my other flytraps when they are not in dormancy. I have given it as much light as possible. It produced one new trap within a few weeks, but since then it has not grown any more. The older traps are slowly dying off one by one, and there are only 4 left. Is there anything I can do to get it to grow, or is it slowly going to die on me?

 

[Ant]

Mabe the soil is fertile.

 

[Iris]

I've wondered that. It looks like the kind of soil I'd plant tomatoes in. But what can I do about it? Is it safe to change the soil at this point?

 

[VTFlover]

once u can see a tap how long till it fully forms?

 

[Not a Number]

What are the current growing conditions? How many hours of light per day is it getting? How much air circulation?

Most likely it is planted in pure peat moss, not the ideal media for beginners as it retains water quite well and can lead to bulb/root rot if kept overly damp. Dormant plants need less water.

What to do?

1) nothing - continue on as before - maybe it's just dormant.
2) water less, more light: move outdoors if possible - maybe it's just dormant
3) repot - inspect the corm/bulb/rhizome - it should be firm, pale green-whiteish with thick black roots - if it's blackish/brownish and mushy the plant is not well and the prognosis is not good - maybe even dead. If it's healthy then maybe it's just dormant.
4) 3 & 2 together - which is probably what I'd do.
5) Dig up the corm, pull it apart and hope one or more of the pullings grows a plantlet. Normally you want to take pullings from a healthy plant otherwise you typically end up with a lot of dead pullings. Desperation time, but you could end up with several plants.

 

[Ant]

Its not peat as he just said. If your other VTFs are doing good and have enough room plant it with one of them.

 

[joossa]

I've wondered that. It looks like the kind of soil I'd plant tomatoes in. But what can I do about it? Is it safe to change the soil at this point?

I would definitely repot. You never know what a CP is growing in when you buy one from a big name store or a nursery that doesn’t usually sell CP’s.

Like NotANumber indirectly suggested, PLEASE give us more details regarding its growing conditions… If it is not the soil, then it will be hard to point out the issue without further info.

 

[Iris]

Well, I've been keeping it in a sun room on a table next to a south-facing window. I can't say for sure how many hours of sunlight it gets right now...early in the day and near sunset the sun is too low for the plant itself to get any light, because it is set low in the pot. The weather has also been quite cloudy lately. I keep it watered at all times and the soil has not dried out, but it is not sitting in water like I generally keep my VFTs. The average air temperature is 73 degrees.

 

[Ant]

Any Pictures?

 

[xvart]

Repotting would be more beneficial than leaving it be. Any disturbance will eventually be overcome and just leaving it in poor soil might eventually kill it. Repotting will also give you the opportunity to inspect the root bulb, as suggested above.

xvart.

 

[joossa]

Yes, go ahead and repot (preferably with a 1:1 ratio of peat and perlite). Tell us if you see anything abnormal on the rhizome.

 

[jimscott]

Everybody's got their favorite soil mix and a good one for VFT's is sand & peat, with live long fibered sphagnum on top, which we can help ya out in procuring. They are real light lovers and need distilled, RO, rain, or deionized water. Transplanting it will likely have a shortterm effect of shocking it. Once repotted... just wait several days for it to recover and don't worry about existing foliage. They will likely die. Look toward new growth instead.

 

[Clint]

Lol, that's the truth! Some of the nicest Dionaea I've seen where grown in basically Nepenthes mix.

 

[Bugweed]

I agree. Repot into peat/sand or straight peat, buy Superthrive to revitalize the plant and help with good root development and stand back to watch for results. Water is VERY important, so listen to that advice as well. Where in the world do you live? Outdoor growing is best, but since we have no idea where you are, that advice is harder to give. My VFT's grow in straight peat, and are doing quite well, even the 34 year old plants.

 

[Iris]

I live in Connecticut, so the climate isn't very VFT-friendly. I've only used distilled water, haven't tried any other kind. I will repot it this evening and see what happens. Maybe I'll be able to get a picture posted, too.

 

[Not a Number]

Take a picture of the rhizome/corm/bulb whichever you prefer to call it.

 

[PlantAKiss]

I'd repot it. Right now its in an "unknown" soil...if you repot, you'll at least know the soil is correct. Then go from there. VFTs are pretty tough buggers. Pull it out, give it a good bath in pure water, stick it back into a clean pot with your preferred VFT mix. Then give it lots of light, air circulation and warmth. It'll probably do fine.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

If there's a delay between the time you unpot your VFT and the time you can get it back into it's new pot, keep the roots covered with a damp paper towel or setting in a shallow tray of water so they don't dry out. I like using the shallow tray of water with a few drops of Superthrive in it to help overcome transplant shock. Mostly, just don't let the roots dry out any while transplanting. Also, and this may be obvious to you, make sure the new peat is moist and not dry before you put the VFT into it.

 

[Iris]

Just to update... I repotted the VFT and it has been doing better. I still don't have a picture of it, though. Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[xvart]

Excellent! That's so good to hear. Thanks for keeping us updated. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say it's nice to be needed... lol.

xvart.