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Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">NEVER EVER repot a VFT unless you absolutely positively have too (or you have had them for a real long time and know how to time it properly).[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
While this is generally a good idea. I have transplanted my VFTs many times and at different times of the season, with no more care than that given to my other houseplants. I have never lost any plants to transplant shock and most recover from the shock in several weeks. It is almost impossible to transplant a VFT without some shock, but with care it can be greatly reduced.
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Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">As to your problems, it is dieing because it is to wet and it is lifting itself out of the soil to try and get away from the water.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I really doubt this. They are bog plants! According to
The Bog HomePage: bog n. 1.a. An area having a wet, spongy, acidic substrate composed chiefly of sphagnum moss and peat in which characteristic shrubs and herbs and sometimes trees usually grow. b. Any of certain other wetland areas, such as a fen, having a peat substrate. Also called peat bog. 2. An area of soft, naturally waterlogged ground.
The VFT evolved to take advantage of these conditions. Why would it try to get away from them? It is more likely that the soil wasn't compacted around the roots properly and the soil settled or it was top watered and some of the soil washed away from the plant. I have done both and no, top watering has never caused crown rot in my plants. Possibly due to the low humidity here.
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Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">To water your, plant take distilled water and pour onto tray/plate, pick pot up and set in water for a few hours or until soil stops drinking in water. Take pot off of tray and put on surface not holding water. ...If plant is in average home, stick your finger into the edge of the pot's soil every 1 to 2 day and repeat when soil has about 1cm-.5inch of dry peat followed by moist soil below that.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
This will work for plants in larger pots and terrariums. If it is in a 3” pot like several of mine are then you should use the tray method to water. This avoids sticking your fingers into the pot and damaging the roots and it is less maintenance. It also gives you a little leeway if you get busy and can’t check the plant and it also keeps the soil moisture at a constant level rather than fluctuating between wet and dry. Again this is a bog plant and I think that this wet/dry cycle repeated every other day or two can stress the plant.