What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

I can't keep these things alive!

Hi everyone,

I keep a wide variety of carnivorous plants...from cephalotus to Nepenthes...but for some reason, I just can't keep VFT's alive.  Here are two pics of what usually happens to the traps:

http://home.petflytrap.com/tomv/images/3.jpg
http://home.petflytrap.com/tomv/images/4.jpg

In the first pic, you can see what happens to existing traps...a unique "striped-like" decay initially appears, eventually spreading to the whole trap.  The second picture is what happens to some traps before they even form completely.  This same thing even happens to new VFT's that I place in the terrarium....takes about 3 weeks to a month for them to start declining healthwise.  

I'm keeping them in the following conditions:  50/50 peat/sand mix; lighting = 2 40W cool white flourescents; water = distilled.  I even keep some Sarracenia and Drosera in the same terrarium...they do wonderfully.  Could this be due to inadequate air circulation?  Any help would be greatly appreicated.  Thank you.

Tom
 
I dont know about your traps, but your N. velvet looks great! (is that what it is?)
and I have one of my VFTs in the exact same conditions, in a terrarium, but nothing like that ever happened... although i used plant florecents and not cool whites
 
hmm I am guessing it's some sort of fungus from the looks of it. Perhaps from lack of air circulation/excess moisture. Have you tried treating with anything in the past? PFT sells Clearys3336 which is a very good systemic fungicide.

Tony
 
In the terrarium environment, I have also found that if you put a air stone attatched to an air pump in a small basin of water (to make the air that comes out humid) that the resulting flow of air really aids a flytrap in survival.

IMO, unless you absolutely can not grow a flytrap in your hose (to many fans, no good windows, etc) it is best to grow them in a pot, outside a terrarium... they have simply done better in my opinion.

Cleary's is awesome stuff.
 
...thank you for the replies.  I'm going to remove them from the terrarium, spray them with Captan, and see what happens.

Tom
 
Hello,

VFT roots like to be pretty much constantly wet; however; its rhyzome doesn't like to be saturated all the time. For that reason, I like the media to be pretty deep and not constantly wet. (If you grow outside in the hot Summer, then you do pretty much want constantly wet, however)

Mine in a terrarium does great, however, I have the top open and let the media get to slightly damp before rewatering.

If your other plants don't like that environment, then taking one or the other out of the terrarium would be best. I have my VFT with some Droseras Spatulata and all are doing great!
 
It's strange in the first pic because it's exactly semetracal
confused.gif
 
Personally I did not have much success with VFTs in a terrarium. I quickly ditched that approach. Now they are all potted and outdoors as nature intended. Your problems could possibly be from air stagnation. VFTs like air circulation.

Since you're having problems in the tank, maybe try some out of it and see if it makes a difference.

Suzanne
 
They are symmetrical because the infection is taking place while the leaf is very young and still folded in half. Which leads me to believe that it is from excess moisture down in the crown of the plant or something.

Tony
 
Back
Top