Worried

[Enrapture]

So I'm new at all this.  I bought this little vft at a gift shop and now I'm afraid I'm going to kill it.
The general instuctions said that if the plant starts to turn black to put it into the refrigerator for a couple months.
It started turning black and I have done just that.  Now not only is the plant turning black but it appears to be wilting.  I'm wondering if there's something else I should be doing.
Any suggestions or explanations?
Thanks.

 

[Kate]

Ouch!

First, don't panic. Second, how much of the plant turned black? If it was just a few traps/leaves that is normal, as the leaves get older they die, just like any other plant. Cut them off.

I personally would take it out of the fridge immediately. Putting it in the fridge is forcing it to go dormant and this is probably not neccesary at this time. Most places that supply plants like this to gift shops don't give accurate care instructions, and often if you follow the instructions on the label you are sure to kill the plant. Throw out the label that came with the plant and go to the link below.

Good Luck.

VFT Care

 

[Kate]

Oh, and welcome to the forums!

 

[Ozzy]

good advice, follow the care instructions from the link that Maehem gave you.
A couple of basic pointers.
Do not give it tap water.
Give it only rain, distilled or ro water. nothing else.
Give it plenty of sunlight and keep it wet.
Read over the link for more indepth instructions.
Also read over the forums for some great advice.

 

[Enrapture]

Thank you for all the help.

Do I just cut off the trap or the whole leaf?
I've added a link to some pics so you can see what's up w/ the plant.
VFTs

 

[Vertigo]

!!!!!!WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!!!!!

As far as cutting the black parts...do just that, you can cut off the black (well, trim is a better word) just try not to cut into anything that is green. This will leave the wound open.

Now, I was looking at your pics (nice shots btw), and I think your vft could use a little more space under that cup. If the leaves are pressing against plastic, that could be causing the traps to go black as well. Other than that, it looks pretty good.

 

[lovely42503]

Hey i feel much the same way you do... well maybe not as much anymore... but i can give you a little advice... just take off the plactic thing! they have it on there mostly well this is what they told me at the place i got mine... is so they can water them from time to time... but they dont keep it in the water all the time... cause the roots will eventually rot... but they just put in on top cause someone will soon buy it... so its not really supposed to be on there all the time... well have fun with you vft! i love them! welcome to the forum by the way

 

[PlantAKiss]

Hi

I agree with Vertigo...you have some new traps there that look healthy. The cup over it is cramping it a lot. Take that off. VFTs don't need such high humidity that they require an enclosure. They will do fine in some sunlight, with fresh air, lots of pure water and some growing room. Snip off the dead traps or if there are totally black leaves you can cut them off as well. Leave any green parts as they will use photosynthesis just like any plant. If you leave it outside it will catch its own meals.

and...WELCOME TO THE FORUMS! Stick around and you'll learn lots and have some fun as well.

Suzanne

 

[Enrapture]

Thank you all very much. This place is very friendly.
I'll definitely follow your instructions.

 

[Enrapture]

So the parts w/ black traps along w/ leaves just came right out from the bottom. For the one part that just had a black trap, I just cut the trap off.
So now I have one large healthy looking trap left with two tiny traps just coming up.

Now I have to figure out the care. I took the plastic top off the container.
Problem is I don't exactly live in a warm area. My apartment is usually pretty cold and outside it would freeze overnight. I'm not always around to turn a lamp on or off either. And I don't think the windowsill would provide enough light/heat.

Any more ideas?

 

[BobZ]

Enrapture,

Your profile says that you live in Santa Rosa, Calif. You can actually grow your VFT outdoors all year. In fact, you can grow all temperate CP outdoors in your area. Also, you live about 10 miles from one of the great CP experts, Peter D'Amato, who owns California Carnivores in Sebastopol. Go visit Peter. He is a great guy.