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sad fly trap

R

rookie

Guest
I have had this VFT (venus fly trap) for about 9 months. It was happy for about 4 months on distilled water and 24hr/day florescent light about 16" away. One day it fell over and I tried to carefully place it back in it's peat/spaghnum moss (original) pot. Since then it has gotten smaller and smaller. It still grows new leaves, but the traps are about 1/8 inch long.

I don't have flies indoors for it to catch and I keep it covered with the original plastic cup lid.

Any ideas on how to revive it? It acts like it is depressed...
 
How big are the traps?

Try feeding it small bugs that can fit into the traps.

Does it have a Flower stalk growing? If so that may be the problem, as it take away the energy of the plant, and may even kill it.
 
No flower stalk. The traps are about 3mm or 1/8 inches long.

I always water this plant from the top of the soil (really a peat/spaghnum mix). But I read they should be put on a saucer and there should always be 1/2" of water in the saucer. Is this true?

I just looked with a magnifier and found some white stuff around the stem, where the VFT enters the soil. It could be mold. Is there a safe way to remove that?

I don't want to give up on this plant. Thanks!
 
You say you've had it for 9 months. Have you ever let it go dormant?
Try taking and leaving the dome off and spraying it with fungicide.
You shouldn't really water from above as it compacts and moves the peat around. Leave it in a saucer permanently full of water.
24 hour a day light isn't healthy either in the long term. It still needs darkness some of the time.
 
24 hours/day of light for the past 9 months! (without a dormancy I suspect)

Your VFT sounds like it is saying, " I'm TIRIED! Can I get some sleep!"

Try this:
1) Put a timer on the light for no more than 16 hours/day.

2) Remove the plastic cover. The increased ventilation may solve your "white stuff" growing at the base of the VFT. If you live in a dry area, try misting your VFT in the morning and the evening.

3) If your outdoor humidity is 50% or greater, consider growing the VFT outdoors and let it be exposed to sunlight (no timer needed).

4) If your VFT survives past this summer, give it a LONG sleep for 4-5 months (dormancy). It needs one.

Good Luck!
 
Ok, so it needs less than 24 hours of light. I'll turn the florescent off at night.
I'll mist it twice a day, and water it from the bottom.
Will try to find it some small bugs.

And see if it survives.

Thanks for all the suggestions!!
 
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