A very sick vft - please help...

17 years ago

I bought a small venus fly trap about a year a go and repotted it in moss from our pond and have been giving it rain water. It was very happy and healthy and grew and grew even through the winter - (I kept it inside). It didn't eat for a couple of months at the beginning of this year, but was still growing nearly a head every other day, but they were getting smaller and smaller. I wondered whether it was because it hadn't eaten, so I fed it a slug and a spider, thinking it may be malnutritioned. It now doesn't have any healthy heads, they're all tiny. I put it outside in the sun recently thinking it needs light, but it has now caught greenfly and has slowed it's growing completely and is turning black. All of it's heads are deformed and small (see link). Any help would be much appreciated. This is the first one I've had, but it's been happy for a year, and now something isn't right....

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:550185}}

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Comments (6)

alcran
17 years ago
Your plant doesn't look that bad. However you did skip dormancy and that definitely weakened your plant. It might keep declining. It might be trying to go dormant. If it does, some growers in tropical regions have used a dry dormancy. You put the plant in shade and cut down on watering for a 3 months. Then they repot and resume watering normally. Next time allow it to go dormant in the winter.
tommyr_gw Zone 6
17 years ago
I agree with Alcran. These are NOT indoor plants and this is proof. Yours doesn't look too bad but if kept inside it'll die eventually.
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taz6122
17 years ago
You could try starting it's dormancy now if it's trying! Hell throw it in the fridge. Pull it out in a couple months. It will still get some rest. I got about 43 right now maybe I should try to induce dormancy.
hunterkiller03
17 years ago
The more I look at your pic, the moss you are using doesn't look like sphagnum moss.

Just one note: Most type of moss will kill CPs, they are not acidic but alkaline and may release nutrient. So if you are using regular moss that you got from your pond, its going to kill your VFT. You going to have to repot.
petiolaris
17 years ago
When taking plants outdoors, as much as possible, match indoor with outdoor temps, and place in the shade, to minimize shock. I wouldn't induce dormancy now. This is the growing season.
jokerkaaos
17 years ago
On top of the other suggestions,t the length of the leaves and the small, green traps make me think it's not getting enough light.