They're very finicky plants, easily the hardest one I own. I've had it for 3 years in August and have seen it basically yo-yo between full bloom and floral hospice in a 6-month pendulum swing the entire time lol. The important thing is to give them plenty of direct sunlight, pot them in zero-fertilizer soil, and keep them in a tray of pure (read: not tap!) water at all times, to replicate their coastal, nutrient-poor, bog native habitat. Those plastic terrariums you often buy them in are death traps, VFTs need open air.
Im not too sure, probably a combination of things. My back porch is overhung with some pine branches and I after one of the most recent storms, I came outside and saw all my plants buried in pine needles, which are highly acidic. I think the rain helped leech the acidity into the pot which killed off the bladdewort moss that used to grow alongside the VFT. The moss died off and I noticed the plant dying, too. I repotted it less than two weeks ago in fresh soil and no moss and it's already rebounded and probably doubled in volume (hence this post!) :-))
6 Comments
0ops@piefed.zip · 12 pts · 43d
I've tried growing these a couple times but they died immediately like every time. So I generally stick with succulents haha
PP_BOY_@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 42d
They're very finicky plants, easily the hardest one I own. I've had it for 3 years in August and have seen it basically yo-yo between full bloom and floral hospice in a 6-month pendulum swing the entire time lol. The important thing is to give them plenty of direct sunlight, pot them in zero-fertilizer soil, and keep them in a tray of pure (read: not tap!) water at all times, to replicate their coastal, nutrient-poor, bog native habitat. Those plastic terrariums you often buy them in are death traps, VFTs need open air.
0ops@piefed.zip · 6 pts · 42d
Thanks for the tips!
Blackfeathr@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 43d
How did the soil get poisoned?
PP_BOY_@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 42d
Im not too sure, probably a combination of things. My back porch is overhung with some pine branches and I after one of the most recent storms, I came outside and saw all my plants buried in pine needles, which are highly acidic. I think the rain helped leech the acidity into the pot which killed off the bladdewort moss that used to grow alongside the VFT. The moss died off and I noticed the plant dying, too. I repotted it less than two weeks ago in fresh soil and no moss and it's already rebounded and probably doubled in volume (hence this post!) :-))
jackal@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 42d
Hello fellow venus flytrap owner.
Mine has just sprung back from her winter dormancy, saw that she caught herself a delicious snack the other day.