I have a Venus Flytrap but it's kinda dry and not 'alive' looking help?

Question

Ok so at my local Happy Harrys I went to today and i saw 2 venus flytraps up on a shelf, I had been looking where I could buy one and I was really excited to buy it but it had black leaves and black...traps? i guess thats what I can call them well anyways I took them out because the box had some instructions that said to do that; to take out all black leaves and stuff.

The plant has some green...things growing out of the soil like the stem of the traps.

I want to know if anyone can give me some advice on how to take care of it. I want everything to be exact so it'll grow! =D

Im reeally hopefull it will grow and have traps because right now the stems don't have any.

Please help me its the very first one I've owned and want to keep it.

Also i heard that if I put it in some 'pea moss'

or somthing like that it'll grow better, how much do you think thats going to cost me?

And do I put it in the pot or surround it with it?

Please and Thank You! =)

Answer 1

Keep it constantly moist in rainwater,  as this doesn't contain the harsh chemicals of tap water, such as chlorine.

Also, do not feed it, as it will get its nutrients from the flies that it eats.  Over time it will regrow new leaves, it sounds like it is starting to do this now, and may have dried out sometime back at the store.  

Give it good strong lighting,  and it will grow well.  Plant it in a 50:50 mix of peat moss and sand, which is similar to its native growing mix. Keep it sitting in some water all of the time, as this plant naturally grows in bogs.  This also means that they like humid conditions, so if you can choose a bright humid spot for it, it will thrive and regrow strongly.

Overall - bright light, humidity, keep standing in some clean water, such as rain water, do NOT feed artificially, and use a mix of peat and sand if it needs repotting.

Hope this helps. Good luck!  Rob

Answer 2

take off all the black looking things. its ok to water it a little if its kinda dry.

i had one but it died becuase i didnt have any bugs.

dont get a venus fly trap during the winter!

Answer 3

Congratulations on your new flytrap!  I hope you have as much fun growing yours as I do mine.  There are three major points to keeping a Venus fly trap healthy.

1) Sunlight - http://www.flytrapcare.com/the-importanc...

2) Water - http://www.flytrapcare.com/the-importanc...

3) Soil - http://www.flytrapcare.com/media-soil-fo...

Venus fly traps like lots of light. Try to give it at least 4 hours of direct sunlight a day. The more you can give it the better. It is best to grow your fly trap outside where it can get plenty of sun and catch its own food.

Venus fly traps need clean water. Usually tap water will not do. It is best to use distilled water, rain water, or reverse osmosis water. Venus fly traps need water with a TDS (total dissolved soilds) measurement of 50 ppm (parts per million) or less. In order to get this, you probably need to use distilled water or reverse osmosis water or rain water. Their soil should be kept wet at all times. It is best to use a tray and set the plant in about 1/2 inch of water. Humidity isn't that important. Fly traps can live fine in low humidity conditions. I have about a hundred plants and I live in Colorado where the humidity in the summer is very low. They do great so long as they get plenty of sunlight and clean water.

I would guess that your plant came potted already, so the media that it is potted in is probably fine. But if you need to repot it, which wouldn't be a bad idea, you should use a combination of peat moss and perlite, but pure peat moss will work fine.  It isn't expensive, but usually you have to buy it in large quantities.

Also, when winter rolls around, you will have to start thinking about giving your flytrap dormancy:

http://www.flytrapcare.com/venus-fly-tra...

Good luck with your fly trap and enjoy growing it!

You can read more about how to care for venus fly traps here:

http://www.flytrapcare.com