Flytrap

Ms2011

So I've run out of rain water for my Flytrap, anyone suggest an alternative as there's not supposed to be any rain for another 10 days at least.

Wheety

As far as I know, you can use distilled water.

Alun

Is there a local stream or river you could fill up a bottle from?

Ms2011

Alun wrote: »

Is there a local stream or river you could fill up a bottle from?

2 great minds think alike.....that's just what I did, thanks;);)

Hocus Focus

I 'm not sure what type of water the plant requires, but I'm guessing rainwater, hence Wheety's suqqestion of distilled water, in which case, water from a stream might not be suitable, as it contains all sorts of minerals, which rain- and distilled water do not.
If rainwater is required, get some distilled water from a motor factor, or use the water from the condensation tank of your tumble dryer.

magicbastarder

i suspect a couple of waterings with tapwater would not be too bad for it? especially if you let the water stand for a day or two first.

Tree

What's bad for it in the tap water isn't the cholorine but the disolved minerals. We had a fly trap for years in dublin, got distilled water or britta filtered tap water. When we moved to limerick, I had no more easy access to distilled water so it got britta filtered tap water (which happens to be hard as a rock), and the fly trap died within the year.

Ms2011

I've been using the river water for the past week, no problem so far (fingers crossed).
They are a swamp plant so I'm hoping the river water will mimic swamp/rain water the best.
Hopefully we'll get some good rainfall soon & I can replenish my rain water stock.

Ms2011

Flytrap

Tree

Ms2011 wrote: »

I've been using the river water for the past week, no problem so far (fingers crossed).
They are a swamp plant so I'm hoping the river water will mimic swamp/rain water the best.
Hopefully we'll get some good rainfall soon & I can replenish my rain water stock.

It'll depend on the source of your river. The Venus flytrap is from bogland saturated with low nutrition water. If your river flows from the burren it's probably got plenty of lovely chalk that the trap won't survive.

Ms2011

Tree wrote: »

It'll depend on the source of your river. The Venus flytrap is from bogland saturated with low nutrition water. If your river flows from the burren it's probably got plenty of lovely chalk that the trap won't survive.

It's the Barrow river

Hocus Focus

Defrost your freezer and save all the water. It is from condensation, direct from the atmosphere, hence similar to rainwater.

New Home

Wheety wrote: »

As far as I know, you can use distilled water.

Distilled or deionised water. I usually get it in the chemist's, but there must be other places that sell it, too.

Hocus Focus

New Home wrote: »

Distilled or deionised water. I usually get it in the chemist's, but there must be other places that sell it, too.

Much less expensive in the motor factors.

fryup

my venus flytrap has developed suckers..should i leave them be or cut them off?

Ms2011

fryup wrote: »

my venus flytrap has developed suckers..should i leave them be or cut them off?

Do you have a picture? I don't think flytraps have suckers.
They do sprout flowers however but these should be removed and not allowed to develop.

Tree

they divide into clumps which are easy to split.

My fly trap currently has a stray drosera in the pot with it as well...

fryup

fryup wrote: »

my venus flytrap has developed suckers..should i leave them be or cut them off?

Ms2011 wrote: »

Do you have a picture? I don't think flytraps have suckers.
They do sprout flowers however but these should be removed and not allowed to develop.

here it is....



some of the leaves are corroded can i cut them off??

Ms2011

fryup wrote: »

here it is....



some of the leaves are corroded can i cut them off??

Yeah thats a flower, remove that. I wouldn't remove any leaves though.

Tree

Your leaves look like something has chewed them up. The leaves ususally wither back and go black when they're done.

fryup

Ms2011 wrote: »

Yeah thats a flower, remove that. I wouldn't remove any leaves though.

where should i cut it? at the very base?

Tree wrote: »

Your leaves look like something has chewed them up. The leaves ususally wither back and go black when they're done.

when they wither back can i cut them off?

Tree

When they wither, you can just tug at them and they's come loose easilly. it's not beautiful, but it's how they are.
I only do it every few months, and one that still has a bit of green in it gets to stay. I only ever take a scissors to the flowers, and even then, I don't always cut them off.

Ms2011

fryup wrote: »

where should i cut it? at the very base?



when they wither back can i cut them off?

Yes cut them off from the base. Cut the leaves off when they turn black.

riffmongous

You need to remove the flower stem immediately once you notice it growing, flowering is bad for the plant's survival chances. But since your one has already flowered I guess you could leave it there and let it start seeding and harvest them.

On the point of cutting the black leaves what does everyone else do with them? I always left them in the pot, incase they are needed for the nutrient balance (and maybe it helps attract flies?), but I'm not sure if that's needed?

Ms2011

riffmongous wrote: »

On the point of cutting the black leaves what does everyone else do with them? I always left them in the pot, incase they are needed for the nutrient balance (and maybe it helps attract flies?), but I'm not sure if that's needed?

I throw the leaves out. Flytraps don't really need nutrition from the soil like other plants as they get what they need from the insects they catch, which is why they have such shallow roots.
Flytraps attract insects by producing nectar on the edges of its traps, its doesn't need any helps to attract flies.

fryup

when should i change them to another bigger pot?? as you can see from the pic the pot its in is quite small

Tree

I usually change it up when i can count five or more plants in that pot, and instead of changing up, i divide so they all live forever in pots about the size of the one you bought.

You can tell wehn you have more plants cause you get more than one flower, you have more than seven leaves (they usually have about 5-7 per plant), and depending on how high the moss is you, you can actually see the node they're growing from. And there's no huge panic to pot them on either, i've had them go a few years where every autumn i realise they're getting croweded, forget the following spring, and figure the following autumn i'll pot them on next spring...

I think the only flytraps i put in a bigger pot were some saracennia. So far the drosera, cephalotus, second saracenia, and nepenthes haven't gotten to migrate to larger pots.

Ms2011

fryup wrote: »

when should i change them to another bigger pot?? as you can see from the pic the pot its in is quite small

Ordinarily you move plants to a bigger pot to prevent them from becoming pot bound and the roots glowing around the perimeter of the pot in circles, as flytraps have such tiny roots this doesn't really become a problem. You can separate individual plants into different pots as they develop should you want to give some away or puts some in other locations otherwise your flytraps will be happy in that sized pot for years.
My own is in a pot that size for the past 4 years and its perfectly happy.

Pythagorean

A tip I have found useful is to grow these carnivorous plants with sphagnum moss (abundant in mountain areas) I collected the moss from boggy areas in the Dublin mountains, and I have pitcher plants, droseras, etc in an old aquarium stuffed with the moss. It never dries out, and provides the constant humidity these plants need. Until I did this, my carnivores were withering and dying after quite a short period, now they are really happy !

fryup

Ms2011 wrote: »

Flytraps don't really need nutrition from the soil like other plants as they get what they need from the insects they catch, which is why they have such shallow roots.

are irish flies & insects attracted to them? cause most of the time my plant is left with its gobs wide open only catching the very occasional fly, even when left outside

* btw - is it good practice to put a dead fly in?

Ms2011

fryup wrote: »

are irish flies & insects attracted to them? cause most of the time my plant is left with its gobs wide open only catching the very occasional fly, even when left outside

* btw - is it good practice to put a dead fly in?

I've never fed mine, I leave it to look after itself in that regard and it seems to do just fine.
If you feed the plant yourself just make sure the fly is completely in the trap or the plant won't digest it properly.

New Home

I seem to remember reading that you shouldn't, it would put the plant under too much stress or something. I'd have to look it up again.

Hocus Focus

fryup wrote: »

are irish flies & insects attracted to them? cause most of the time my plant is left with its gobs wide open only catching the very occasional fly, even when left outside

* btw - is it good practice to put a dead fly in?

I've heard of them being fed with small fragments of minced beef.