Hi,

I have a Venus fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula) plant - bought in Homebase. I
have been following the instructions on the label but it isn't thriving. So
far since I bought it one month ago I have had to remove a number of
leaves/shoots as they have turned black and apparently died. The
instructions say to keep it standing in approx 5mm of water and I have been
doing this. I have also tried it in bright sunlight and in the shade but it
still seems to be suffering.

I would dearly like to know why and what I can do to resolve the situation.

Many thanks,

Mo

On 01/08/2010 18:48, Slainte wrote:
Hi,

I have a Venus fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula) plant - bought in Homebase. I
have been following the instructions on the label but it isn't thriving. So
far since I bought it one month ago I have had to remove a number of
leaves/shoots as they have turned black and apparently died. The
instructions say to keep it standing in approx 5mm of water and I have been
doing this. I have also tried it in bright sunlight and in the shade but it
still seems to be suffering.

I would dearly like to know why and what I can do to resolve the situation.

Many thanks,

Mo



Are you using tap water? They must have soft water or rain.

Mine are currently outside enjoying full sunshine. I'll bring them in
over Winter. I keep mine in pots with no holes in the bottom; this
allows the compost to remain damp / wet all the time. In fact sometimes
mine are submerged for a day or two when I get careless with the
watering can! I've had them several years now though, so must be doing
something right. Some older leaves will go black and die off, this is
normal. However, there should be new young green ones to replace them.
At some time or other you may find they put out flower spikes too -
these aren't very spectacular and can be cut off so the plants can put
more energy into growing.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

"Slainte" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have a Venus fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula) plant - bought in Homebase. I
have been following the instructions on the label but it isn't thriving.
So far since I bought it one month ago I have had to remove a number of
leaves/shoots as they have turned black and apparently died. The
instructions say to keep it standing in approx 5mm of water and I have
been doing this. I have also tried it in bright sunlight and in the shade
but it still seems to be suffering.

I would dearly like to know why and what I can do to resolve the
situation.

Many thanks,

Mo

Blimey, that takes me back to the 80's when I had one.
I would take it out of the water pdq, it sounds like it is drowning.
Make sure it gets flies to eat regularly - swat a few and give them into
their open mouths (as it were..)
Best advice I have.
Tina

On 01/08/2010 19:41, Christina Websell wrote:
wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have a Venus fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula) plant - bought in Homebase. I
have been following the instructions on the label but it isn't thriving.
So far since I bought it one month ago I have had to remove a number of
leaves/shoots as they have turned black and apparently died. The
instructions say to keep it standing in approx 5mm of water and I have
been doing this. I have also tried it in bright sunlight and in the shade
but it still seems to be suffering.

I would dearly like to know why and what I can do to resolve the
situation.

Many thanks,

Mo

Blimey, that takes me back to the 80's when I had one.
I would take it out of the water pdq, it sounds like it is drowning.
Make sure it gets flies to eat regularly - swat a few and give them into
their open mouths (as it were..)
Best advice I have.
Tina


You can't drown one in 5mm of water. They are a bog plant and in nature
often have to cope with being submerged for a while. It is much more
likely to be suffering from a lack of rain/soft water.


--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

Christina Websell wrote:
Blimey, that takes me back to the 80's when I had one.

Having a revival. Our co-op had them recently!

I would take it out of the water pdq, it sounds like it is drowning.

Unlikely to drown a swamp plant!

"Slainte" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have a Venus fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula) plant - bought in Homebase. I
have been following the instructions on the label but it isn't thriving.
So far since I bought it one month ago I have had to remove a number of
leaves/shoots as they have turned black and apparently died. The
instructions say to keep it standing in approx 5mm of water and I have
been doing this. I have also tried it in bright sunlight and in the shade
but it still seems to be suffering.

I would dearly like to know why and what I can do to resolve the
situation.

Many thanks,

Mo


Thanks to all who responded. Well I've kept it pretty wet but have been
using tap water. Here in north Scotland - where the water is fairly soft,
it will no doubt have chlorine added, so perhaps that's it. The poor think
hasn't had any flies for lunch yet though.

I'm off now to change the water - bottled this time - and catch some flier -
)

Thanks very much,

Mo

Check the analysis of the bottled water. It'd be silly to exchange hard bottled water for soft tap water. If you're worried about chlorine etc, leave the tap water to stand for a day before using it.

Remember the fly needs to trigger the hairs in the trap in order for the trap to close. I can't see dumping a dead fly on a trap being very good for the plant.

It may just be that you were unlucky with your choice of plant - new plants are as likely to die because of conditions before you bought them as they are to die because of what you've done since.

On Mon, 2 Aug 2010 08:11:39 +0100, "Slainte"
wrote:


"Slainte" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have a Venus fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula) plant - bought in Homebase. I
have been following the instructions on the label but it isn't thriving.
So far since I bought it one month ago I have had to remove a number of
leaves/shoots as they have turned black and apparently died. The
instructions say to keep it standing in approx 5mm of water and I have
been doing this. I have also tried it in bright sunlight and in the shade
but it still seems to be suffering.

I would dearly like to know why and what I can do to resolve the
situation.

Many thanks,

Mo


Thanks to all who responded. Well I've kept it pretty wet but have been
using tap water. Here in north Scotland - where the water is fairly soft,
it will no doubt have chlorine added, so perhaps that's it. The poor think
hasn't had any flies for lunch yet though.

I'm off now to change the water - bottled this time - and catch some flier -

bottled costs money.
Put a container outside and wait. (About 10 minutes if the forecast is
anything to go on!)

)

Thanks very much,

Mo


--
http://www.bra-and-pants.com
http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk

"mogga" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 2 Aug 2010 08:11:39 +0100, "Slainte"
wrote:


"Slainte" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

I have a Venus fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula) plant - bought in Homebase.
I
have been following the instructions on the label but it isn't thriving.
So far since I bought it one month ago I have had to remove a number of
leaves/shoots as they have turned black and apparently died. The
instructions say to keep it standing in approx 5mm of water and I have
been doing this. I have also tried it in bright sunlight and in the
shade
but it still seems to be suffering.

I would dearly like to know why and what I can do to resolve the
situation.

Many thanks,

Mo


Thanks to all who responded. Well I've kept it pretty wet but have been
using tap water. Here in north Scotland - where the water is fairly soft,
it will no doubt have chlorine added, so perhaps that's it. The poor
think
hasn't had any flies for lunch yet though.

I'm off now to change the water - bottled this time - and catch some
flier -

bottled costs money.
Put a container outside and wait. (About 10 minutes if the forecast is
anything to go on!)

)

Thanks very much,

Mo

Aldready done...

In article ,
says...

"Slainte" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have a Venus fly trap (Dionaea Muscipula) plant - bought in Homebase. I
have been following the instructions on the label but it isn't thriving.
So far since I bought it one month ago I have had to remove a number of
leaves/shoots as they have turned black and apparently died. The
instructions say to keep it standing in approx 5mm of water and I have
been doing this. I have also tried it in bright sunlight and in the shade
but it still seems to be suffering.

I would dearly like to know why and what I can do to resolve the
situation.

Many thanks,

Mo


Thanks to all who responded. Well I've kept it pretty wet but have been
using tap water. Here in north Scotland - where the water is fairly soft,
it will no doubt have chlorine added, so perhaps that's it. The poor think
hasn't had any flies for lunch yet though.

I'm off now to change the water - bottled this time -

Bottled spring waters contain all kinds of minerals that might not be
compatible with a plant that lives in acid bogs. You really, really need
rainwater; what you can find in some forgotten bucket/saucer in the
garden would do.

Janet

On Mon, 2 Aug 2010 10:51:01 +0000, kay
wrote:

Remember the fly needs to trigger the hairs in the trap in order for the
trap to close. I can't see dumping a dead fly on a trap being very good
for the plant.

The fly just needs to be moved a bit. I have uses a bit of raw meat
before now!

Steve

--
Neural Planner Software Ltd www.NPSL1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. www.justnn.com

wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:
Blimey, that takes me back to the 80's when I had one.

Having a revival. Our co-op had them recently!

I would take it out of the water pdq, it sounds like it is drowning.

Unlikely to drown a swamp plant!

Shows what I know about them!
I did feed mine with swatted houseflies, tried, but obviously not good
enough.
They are fascinating plants.

Tina

"kay" wrote in message
...

Slainte;896212 Wrote:


I'm off now to change the water - bottled this time - and catch some
flier -
)


Check the analysis of the bottled water. It'd be silly to exchange hard
bottled water for soft tap water. If you're worried about chlorine etc,
leave the tap water to stand for a day before using it.

Remember the fly needs to trigger the hairs in the trap in order for the
trap to close. I can't see dumping a dead fly on a trap being very good
for the plant.

What else to do then unless you have a mega amount of flies circulating
around your house that are likely to commit suicide in the Venus fly trap?
You have this carnivorous plant, needs feeding on flies. You have no fly
volunteers. What then? I really want to learn, I am not being sarcastic.

Tina

Christina Websell wrote:
wrote in message
...

Slainte;896212 Wrote:


I'm off now to change the water - bottled this time - and catch some
flier -
)


Check the analysis of the bottled water. It'd be silly to exchange hard
bottled water for soft tap water. If you're worried about chlorine etc,
leave the tap water to stand for a day before using it.

Remember the fly needs to trigger the hairs in the trap in order for the
trap to close. I can't see dumping a dead fly on a trap being very good
for the plant.

What else to do then unless you have a mega amount of flies circulating
around your house that are likely to commit suicide in the Venus fly trap?
You have this carnivorous plant, needs feeding on flies. You have no fly
volunteers. What then? I really want to learn, I am not being sarcastic.

Just plonk the dead fly in the trap and then trigger two or three of the
hairs with something quite gentle ...

Christina Websell wrote:
I would take it out of the water pdq, it sounds like it is drowning.
Unlikely to drown a swamp plant!
Shows what I know about them!
I did feed mine with swatted houseflies, tried, but obviously not good
enough.
They are fascinating plants.

I've never been a fan. I plant-sat my bf(atthetime)'s and left it in the
sun at my parents' house, and it frazzled. :-(