Question
QUESTION: I have your book and I learned more from it than all others. My flytraps are slowly rotting. I am using your sphagnum moss perlite mix as recommended. Watering floods the soil over the leaves leading to rot. I believe that I can solve this problem by using live sphagnum moss as a growing medium. Questions: 1. Where do you purchase live sphagnum? 2. How do you keep it alive and growing? 3. Anything else I should have asked? I have used it before but it dies in about 6 months.

ANSWER: Hi Andy,

Thanks for the compliment on the e-book.  We tried hard to make it very user friendly.

I need a little clarification on your growing.  You mentioned sphagnum moss and perlite media.  We use sphagnum peat moss.  Even though they come from the same place, Venus flytraps respond differently to each.  Flytraps do best in peat moss, and poorly in long-fiber sphagnum.  Which did you actually use for your mix?

Using live sphagnum is certainly attractive, and plants often enjoy it as a top dressing, but it won't fix the problem you're having.  Something else is amiss here.  My first suspicion is your water.  What is your water source?  Is it low in minerals?  Hard water could definitely cause the problems you're having, and it will kill live sphagnum also.  Tell me a little more about how you are keeping your plants.

1.  What part of the country do you live in?  Are your plants indoors or out?

2.  What is your water source?  How are you watering the plants?  How deep do they sit in the water trays?  Also, what kind of pots are they in?  Do they have drain holes?

3.  How much sun do your plants get?

4.  The leaf rotting you're describing; does it occur in the fall, or does the whole plant just up and die?

Write me back with this information and we'll see if we can get you successful with flytraps.

As for purchasing live sphagnum, we have it in the spring sometimes.  A couple other nurseries carry it also such as Meadowview Biological Research station.  Just do a web search and you can find who currently has it available.  To keep it growing simply break it up onto a large pot with peat moss in it.  Press it down onto the peat moss.  Make sure it is always wet, and partially shade it during the summer.  Also, make sure the water is low mineral.


Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Followup information:

Thanks Jeff for the prompt response. Now to the answers.

1. I live in northern VA near Manassas.
2. Water: I have well water with 11PPM hardness. Up until 2 months ago I was using distilled water. I installed an RO system and have been using it since then. Along with traps I grow many types of pitchers, cobras, sundews,and nepenthes and all are doing well, I surmise that water is fine.
3. All specimens (some mixed) basically live in the same size pots, cheap plastic ones 5" tall and about 6.5" diameter. All drain into saucers.
4. The locations: Nepenthes are growing indoors and are thriving for 3+ years. Exposure SSW. All others grow in an unheated SSE facing attached greenhouse.
5. I use sphagnum peat moss and horticultural perlite with no fertilizer for the fly traps. By the way my  Australian pitcher has dramatically improved since I started following your soil mix.
6. I water by slowly pouring from the top. Perhaps I should soak instead?
7. About 50% of the trap leaves are rotting since going dormant. They thrived during the growing season. Some specimens were purchased from Lowes home center. Traps were bundled with cobras in a long fiber sphagnum. I repotted in above pots and are fine. Those traps are not rotting. The rotting traps are lying on the soil in the solitary pottings. I planted up to the crown but have observed in the past that some specimens have leaves that stand up and some with leaves lying flat along the soil. The latter ones are rotting.

I believe that I answered all of your questions, if not ping away. I will take a pics and send it. Since I stil use a modem xmission is slow.

Andy

Answer
Hi Andy,

This makes more sense now.  Venus flytraps, being perennials, cycle through different kinds of leaves during the year.  In the early spring small ground hugging leaves are produced, followed by long upright traps in the late spring in summer.  In the fall it reverses.  Long traps all begin dying off and a few small traps will remain in the center of the plant until the beginning of the growth the next season.  If you watch our podcast on our website of the outdoor care, you'll see the pool of flytraps we show.  All of the plants have a skirt of dead leaves around a few that rain green in the center.  Now, having said all that, different Venus flytraps forms exhibit different degrees of die-off.  Red Dragons tend to die back entirely.  Typicals often hold on to a few leaves.  Dente's are unpredictable.  Giant forms tend to stay partially evergreen.

If you get a chance, send me a photo of your flytraps.


Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com