Question

Venus flytrap   QUESTION: Hi,

I'm in urgent need of help. I bought a pot of venus flytrap a few months back and it was thriving (3-4 new traps growing every week). But recently, as I moved back home from university hostel, the plant started to die, probably due to a lack of water, or that the water was from the tap. Now I'm back in hostel again, and I'm trying to revive it by watering the plant with distilled water. The flytrap is now growing fine (I guess). The problem is that the peat moss that was so brightly green and moist has now look like a moist bed of brown sponge and looks rather brown.

I sun the plant everyday, and the pot is well-watered as it is sitting on a bowl of water. I'm living in Singapore and the temperature here is tropical.

ANSWER: Jasper,

The plant needs a bright location but only a little morning sun. The moss will not come back to life. You will need to find new moss if you want it green again. The current moss may have been dyed green to begin with and all that happened was the dye faded. The plant does not need live moss to survive. If you can go back to where you got the plant you may be able to find where you can get new moss. If you do be very careful not to damage the roots of your flytrap in the process of changing the moss. The plant can stay healthy in the brown moss. Good luck!!

Darlene

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

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for clarifying that. As I have expected, the plant could have been unhealthy because I was watering it with tap water for a few months. Now that I have switched back to distilled water, is there a way to bring my plant back to health again?

Answer
Jasper,

Set the pot in a glass aquarium or put a plastic bad over the top then open it for 5 minutes a day for air exchange. That will keep the plant humid. The air is drying out as fall approaches and that makes the plant unhappy. It likes high humidity. Good luck.

Darlene