AlliRH Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 I have recently got this Venus flytrap as a gift from a friend and I attempted to feed it a small earthworm, and it didnt respond. It had a few dead leaves which i removed carefully and i tried to stimulate it - nothing. Advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlliRH Posted April 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 (edited) Heres a pic! Edited April 8, 2018 by AlliRH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deltatango301 Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 It looks pretty deformed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carambola Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 It's possible all of these leaves are from before it went in hibernation, so none of them will be functional anymore and you'll have to wait a bit longer for new leaves. It seems like there are already some new leaves but they're deformed, is it getting enough light and water? Are there any aphids on the leaves? Also, keep in mind that you should really only feed a Dionaea with live insects. The hairs on the insides of the leaves need to be triggered multiple times when the leaf's already closed for the plant to recognise it's food and not just debris that accidentally triggered the hairs. I'm also not sure if it's even able to digest earthworms. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 It hasn't got any fresh 2018 traps by the looks of it. Wait a few weeks and it should be good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlliRH Posted April 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 I have the trap in a dish of boiled and then cooled water and its in the kitchen next to a window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirks Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 (edited) South facing window? Only use rainwater, not boiled tap water or bottled water although distilled water can be used but could get expensive when we live in a country as wet as the UK. Put a bucket outside and use the rainwater collected from that to water the plant. Edited April 8, 2018 by pirks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted April 8, 2018 Report Share Posted April 8, 2018 Don't use boiled water. Rainwater or distilled only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blocky71 Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 +3 on above advice AlliRH Tap water will eventually kill off your precious new plant, boiling doesn't remove much except maybe a tiny amount of chlorine. As said, try and collect your own rain water or maybe someone you know has a water butt and will let you use that ?. The only other options are buying distilled water, buying reverse osmosis water ( aquatic stores usually sell this) or getting your own RO unit and making your own 'safe' water. All three of these options means further expense which we all like to avoid so see if you can borrow or collect your own rain water. When you do get some flush your plant thoroughly with the rainwater as the soil will have been ' tainted' by the tap water.. Give the plant as much sun/light as is possible and stand it in a saucer of rainwater about an inch deep, replace the water when it has almost gone. Good luck and be careful, success with this plant will easily lead on to an obsession ! cheers chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsty Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 I kept one of mine indoors at room temperatures for the winter. The traps it grew from last autumn till now do not respond to being triggered. And it has recently had an attack of Brevipalpus mites..... Well, that's another issue "rolling eyes emoji" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirks Posted April 24, 2018 Report Share Posted April 24, 2018 22 hours ago, Karsty said: I kept one of mine indoors at room temperatures for the winter. The traps it grew from last autumn till now do not respond to being triggered. And it has recently had an attack of Brevipalpus mites..... Well, that's another issue "rolling eyes emoji" How did the plants get this? Not supposed to be in this country from what I've just read up about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsty Posted April 24, 2018 Report Share Posted April 24, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, pirks said: How did the plants get this? Not supposed to be in this country from what I've just read up about it I have no idea. It started on a small Nepenthes "sanguinea" (from Holland by the looks of it). I did a bit or research and it does seem to be a low-lying pest in this country. The signs were there - there appeared in high humidity (75%), did not produce any web, and they multiplied slowly. They also looked like Brevipalpus under a magnifier. I bought a colony pack of Ambyselius to eat them away about a month ago, but so far it has not worked. Edited April 24, 2018 by Karsty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted April 27, 2018 Report Share Posted April 27, 2018 Traps don't last forever. The plant keeps old non functioning traps solely for photosynthesis. Sometimes they open wide to catch more sun, but won't function. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantfreak Posted August 22, 2020 Report Share Posted August 22, 2020 Not boiled water! It only removes some chlorine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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