Q: My Venus flytrap is dying! What am I doing wrong?
A: As I said earlier, I think the most common cause for
Venus flytrap death in
horticulture is inadequate lighting. If you are providing your plant with enough light (but I really doubt you are),
make sure you are using a good soil mix like 50:50 peat:sand (and not garden soil!) and only purified water.
You didn't fertilize your plant, did you?
If you have already bought one,
read everything about Venus flytraps in this FAQ
as soon as you can. Also, scan the rest of the FAQ for relevant topics. For example,
there is more information in the
general cultivation part of the FAQ that may
be helpful for you.
The Venus flytrap is an amazing plant and is usually
the first carnivorous plant that
most people try to grow. But it can be a very difficult and discouraging plant, and as a result is also the last
carnivorous plant most people grow!
If it is autumn and your plant is slowing down and looks like it is dying, it might just be
going dormant! In this case, it might be perfectly happy, but just taking a snooze.
Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; personal observation.