Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 5/10/2010

Question
I just puchused a fly trap and put in a old fish tank i had with a lid. I filled the tank with peat. i have it in the office and it gets the morning sun and office light in the afternoon.
The plant is starting to turn yellow and i see some type of green around the glass in the peat.
what is causing this?

Answer
Hi Russ,

The problem is your growing conditions.  Flytraps are native to North Carolina where it is hot in summer and cool in winter with occasional snow.  They are not tropical plants.  Instead, they are  hardy perennials.  Treating them like tropical plants is the number one reason why people kill them.  

We are also strong advocates against using terrariums.  Very few carnivorous plants require the narrow growing conditions provided by a terrarium.  The vast majority (99%) of the 600+ species of carnivorous plants grow perfectly well without a terrarium.  At our nursery, we grow flytraps exclusively outdoors.

So your growing conditions are not at all beneficial for the plant.  The green growth in the peat moss is algae, a common side effect of using a terrarium.

I strongly suggest that you read our growing information on our website.  We also produced a DVD that shows you how to grow flytraps.  If you want a plant for your office, I strongly recommend growing tropical carnivorous plants.

Take a look at these various pages on our website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets
http://www.cobraplant.com/bestplants
http://www.cobraplant.com/DVD

Good growing!
Jacob Farin