Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 6/9/2010

Question
QUESTION: Allexperts,

I have a Venus Flytrap that looks deathly ill.  The leaves of the plant look wrinkled.   It has other traps on the way it. It hasn't produced a trap.  It is growing in the standard mix of peat and perlite
50/50; I also added children's play sand.   I have attached a pictures.   I live in Delaware ( zone 7 I believe).  I am growing the plant in a old tomato plastic pot.   I did wash out the plastic pot.  It is growing outside in full sun.  I got the plant at Lowe's of last year.   I have tried transplanting the plant.  I have transplanted the plant  twice this year and cut off the flower stalk.

Clarification;
Climate: Delaware (zone 7)

Growing conditions= Full sun , outdoors

How long I have had it = 1 year

I got it= Lowe's

ANSWER: Hi Weylin,

Thank-you for the additional information.  That helps.

Your flytraps looks like it suffering from nutrient damage.  When I see the tiny, deformed traps it's usually on a plant that has been fertilized, or the media is very alkaline.  Use of hard water will do it also.  Check the pH of the soil and see what it come out to.  It should be acid.  Try checking the pH of the individual ingredients also.  That may give you an answer.  The first likely suspect if there is nutrient or limestone in the mix is the sand.  Have you used this sand before?  Also, make sure your peat moss is from a bale and not little bags.  Small bags often have added fertilizer.  If the pH comes out acid, try just flushing the soil with a couple gallons of water and give the plant time.  Did anybody in your household fertilize the plant by accident?

Let me know what you find out.

Good Growing!

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

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

QUESTION: Allexperts,

I'm using the same mix with a Sarracenia Rubra and a Judith Hindle both are growing quite well in that soil mix.   Could there be fertizlier  left over from the pot's previous owner ( a tomato plant).   I have been using the soil mix that  bough from you guys  the standard peat + perlite mix.   I have been using tap water to water them ,but this the first plant I have ever seen something like this happen.  Any suggestion.  Thank you for your time.


Sincerely,

Weylin

Answer
Ahh Weylin,

This is the first time you told me you were using tap water.  I wasn't sure where you lived in Delaware, but I checked the city of Wilmington's water quality specs, and they have a total dissolved solids count of 218 ppm average.  This is quite hard.  Your flytrap is suffering from hard water damage.  Venus flytraps are far more sensitive to hard water than Sarracenia.  We cover this topic in an entire segment in "Grow Carnivorous Plants Volume #1" DVD.

Start watering your plants (all of them) with either distilled water, rainwater, or water purified by reverse osmosis.  Your flytrap may pull through, it may not.  By the time they start showing the deformed traps it is often too late, but it is hard to know.  A transplant to fresh media will help also to help get rid of the minerals.  In a pinch you can use tap water, but the regular watering need to be low mineral water.

Good Growing!

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