Nep pitchers rot for a few reasons. It may have just been an old pither or it may have trapped a critter that wasn't a wise meal. I would cut off anything that has rotted or turned black / brown.

VFT traps close slowly when it's cold. They don't consume everything. They do leave a skeleton. Just spritz a little water to remove carcass.

You can put the VFT outside once the danger of frost is over. I would put in partial sun at first.

Thnks!

I only let my plants out when there is partial sun. You sure it won't catch to many ants outside??

Regarding the Nep': one pitcher has all of its upper hald dead but the bottom is still green, alive and has juice+ants in it. should I cut it down or wait till' the whole thing dies?

Another thing: Because of the watering, the soil level had dropped and it getting too low for me so I want to fill it up again. What should the mix has? Does a regular soil mix for the garden will be ok or does it have to many minerals in it and it'll kill the plant? Can I use anything that won'tbe hard to get?

Maor
Thanks again!

Its hard to overfeed carnivorous plants you should see when my Sarracenias get topped-off with insects. They topple over and during spring time, my N. alata, ampullaria, and a still unidetified nep hybird I have in my greenhouse get filled with ants, fungus gnats, and fruitflies. Normally the pitchers of Nepenthes tend to overfill sometimes with prey, and to my experience that never seem to harm my plants and as far as I've heard, it happens often in their natural environment. So if you have your plants growing outside, it just natural for the Neps to over fill. It will catch ants outside.

Now, you live in Israel so I am not familiar with the climate over there but IÂve been told it is a very dry climate, even in wintertime and very few rains. So I'm assuming that the weather is similar here in the state of Arizon, USA.

Anyways, usually, if the tops of the pitcher start to wither and die and progresses toward the base, it is a sign of the plants being exposed to too much dry air. In your case, thatÂs what it sounds like. I donÂt know your climate over there but you may have to take it inside your house and place it in a sunny window. Now, when you say partial sun, do you mean it receives a few hours of direct sun or are they shaded? It could be you may be burning your Neps. IÂm just assuming that the sun over there is as strong here in teh dessert of Arizona. It also depends your Nep is recently purchased and is going through shock.

And low humidity could be whatÂs effecting your Venus flytrap too, when a trap closes slowly, it is a sign that its exposed to dry air and its potting soil is too dry for it requirements. When I expose my VFT to low humidity air, I make sure that I at least have their soil well watered but not waterlogged. Having a partially digested insects in the trap of a Venus flytraps is normal, Usually whatÂs left of the insect is its hard outer shell, the soft part is what gets digested. ThatÂs normal and usually a light breeze will blow the remains away.

You VFT sound like its still in shock so taking it out for the moment will be a bad idea, it has to acclimatize to the drier conditions. Now a VFT having prey on each trap is normal, there design to attract prey. The only way a VFT trap can get overfed is when it captures a prey too large for its leaves to form a seal to digest it, thatÂs when the large prey decomposes and kills the leaf. That happens know and then too, so donÂt worry about that.

So maybe if you provide more details how you are growing your plants, we can make a better diagnose of whatÂs going on.

Good luck!

The venus fly trap closes up when it catches something, and so there is no danger of "over eating" like with your Nep. As long as you dont feed it yourself, it'll be fine. (Also, shouldnt VFT be in full sun?)

Let nature take its course with the pitchers, if its just drying. If its rotting and being digusting and covered in fungus, then remove it.

If you can find a terrestrial orchid mix that doesnt have any fertilizers in it, that would be perfect. (Ones meant for Phalanopsis or Paphapedilum, pardon my spelling). If not, i just use coconut husks and orchid bark, which seems to work.

Whatever you do, DO NOT use garden soil for your flytraps unless you are trying to kill them. I use straight long-fibre sphagnum, others like to add perlite or washed sand to the sphagnum. In a pinch you can use plain old peat moss with sand, but I think they don't grow as well as in long-fibre sphagnum.

Water your plants with distilled water or collected rainwater. Tapwater is too alkaline and contains minerals that will harm your plants.

If you go to this link on growing venus flytraps, it will tell you everything you need to know (and more):

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2000.html

Honestly, your VFT will grow MUCH faster getting as much food as it can, in full sun.

I got one from a garden store a few months ago and put it straight out in full sun. Most of its traps are closed all the time full up with bugs and in the time I've had it, it has become about 3 times the size of its relatives back at the store. This week I discovered it was starting to grow flowers so I removed them (I want it to keep getting bigger!)
It is continually putting out new traps, much faster than they can die because its eating so many bugs!!! Its amazing what you find when they re-open. Mine eats a lot of spiders, big flies, and I have found the odd slug (serves it right for trying to eat my other CP's).

I never move my plant inside and I indend to leave it out over winter, rain, hail or shine.

I did repot it into a much bigger pot (in a mix of half peat and half perlite) once I got it which probably helped with the growth spurt.

Thnaks so much to all of u!

for hunterkiller03 better diagnostic:
I live in jerusalem so u r correct tha durring the summer time its dry but over the winter we got many raing and there is more humidity.

Now, both of my CP's are inside under the following conditions:
* Only distilled water (straight from the farmacy)
* The soil it was in when I first got it.
* The soil is always wet but neaver so wet it becomes mud.
* It got 23 wat spirral florecent bulb 12 inches over it for 8-12 hr a day.
* It stands over something that acts as an island in a middle of a boal of water do increase humidity around the plants.
* It gets lot of insects but necer artificially
* when something dies, I let it die till' it reaches the base then cut it off with a clean cut.
* when there is a nice sun outside, I let my nep' out. By partial sun I mean it gets enough hours not in complete shade but not in directly beneath the sun (so it want be barbiqued)

By the way, the nep I bought in oct' this year and it is already over its shock. The vft I got two weeks ago.

Do you got a better diagnostic now?

Thanks again,
Maor

I would just use peat/perlite in a 50/50 mix to repot the Venus Flytrap... never use coconut husk and bark for Venus Flytraps, but that is fine for Nepenthes. Your Nepenthes would be fine with 1/3 peat 1/3 coconut husk and 1/3 orchid bark. Garden soil will kill almost any carnivorous plant rather quickly.

So long as the plants are getting good sun and water, they cannot "over eat." If lots of ants are being trapped by your Nepenthes it is doing what nature designed it to do. Sounds like you are doing a great job of keeping your plants in a region they were not adapted for to begin with.

And if you can get hold of live long fibered sphagnum (LFS), that would be an excellent top dressing for them.

Shalom!

Well⦠the most I can say is that the VFT is probably still in shock when you bought it from the nursery, but it will eventual recover. Just follow the advice of every bodies, they are good advice. I donâÂÂt have anything else to add.

Good luck!