and i forgot to say that a bunch of the LFS is sticking to the plants and got in the traps (for my new plants) how do i remove this without damaging the plant?

and will little bits of it effect the sundews?

If the plants are looking ok after 3 days, then you may be ok for now. I had a nepenthes from a death cube that started wilting when I opened the cube too fast so I put it back until the plant perked up again. You'll have to wait and see how they do-especially those cobras. It sure sounds like you're doing well.

If I may ask, why are they under lights? The adelae should stay in and I don't know what butterworts you have (or other sundews) but those other guys would love it outside these days. My purples are loving it out there now and I'm hoping that the cobra is as well-so far so good.

Some others may weigh in on the soil mix, but it seems ok. A little unusual, but possibly ok. I think I have a purpurea in LFS with the other in the more "traditional" peat/perlite. Both are well and the cobra is in mostly LFS and perlite with some peat/perlite tossed in as well.

As far as cobras being hard to handle, yes and no. I say that the distinguishing characteristics of a cobra is the bulbous head, forked tongue and the ability to up and die for no good reason whatsoever. I had a nice one that was in "rehab" under lights in my closet. It was a winter Lowes rescue and couldn't go outside just yet. It had about 12-15 new pitchers and was great. I went out of town, had the plants looked in on and watered, came back and it was one the way out. Perhaps I should have had the plant checker water it overhead. I forgot and I'm guessing that it overheated since everything else was fine. Keep doing what you're doing and cross your fingers. That and consider moving them outside.

Yeah, like ilbasso says, the cobra Plants can be difficult for first time growers until you can ge the watering and temperature just right. They like cool water running over their roots, so watering them should be from the top and a couple times a day or with a water drip feed that continuously runs a little water into the pot every so often. The main thing about Cobra Plants is that their roots are prone to infection if the soil warms up and is not well drained. Cobra Plants can be grown indoors in a sunny window or outdoors, but the Venus Flytraps and Purple Pitcher need a huge amount of light to thrive.

If your florescent set up does not provide the Flytraps with at least 12000 lumens 1-2 inches from their leaves, they will eventually slow down and be unable to trap or digest prey. I have witnessed this occur with mine as I experimented with the lighting and I have to grow mine indoors too for now. The Purple Pitcher needs about twice the lumens of the Venus Flytrap to make fully developed leaves with good coloration. That would be about 25000 lumens 1-2 inches from it's leaves. Of all of the Carnivorous flora, the Purple Pitcher is one of the most light intensive next to the other Sarracenias and Venus Flytrap.

The thick stem on the adelae might be due to low light where you bought it from. They grow a long stem with large green leaves when they do not get enough light. Mine are red and have slim lance shaped leaves with huge amounts of dew, so they are getting more than enough light being 5 inches from 12000 lumens.

{{gwi:551969}}

Thanks a lot and i did realize that my older VFT didnt digest its prey all the way last time (i hand fed it a cricket) and now that same trap will not close with bugs in it

as for my pitcher, it is making new shoots (it was about 3-5 inches away from the light but i will move it closer)

and are these temperatures good for the plants?

Don't forget that the northern variety of the Purple Pitcher can be found right here in Ohio so there is no reason to worry about the temps until winter. You probably have the southern variety so it is used to baking in the heat down in the south so this is fine for them-as long as they're wet.

My main purple pitcher was rescued last summer from Lowes and I am so proud of its will to survive. I brought it inside around february or march to start to bring it out of dormancy and kept in under shop lights for a while. It was fine and did very well, but in the last couple of weeks of sitting in the sunniest part of my back yard it is getting redder so it is quite happy.

Hi my name is jake,

The temperatures sound fine. Just keep the Cobra Plants roots cool and and it should be fine.

During the growins season, which is now, what you have going, for the most part (light, soil, water) is adequate. When it's fall and winter the requirements will diverge.

Sarracenias & VFT's need lots of light and require a dormancy. They do best when outside, in direct sun... so long as they are safe from birds, squirrels, kids,... But Sarracenias also like to be in more moist conditions than VFT's. Now cobra lilys like the drier soil of a VFT and need a dormancy, but like cooler temps. However, an acclimated plant can tolerate temps in the 90's. They also do fine on a window sill, in a double pot / Slack method, whereby their pot rests on top of a deeper one, so that when you water it, the water drains through.

Since I have horrible luck with keeping VFT's, cobra lilys, and Sarracenias outside, due to the afore-mentioned critters, I have both my cobra lily & VFT in that double pot approach, in my kitchen (screened) window sill. This allows for at least 50% direct sunlight. I'd like to also prop some artificial lighting to supplement it.

What I am getting at is that VFT's, cobra lilys, and Sarracenias all have similarity in what they do well, there are differences, centering around light, temps, and moisture / drainage.

The D. adelae just plain does nicely at a window sill, room temp, no dormancy required. So you see, the Lowes cube is really a deathtrap for the combination of plants they put in them (also P. primuliflora). Now if you get a P. primuliflora and a D. adelae, they are very close in the conditions they like.