FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I was wondering how many insects should you feed your plant? Do you feed them as many times as they will open or just a certain amount per month? I heard that the more time the traps are open the redder they get.

I put my venus flytrap in a clay pot not knowing it could be bad for them. The pot is about four years old and has a drainage hole. It has some paint on the outside not glaze but acrylics. Would this affect the plant or would it be okay becasue ive had it for so long.

A couple of my traps are kind curved outwards and ive noticed they dont close when stimulated, are they just done closing or are they dead? They're green and look healthy but just wont close. What would a trap look like if it can close?

Thanks

Hello sonixex123, and welcome to flytrapcare!

sonixex123 wrote:I was wondering how many insects should you feed your plant? Do you feed them as many times as they will open or just a certain amount per month? I heard that the more time the traps are open the redder they get.

You don't ever need to feed your plant. Venus flytraps grow just fine if they don't ever catch any insects. If you grow your plant outside, and you should, it will catch all the insects it needs on its own. And in my experience, it's true that the longer the traps are open, the redder they get.

sonixex123 wrote:I put my venus flytrap in a clay pot not knowing it could be bad for them.

I've never used a clay pot myself, but everything I've read says to stay away from them. It makes sense because VFTs are sensitive to minerals in their soil and clay can leach minerals. If you can, I'd get a plastic pot and repot your plant at your earliest convenience.

sonixex123 wrote:A couple of my traps are kind curved outwards and ive noticed they dont close when stimulated, are they just done closing or are they dead? They're green and look healthy but just wont close. What would a trap look like if it can close?

Traps can only open and close a few times. If they are still green, they're still performing photosynthesis, so don't cut them off.

Hope that helps!

welcome to the flytrapcare community!!
i think the pot will effect the plant in the long run.
i think it looks a lot like the same. some traps look half dead but still close.

Welcome aboard! Like the others said, it's better to be safe than sorry and put your plant in a plastic pot. Also, make sure to read all the articles on the main site. Let us know how it goes!

Hi,

You have your answers already. I just wanted to welcome you on the forum.