FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

You're becoming that guy; you're starting to panic, and you're beginning to question everything experienced growers are suggesting to you. You'll soon begin to get upset because people will stop replying to you because they've tried to help, but you're finding a problem for every solution, and asking the same questions that you've already asked and received an answer to.
Let's go over much of this again. I'm not being mean, my intention is not to hurt your feelings, I'm just a blunt person. If you want your plant to survive long term, then you need to listen to the advice of experienced growers. If you continue down the path you're currently on, your plants will likely be dead by this time next year.

lucid wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 3:38 am I know man I worry about bugs attacking the plant

You'd be surprised how few bugs actually attack a VFT, it doesn't factor in. You do have to watch for spider mites and other pests, but worrying about those is like avoiding going outside because you're afraid you'll pick up germs and get sick. While in the realm of possibility, history proves that you'll cause more harm stressing about it than if it actually happens.

lucid wrote:or when we get like very very very harsh rain which can overwater it bc ive killed about 5 of the walmart ones from over watering

Then find a way to protect it from the rain and overwatering. Under a covered porch, under trees, make a shade cloth canopy, etc.

lucid wrote:so ive layed back on that and when i put it on my windowsill

Absolutely the wrong thing to do.

lucid wrote:it was growing like crazy the first 3 weeks and than when i took it out it started slowing the growth of the traps

Because most commercial suppliers grow theirs in TC to mass produce the plants. The plants are using what's left of the TC hormones/nutrients/whatever you want to call them to continue to fuel their growth. That is the burst of growth that mistakenly makes you think they're ThRiViNg under your care. They're not, they're burning through the last of their fuel, and you need to find them a good, new, stable source.

lucid wrote: yea the sun is the problem

Absolutely incorrect. Plants 101: Plants use sunlight as part of the process of photosynthesis. If the sun was the problem for plants, why is it so green outside? It's almost as if plants are deriving a benefit from the magical ball of fire in the sky. Weird.

lucid wrote:i think it looks cool with the bigger leaf just not as healthy as i would want it to be

Right on the money, it's not healthy, and it will continue to decline on a windowsill until it dies unless you give it strong artificial lighting for ~16+ hours a day. Ask your dad if he wants you to leave a light on all day every day for a plant and let us know what he says. Your thoughts on how cool it looks are valid, but the plant doesn't care. It doesn't have an ego, doesn't need to be friends with the popular kids, it doesn't need to conform to what society dictates, it doesn't need the approval of an authority figure, it doesn't need the latest iPhone, it just needs you to provide its necessary conditions in order to grow.

lucid wrote:Also its august now and we really only have like 1 more month before the weather starts to dip im in new york and winters can be really harsh

As long as it stays above 30°F, leave it outside.

lucid wrote:my dad said just leave it on a windowsill in the winter bc the windows in my room get very cold draft while still getting sunlight

That can be correct. If the plant is already dormant, a windowsill can be sufficient for that. However, if the plant hasn't stored enough energy to overwinter, it will come back much smaller if it survives. The plant will continue to decline until it dies unless it receives the proper growing conditions.

lucid wrote:ive seen they dont even need to be in cold to go dormant so it will be fine right?

This can also be correct. Growers in more subtropical to tropical areas have reported that their plants enter dormancy in the winter months, likely caused by the shorter photoperiod. But they still have the plants outside in the sun during the growing season.

lucid wrote:I have also noticed that ik its not good that they are starved for light but they look so vibrant they look healthy

They're not, don't kid yourself.

lucid wrote:i know i know they arent they just look so good

They'll look better with the proper conditions, you're slowly killing them as it stands right now.

lucid wrote:each one that grows a biggger and widder leaf does that mean when they get a ton of sun they will get way more energy than if they had skinny red leaves

There that is, you believing you're smarter than the plant. The plant has millions of years of evolutionary memory to know what it needs to do to survive, while you've had them for, what?, a couple of months.
Bigger and wider leaves means they're trying to capture more sunlight due to the poor conditions they're currently in. The plant is expending a lot of energy in order to grow those bigger leaves, energy that could be used to grow more leaves and/or be stored to survive winter dormancy. Skinny, red leaves are actually a sign that the plant is getting enough light as it is adapting to the sun by growing leaves that are just the right size for its needs, and the red is a form of sunblock for when the light is too intense.
In the end, they're your plants to do with what you will. If you continue the direction you're going, you'll be posting next year, in more of a panic, that "Snapper" and "Audrey" don't look so good, you think they're dying, and you "need help saving them because I've done everything my dad told me to do, but they're not growing!".

You're asking the same questions over and over. Go back and read this thread again to find the answers and to see the correct conditions that these plants need. If you can't provide these conditions, maybe you shouldn't be attempting to grow them. If you're unwilling to provide the correct conditions, watch your plants slowly die
I will, however, tell you that your thought that too much sun killed previous ones is absolutely incorrect. If it were true, then they wouldn't exist as sunlight would have killed them in nature long before we got it in our heads to put them in little pots and name them.

lucid wrote:now what do you think is gonna happen?

I think you're going to kill all your plants because you're well on the path of thinking a couple of months of getting bad advice trumps millions of years of evolution. You have all the answers you need at this point, you just need to follow them.
Good luck.

lucid wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2024 7:32 pm So do I take it out of the fridge or leave it

Have you not read any of the responses to your questions. This was answered previously.