Leaves dying

[Franky]

Hi everyone, my VFT is constantly growing new leaves, but as soon as they start to sprout out of the ground, the next day they blacken and die. I don't know what's wrong! I currently have it growing under two 40 watt cool white florescent light bulbs. Does anyone know what's wrong?

[Not a Number]

What are your plants growing in? Fertilizer can cause burn like that. Use fertilizer free Sphagnum peat moss and silica/quartz sand.

How far away are the lights? The heat from the lights could be burning the leaves or if the plants were growing in much lower light levels previously they may just need to acclimate to higher light levels. These seems unlikely given the number of tubes and wattage.

If you are unable to grow them outdoors in sunlight you'll probably have to at least double the number of light tubes you are currently using. I probably wouldn't have any less than 3-4 inches between the plants and the lights.

[Franky]

No, my soil for it is not fertilized, and is 5 parts fertilizer free peat moss, 3 parts sand, and 2 parts perlite. My plant is about a foot and a half away from the light. Maybe this is the problem. Anyway, it is a nice day, so I will move my plant outside for the rest of the day and see how it does.

[Not a Number]

If you're going to grow it outdoors you should probably acclimate the plant to sunlight. Keep it mostly shaded and let it gradually get more direct sunlight over a period of a couple weeks or so.

[Franky]

I haven't put my plant outside yet, which I probably won't now because the temperatures where I live are varying. I will try putting my plant closer to the light and see how it does.

[ICPS-bob]

Frankie, look at your bag of perlite and make certain that it is not the kind that contains Miraclegrow.

[Not a Number]

When I said any less than 3-4 inches I meant no closer than 3-4 inches.

What kind of temperatures are you experiencing? They can tolerate air temps in the low 100's and down into the 30s (F). Depends a lot on the size of the pots.

[Alexis]

Can we see a photo of the plant and your setup?

[Franky]

I checked my bag of perlite, and no fertilizers. Here are some pics of my plant and setup.

Attachments:

[Franky]

Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to upload more than one image in one post.

Attachments:

[Brian Barnes]

Definitely not enough good strong light....

I'd move them to within 6 inches or so of the lights, if possible.

Brian

[Franky]

I moved my plant about 8" closer to the light, and I will see how it does. Thanks so much for all the help everyone! I will post up news on how the plant is doing in a few days.

[jdallas]

Hi Franky,

After seeing your picture I'm going to go out on a limb here and say just put it outside. Since you have no leaves on the plant to speak of currently, this is a good time to put it out since it will be able to acclimate quickly. Your temperatures in New Hampshire look warmer than we currently have here in Oregon, and most of our Flytraps are outside. Make sure it's in a full sun location. You may see some reddening at first, but the new growth will be good and strong when it comes out.

If you stick with your light for now, you will need to slowly acclimate it later if it goes outside since the leaves will be much softer. That's why just biting the bullet now and going outside could be better and easier.

Jeff

[Franky]

Maybe your right... I will put it outside and see how it does.

[Franky]

So, after a while of giving the plant some real sunlight, I am starting to see its health improving. Thanks for the advice everyone!