If it was growing long stems and dieing, it sounds like it was lacking light. Another factor I would like to know is, what were you watering it? And how much?

Some growers use a mixture of 1 part sphagnum peat moss and one part sand, silic sand being the prefered sand. Others use regular sand but you have to wash it 1st. Watering it with distilled water is the best water for carnivorous plants, it has no minerals and chlorine that will kill your plants.

Putting it in a Ziploc bag definitely would kill your VFT if its still alive. Now that you dug it out, what color is the bulb? A healthy bulb is white & crispy with green tipped sprout of new leaves on top. But if it looks kinda brownish and mushy. ItÂs dead.

Check the post: Kids VFT dying- not sure how to revive it, posted by "karendee" on Sun, May 17, 09 at 11:59. There are instructions how to grow VFT that can help you.

Thanks for the quick, informative reply.
I don't know that it's any more dead than it was before I dug it out(and then placed it in a ziploc bag) this morning, but I really don't know anything about plants, so maybe there is no hope of reviving it.

I was probably giving it 1/2 cup of tap water every couple of days and it was just outside a window with little sunlight.
The whole plant is a mushy brown color, but there is a distinctly white growth among the roots. I'm guessing that's the bulb. It's looking fairly good by comparison to the rest of the plant, but it's hardly crisp.

I can take some pictures if that would help.

If it's truly dead. it will not come back to life. Tap water would also kill it. I would cut off all dead material and replant in long fibered sphagnum / orchid moss and place under artificial lighting to see if there is any life in it at all. Buy distilled water and water it through the top, but don't let it stand in water. Good luck!

Is this being grown inside? These are not indoor plants regardless of who tells you different. NO TAP WATER either. No need to feed it also.

It's been grown mostly indoors with tap water.
Should I replant the bulb by itself? All of the plant is brown and appears dead besides a few stems connected to the bulb.

Links to pictures:

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g16/colossalKegan/june7-8015.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g16/colossalKegan/june7-8017.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g16/colossalKegan/june7-8021.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g16/colossalKegan/june7-8020.jpg

Chuck it out and get a new one. Rain or distilled water only and get it OUTSIDE in full Sun.

It certainly appears to be completely dead. The white color almost looks like the mold that appears on some of my pots when dead things start showing up. There's a *chance* that you could put the bulb in another pot and after 2-3 months it'd come back, but the chance is somewhat low. You are probably better off starting anew.

Fortunately Flytraps -- at least the average types and not rare varieties like B52 or Gold Strike -- are somewhat easy to get. I know that one has sentimental value to you, but in all likelyhood it's a goner.

thanks again for all the replies.
I'll probably buy a new one and new soil, distilled water, etc., then plant the old, dying bulb in what's left of the soil as a sort of experiment.
However, I don't think anywhere where I live sells flytraps. (It's a somewhat small town - what I get I usually get in a walmart garden section) Are they easily grown from seeds? any idea where I can get high-quality seeds, soil, etc online for a relatively low price?

any related information is appreciated.

There are a number of good online CP seller. Sarracenia Northwest, Cooks, California Carnivors. Prices are reasonable. Get a plant or 2. I have no seed starting experience with them but know they take a long time to get to adult I believe (corrections welcomed!)

From what I've read on CP seed sites/blogs, Fly Traps are extremely difficult to maintain for more than a few months, even with meticulous care. Is growing them from the seed pretty much impossible for a beginner?
Would I see a plant growing, even a very tiny one, within a year or so?
Could I get a link to a reasonably high-quality seed kit type of thing? I really don't know what to look for and I hear some of the sites can be misleading.

Again, thanks.

Not impossible, just very slow. In fact, they'll pretty much take care of themselves if you have a cool wet winter. Expect 1 inch plants in 2 or 3 years. You'll probably lose a few but after they grow larger they will become very easy to grow.

I've decided that I'll order the most easily maintained carnivorous plant I can find from California Carnivores. Do you guys know of anything in the $8-20 range (not including shipping, potting, etc.) that will last a while and won't need a whole lot of sunlight? Something I can kind of just leave on a desk and water?
I've looked through almost all of the website and I've liked all the plants I've seen. The thing is, I can't seem to find any information on plant maintenance beyond "THIS PLANT IS EASY TO GROW" or "ALTHOUGH THIS PLANT CAN BE A CHALLENGE," etc.

Again, thanks for all of the help.

Adelae is a sundew that will do okay in lower sunlight. How far away is the desk from a window?

I agree with Alcran, Adelae grows like a weed! You'll have lots of them from one plant in NO time!

2 small plants gave me this by the end of last year:

{{gwi:543481}}

Not sure why everyone is saying tap water kills a VFT. I had mine for over 2 years on only tap water. Vinnie passed away only after moving and I set the pot on the dashboard of the moving truck in a 99+ temp day and forgot him there for a few hours.

Most tap water has a high TDS (Total Desolved Solids) as well as other chemicals which kill CPs. Maybe yours has low TDS.

Is my plant ?

It looks bad. How are you caring for it? Is it outside? How many hours of Sun does it get a day? What kind of water does it get? Does it get at least 3 months of winter dormancy a year? Here is my care sheet:

How to care for Venus Flytraps

By T. Randall

Flytraps are NOT houseplants. They are perennials and have special needs that must be met or they will weaken and die if grown indoors. Forget terrariums.

Grow them in FULL ALL DAY SUN OUTDOORS. This means at least 6 hours or more a day. The more the better. If your plant is new acclimate it slowly to full all day Sunlight OUTDOORS. Look up (Google) “Hardening off”. Sit it in a shallow tray of rain water, distilled water or reverse osmosis water ONLY during the growing season. NO TAP WATER unless the TDS reading is below 50ppm. TDS meters are cheap and can be found on Amazon.com or eBay.

In the fall when night time temperatures approach freezing they going into their dormancy period. THEY MUST have 3-4 months of winter dormancy. Drain off excess water from their pots and place somewhere where the temps. can be maintained between 35F and 45F for the next 3-4 months. 3 month minimum. Keep them moist only, not waterlogged.

For VFTs, I drain off excess water from the pots, hit them with a sulphur based fungicide and place in zip lock bags and pop them in the fridge for 3 - 3 1/2 months. I occasionally check them (once a month) for fungus and hit with the fungicide if needed. Late winter around February/March I take them out hit them with SULFUR based fungicide again and place in a south and west window and some under florescent and white 'daylight' LED lights until night time temps. regularly stay above freezing then slowly acclimate them to full outdoor Sun. I've been using this method for going on 12 years with no losses.

In late winter after 3 months or more of sleep they will be ready to wake up. Acclimate them once again to full Sun if they wintered over in a dark spot. Keep them from freezing solid. They can take a brief freeze but not repeated freeze/thaws.

These plants multiply and will fill their pot in a year or 2. Repot in a 50/50 mix of peat moss and perlite. DO NOT USE MIRACLE GROW products for them. They contain fertilizers and will kill the plants! The plant gets it's fertilizer from insects. There is no need to feed them.

In spring they will send up a tall flower stalk. Healthy plants can be allowed to flower if you want seeds. Seeds will be shiny black and tear shaped when ready to harvest. If your plant is sickly looking or you don't want seeds cut the stalk as soon as you notice it starting to grow in early spring.

Seeds do not come true to their parent. Example: If the seeds are from DCXL they will not produce DCXL plants.

I will be the first to admit, I did everything wrong. My VFT is looking very sad. I got it literally a week ago, I put it outside, I live in Texas and thought it needed sunlight, then my fiancé who claims to have had them when he was young told me they’re indoor plants, so I brought it inside and now it’s near death, I think. I’ve read all the comments and know how to proceed as far as what to plant it in and what to water it, but how often do I water it? and is it still alive? And what do I need to do at this point? I’ve moved it back outside and it will be getting full sunlight from now on, but any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

You SHOULD have slowly acclimated it to full Sun. It's called "Hardening off". But the start of dormancy is coming soon. Get it used to outside for now. Re-read my care instructions above.

I've just reviced a vft which is dead from.a friend I've repotted it look at roots and there is still a couple of white roots will it come back

It MIGHT come back. Read my grow guide above. Flytrap roots are BLACK with green tips. If you are in the northern hemisphere they will be entering dormancy now. They are not houseplants.

Tommyr_gw zone 6 thank you for info I've got a few vft they live in my greenhouse and doing well I live Manchester should I put in there or will.it be OK on my sunny windowsill

They need to spend 3 months in temps of 0c - about 7c. Windowsill might not get cold enough.

Thanks I've put it in greenhouse with my

That's one of my favourite it's 2 year old now

That's my other one and got a few others two

So i am moving my VFT outside and hardening it off. it seemed to be doing okay indoors for a few months but then the leaves started turning black and mushy and dying. i am trying to save it. there are still quite a few green leaves and stems on it. Ive only had it about 5 months and it is in the small plastic pot that it came in with that same potting soil. i water it with only distilled water keeping the soil moist. i read that they need high humidity levels and that they normally live in bogs so its pot should be submerged several cm in distilled water at all times mimicking it’s natural habitat. I’m not sure where i read this but i have been doing this. Now im worried that i have drowned my plant. should i repot it in perlite and sphagnum moss and move it outdoors?

They do NOT need high humidity levels. Just harden it off to all day full Sun and hope for the best. Remember, it will need at least 3 months of winter dormancy.