Venus Fly Trap is a unique and fascinating carnivorous plant grown indoors and outdoors in gardens. It is grown as a houseplant for its beauty and its strange behavior of catching and eating insects. Each Venus flytrap plant has at least 8 modified predator leaves that add a wild factor to the indoor plant collection. But some people find it challenging to care for this plant due to its unique needs. The most common question asked for its owners is, ‘why is my Venus Fly Trap drooping?’
This article focuses on all the possible reasons why your Venus trap fly might be drooping. Moreover, there are also simple solutions to help you solve problems with your plant.
Why is My Venus Fly Trap Droopy?
If your Venus Fly Trap plant is drooping, it means you are doing something wrong with its care routine. These are some common mistakes you might be making.
Improper Watering Frequency
Venus flytrap is one of those plants that love to be watered. This plant does not like to grow in dry soil. If you allow its soil to get dry between waterings, this plant will wilt and droop down.
How to Fix This Problem
If your Venus Fly Trap is drooping due to under-watering, you should fix its watering schedule. Water it as soon as its soil starts to get dry. Try to water it thoroughly every 2 to 4 days.
Moreover, you should make sure the pot has an unclogged drainage hole. Otherwise, this plant will get root rot due to standing water, which is the last thing you want with an already present droopy foliage.
Wrong Water Type
Many plants do well with tap water, but it is not true for Venus Fly Traps. If you have been watering this plant with tap water, you already know the answer to your question: Why is my Venus Fly Trap dropping.
It is because tap water contains high mineral content. When this water evaporates from the soil, it leaves the minerals behind. These minerals then cause root rot which leads to droopy foliage.
What Is the Correct Water Type?
Quit watering your plant with tap water or mineral water. Instead, use distilled or purified water. You can also collect rainwater for watering your Venus Fly Trap because rainwater is safer and contains more minor minerals.
Wrong Potting Mix
Swamps and fens are natural habitats of Venus Fly Traps. These places have acidic soil rich in nutrients. Therefore, a similar potting mix should be used for Venus flytrap when grown as a houseplant. If you plant your Venus flytrap in heavy or nutrient-rich soil, your plant will droop and appear lifeless.
Right Potting Mix for Venus Fly Trap
If the wrong potting mix is the case with your droopy Venus flytrap, you should change its soil. It will be best if you use a mixture of perlite and sand. You can also grow this plant in peat moss and perlite because peat moss is known to lower soil acidity.
Pest Attack
Pests are sometimes the culprit behind Venus flytrap drooping. Spider mites, aphids, and fungus are the most dangerous enemies of the Venus flytrap. But how would you know for sure that pests are the reason behind your droopy plant?
If your plant has black spots, it means it has fungus, and if your plant has tiny yellow/white spots, it has spider mites. On the other hand, if you notice curled and twisted leaves along with color changes, it means aphids are attacking your plant.
How to Get Rid of Pests?
First, you have to figure out what pest is infecting your plant. Then you have to treat it with a pesticide. If it is a fungus, spray a fungicide and if it is spider mites or aphids, spray your plant with an insecticide.
Temporary Shock
Plants enter a temporary shock period when you repot them or change their location. In such conditions, their foliage droops down. It is absolutely a natural thing, and you do not have to worry about it.
How to Fix This Problem
If you have recently repotted your Venus flytrap and it has droopy foliage, just give it some time. It will grow straight again once out of transplant shock. All you can do in this situation is water it thoroughly and move it to a bright spot in your room.
Venus Fly Trap Drooping Because of Nutrient Deficiency
As you already know, the Venus flytrap catches its own food and then digests it. It takes all the nutrients from the food it catches. It is why it does not need to be fertilized at all!
But what if your plant does not get any insects to catch? It will not get any nutrients; its growth will slow down, and it will have droopy foliage. It happens mostly with indoor Venus flytraps because there are few insects inside the house.
How to Fix Nutrient Deficiency in Venus Fly Trap
If you notice that your plant has not caught an insect lately, you should feed it with one by tossing it into its trap.
Venus Fly Trap Drooping Because of Low Sunlight
Low sunlight is another possible answer for your question, “why is my Venus flytrap drooping?” This plant needs 5 to 6 hours of direct sunlight to grow properly. If it does not get enough light exposure, it will have weak and floppy leaves. It will cause its foliage to droop.
How to Fix This Problem?
If your Venus flytrap is drooping due to low sunlight, you should move it near a window where it can receive direct sunlight. It would be best to move your plant to a south-facing window because it receives direct sunlight for at least 6 hours a day.
Conclusion
Why is my Venus Fly Trap drooping? If your Venus flytrap is drooping, it means either you are watering it wrong or have planted it in the wrong soil. It can also be due to a pest attack or a temporary transplant shock. But if these do not appear to be the main reasons, it can be due to nutrient deficiency or low sunlight. All you have to do is pinpoint the main problem and solve it.
