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wow I was looking and hoping this guild would have a thread for carnivorous plants one day!

I don't have one but I'm planning on getting one soon. Have you considered that the fly trap may be attempting to go into dormancy?

i think if it is going to hibernate that you should perhaps get a larger pot for it so it has better space for its roots, and that you should try to take note fo the environments it best thrives in, in nature, then try to simulat that environment including the dirt and air it gets.

Beleive it or not air does matter for aplant, alot of peopel consider only carbon dioxide for the plants air but some plants also need nitrogen (these however get it from their bugs they eat) and excess nitrogen tends to go into the soil and make it more fertile, some plants only put nitrogen into the soil while others take it out of the soil.

If a plant is born with fertilizers it will get used to the fertilizer eventually, and generations later whne its normal sized on fertilizers they will invent a new super fertilizer that works on that or some s**t, and certain plants would eventully go extinct in nature, like if america owned every inch of land you could expect it to lol.

Well I've done a little more research on the matter. Some popular, "Its turning black!" are:

-The food is too big for the trap.

-Needs more Sun. Leaves are leaves, they need sun.

-Too much water, roots are very shallow, and the soil can dry out between submerging watering, so they can breath and prevent gnats.

-Too much fert, nearly all carnivorous plants DO NOT NEED ferts. Most of them will burn and die if you add ferts OR give them potting soil. The preferred medium is peat moss or something similar. They grow in nutrient poor soils.

-Sleepy, sluggish growth and turning black, means it going into dormancy. They grow in N.America, so they are naturally found in areas that go through a frosty winter. They die back and come back the next warm season. Lessen watering, bring to a cool room, with some access to light, since it still needs it if to 'tell time'. You still have to water but not as much during the dormancy.

Thanks for your help, Oriole. I have been letting it stay cooler and watering it less often, it's completely under the soil now. It makes sense that it's food may be too big, after it ate a whole house fly the trap it was eating it in turned black and started to mold after a while. I guess I will see it in the spring!

I got it from Safeway, but I've also seen them at Canadian Tire. :3

I've been reading online how many people gripe about going out to buy their distilled water that is only for a buck. Or people say its just doesn't rain enough. And it always lands up to these same people who want to make their own distilled water by boiling and have it condense on something glass or plastic.

But that's alot of energy being wasted.

I just recently got a few sundews and a fly trap from an old friend and coming home I wondered about how to get the water, without driving out, mainly because I'm lazy and I don't like the idea of water sitting opened for several months just because my terrarium is small.

So I found a solution to my problems.

NO-BOIL Condensation

The concept came to me when I was waiting for my icecreme to get soft so I could scoop it. Water at pooled on the bottom. Condensation from frozen items!

These days I just have a few bottles of water frozen in the fridge, my dad loves it since now he has something to put in his lunch box, but at the same time I can take these bottles out, put them in a large bowl, and get on with my life, and by the end of the day when the ice has all melted, there's a big bowl of fresh water waiting in there. All i have to do is put my water bottles back into the freezer and water my plants with the water that I collected.

Water straight from the air, no dissolved minerals, no messy or hot stove tops glasses or metal or wasted electric energy and everything seems to be very peachy for the picky drinkers. And my marimo and other house plants seem to be happy considering their potting soil no longer has that nasty calcium build up.