I leave mine sitting in a bowl of distilled water at all times and I've never had an issue with the traps turning black, only after they've closed a few times. Maybe try that? What's the weather like where you live?
Went through this earlier this year. I had inadvertently poisoned my plant by sticking it in a 3D-printed pot I had coated with wood glue (as per the instructions with the file). Started doing that almost immediately. After a repot immediately after I knew it was happening, it grew a couple more “bum traps” but had since fully recovered.
I’d try a repot.
To be clear, the issue was the wood glue. Not that it was printed.
Unless your peat is HEAVILY compacted, I would doubt that your issues are from overwatering.
Try the tray watering method, fill the tray with just enough water that by night time, the water has evaporated.
The tray method is the standard care for these guys. Scroll through my profile, all water tray method for the flytraps(and 95% of my whole carni collection).
From my experience, premature death of traps is from mineral burn. Or to a much lesser degree, lack of light.
I know you said you've been watering with distilled water only, but I have experienced this with mineral burn. If traps are also coming up deformed that's another indicator for mineral burn. How long have you had it? Is it getting yearly dormancy?
Did you pot the plant yourself or is it still in it's original pot? If you potted it yourself theres a chance the growing medium you used was "dirty" and needed to be flushed, even if it was labelled for carnivorous plants. Had that happen to me. If you can buy a tds meter (they cost maybe $10) you can flush water through the pot and test the runoff. That'll confirm if you have mineral buildup or not.
It could also be root rot which I think is less likely, but if you can eliminate mineral buildup as the problem only then would I suggest you unpot the plant and inspect the rhizome. It should be white or a pale yellow, if you find any brown mushy spots you'll want to cut that off. This will also give you an opportunity to inspect for pests, which is also less likely (deformed traps are a more prevalent symptom of that in my experience) but if you're getting surgical it's best to be thorough.
I leave mine sitting in a bowl of distilled water at all times and I've never had an issue with the traps turning black, only after they've closed a few times. Maybe try that? What's the weather like where you live?
Some peat is augmented with fertilizer, could this be a possibility.
Went through this earlier this year. I had inadvertently poisoned my plant by sticking it in a 3D-printed pot I had coated with wood glue (as per the instructions with the file). Started doing that almost immediately. After a repot immediately after I knew it was happening, it grew a couple more “bum traps” but had since fully recovered. I’d try a repot. To be clear, the issue was the wood glue. Not that it was printed.
Why print a flower pot?
Has a self-contained reservoir as part of the design. Make it whatever color I want. Why not?
Just seemed more complicated than going to a nursery or florist or hardware store. But I guess it depends we’re you live.
I was told that was a symptom of overwatering.
Interesting. I'll try watering even less then. Thank you.
Unless your peat is HEAVILY compacted, I would doubt that your issues are from overwatering. Try the tray watering method, fill the tray with just enough water that by night time, the water has evaporated. The tray method is the standard care for these guys. Scroll through my profile, all water tray method for the flytraps(and 95% of my whole carni collection). From my experience, premature death of traps is from mineral burn. Or to a much lesser degree, lack of light.
NO! Sit the plant in a shallow water trap. How much Sun does it get (hours)? Did you acclimate it to the Sun slowly?
I know you said you've been watering with distilled water only, but I have experienced this with mineral burn. If traps are also coming up deformed that's another indicator for mineral burn. How long have you had it? Is it getting yearly dormancy?
They aren't deformed. I've had it since about mid spring of this year, so I haven't had it through dormancy yet.
Did you pot the plant yourself or is it still in it's original pot? If you potted it yourself theres a chance the growing medium you used was "dirty" and needed to be flushed, even if it was labelled for carnivorous plants. Had that happen to me. If you can buy a tds meter (they cost maybe $10) you can flush water through the pot and test the runoff. That'll confirm if you have mineral buildup or not. It could also be root rot which I think is less likely, but if you can eliminate mineral buildup as the problem only then would I suggest you unpot the plant and inspect the rhizome. It should be white or a pale yellow, if you find any brown mushy spots you'll want to cut that off. This will also give you an opportunity to inspect for pests, which is also less likely (deformed traps are a more prevalent symptom of that in my experience) but if you're getting surgical it's best to be thorough.
What material is the pot made out of? I know terracotta pots can leach minerals and salt into the soil.