The Venus Fly trap
Venus Flytrap are amazing. Learn how to care for these wild, untamed plants that can be successfully grown in captivity. The wide variety of carnivorous plants available make them
a fascinating hobby for young and old alike.
 
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The Most Frequently asked Questions about growing healthy Venus Flytrap (and other carnivores):
Q: What do I feed my Venus Flytrap?
A: This one is #1. I get an email almost every day from someone asking this question in
a variety of ways. The answer is always the same. NOTHING - VFT DO NOT NEED TO EAT. They survive happily without ever eating a thing.
Q: I was told that you could feed your flytrap raw hamburger meat if you don't have any bugs in the house, is this true?
A: Raw hamburger or any kind of animal flesh is too rich for flytraps and will kill them, in fact, you do not need to feed your flytrap anything, it will do just fine. [See the #1 question at the top]
Q: Can I feed my Flytrap worms?
A: Flytrap can eat anything they catch themselves except for things that can eat them, like caterpillars,
BUT you should never feed them anything. [See the #1 question at the top]
Q: I feed my flytrap every day and now none of the traps will close on a bug. I give it flys and crickets, should I be giving it something else?
A: You are overfeeding your flytrap and killing it with love. The digestive process is stressful to a flytrap. A single trap can only digest a meal about 3-5 times and then the trap dies and is replaced with another one. If you force feed a plant then you will kill all the traps and the plant will die because it is too weak to grow new ones. [See the #1 question at the top]
Q: I bought my Son a flytrap at Walmart. He really enjoys making the traps snap shut. Will this hurt it?
A: It will do more than hurt it, it will kill it in a very short time. This is very stressful for the plant. Explain to him it's like being picked on by the class bully. If you can't make him understand how harmful it is then take it away from him.
Q: What kind of moss should I use on top of the soil?
A: Only sphagnum moss. New Zealand sphagnum is a good brand. Spanish moss or florists moss will not work and can be harmful.
Q: I have this funny looking stem growing out of the center of my flytrap. Can you tell from this picture what it is?
A: Yes, that's a flower stem and you should cut it off as close to the plant as you can. VFT flowers are not very attractive but flowering can actually kill a plant.
If you want to try raising VFT from seed it might be worthwhile to sacrifice the plant, however, most people don't have the patience to raise them from seed. A healthy VFT will divide itself
into new plants and that's really the best way to increase them.
Q: My VFT has aphids. What can I use to kill them?
A: Do not use chemical bug killers. They will kill the VFT. The best thing to do is locate the source of the aphids (usually another plant close by
is infested), remove the VFT from it's pot and throw it away. Wash the plant under gently running water to get rid of the aphids and then repot into fresh medium.
Q: Should I fertilize my VFT?
A: No! They require very few nutrients to thrive. Fertilizer and commercial potting soils are too rich and will kill them.
One of the most difficult things for someone to understand is how little a flytrap needs to be healthy. With VFT, less is more (with the exception of the proper amount of humidity and light).
 | Click on this thumbnail for a picture of Venus Flytrap that have been happily growing in a tightly sealed (no bugs) terrarium for three years (except for 3-4 months of dormancy a year) The green sphagnum moss is a good sign the terrarium is properly humid. |
 | If you click on this thumbnail you'll see a different view of the same terrarium. Note the arrow pointing to a tiny first year flytrap that is an offshoot of the large 5-year old parent in the picture. Not only are they healthy but they reproduce! |
Q: Can you tell me where to buy some Venus flytrap?
A: I'm sorry but I don't know any suppliers well enough to vouch for their products. I do think it's better to
buy plants on the internet since they will come directly from a grower or distributor and be fresher. Most plants that you see in local
stores have been sitting around too long, not give proper care and have been subjected to curious little fingers. Chances of survival are poor.
Q: I bought a Flytrap at [Walmart: Lowes: Home Depot: the drug store: etc.] and it doesn't look too good. What can I do to save it?
A: Don't blame yourself. The plant you bought had probably suffered tremendous stress already before you even brought it home because those stores do not know how to care for carnivorous plants. You still may be able to save your plant.
The plant probably came in a pot with a cover or in a square plastic box. If the plant came in a pot,
- Trim off any black, dead or sickly looking leaves and traps.
- Put the pot in a saucer of water (only distilled water or clean rain water collected in the open, not out of a rain gutter).
- Keep a couple of inches of water in the saucer at all times.
- Put the pot in a warm, sunny location (but not direct sun).
- And...here's the important part...leave it completely alone.
- Leave the cover on the plant and if the lid is snuggly attached to the saucer there will be condensation on the inside of the cover and you should not have to bother the plant at all. Otherwise, you might want to remove the cover and gently mist the plant daily (with room-temperature distilled water).
The plant will appreciate the quiet and will probably recover.
- If the plant you bought was in a plastic cube then go to Walmart or a plant store and buy a very small (2-3 inches across the top) pot, a saucer, a bag of peat moss and a bag of perlite. Fill the pot with a mixture of 40% perlite and 60% peat moss. Wet it down very good with distilled water and then gently remove your plant from the plastic cube, trim off any dead or sickly leaves and traps and replant into the new mixture. Turn a large mouth quart jar upside down over the pot or you can cut the top of a 2 liter plastic soda bottle off and use the bottom as a cover. Then follow steps 2-6 above.
- If after two to three weeks your plant does not respond or continues to deteriorate then the plant is too weak. Remove it from the soil and cut off all but one or two small, healthy traps and any black or soft roots. wrap it in damp sphagnum moss or moist paper towels and seal it in a baggie. Put it in the refrigerator where it won't be squashed (you can put it inside a small cardboard box if you have one). Leave it there for 3 to 4 months and then take it out and replant it. It will have stored a lot of energy in its bulbs during dormancy and will start to grow again and be much healthier. You will be rewarded for your trouble with a vibrant, healthy plant that will grow rapidly. Flytraps need 3 or 4 months of dormancy every year regardless of how well they're doing.
- For more information, click on the top menu item "Carnivorous Help Topics". Then read the whole article on "Growing your Venus Flytrap". You'll find everything you need to know.
- If you prefer to plant your flytrap in a terrarium, click on the "Carnivorous Help Topics" link above and then read "How to Plant a Terrarium".
Q:
My wife got me a Carnivorous [plant] kit for Christmas and was wondering if you knew if this is a good kit to have so many different CP plants in it. Its from [name withheld]
It has Flytrap, Temperate Sundew, and Pitcher plants(Trumpet-Pitcher-Cobra) SEEDS. It comes with a domed aquirum and moss.
I have had Flytraps before. They were fun to have but I have never had a Sundew or Pitcher plants before. When should I plant the seeds. Now or closer to spring?
A:
[name withheld] is a company that sells kits for kids, school projects, etc. Their emphasis is on putting together an attractive package.
I am not saying they don't sell a good product, it is good in that it gets kids interested in science. I just don't know how good their
plant/seed source is but I imagine their product is aimed at the experience and does not focus on the longevity of plant specimens.
I also don't know what kind of instructions came with the kit but here's what I suggest you do:
- Soak your moss in bottled, distilled water until it is rehydrated.
- Place the moss in the terrarium, sprinkle the Sundew and VFT seed over the moss, cover and keep it moist (using only distilled or clean rain water) and keep the humidity high at all times.
- Keep the terrarium in a bright light in a window that doesn't get direct sun, or under a grow light for about 14 hours a day. (* see page bottom about grow lights). Then wait, maybe up to four months for the seeds to sprout.
- You can keep them in the terrarium growing on moss throughout their first year but then they need to be replanted in a growing medium of 60% peat moss and 40% perlite. This is what they will live in and they can live, especially VFT, for many years.
- After a couple of years, both the Sundew and the VFT should be given winter dormancy every year.
- My website http://www.the-venus-flytrap.com has complete information on it concerning the care of VFT and you can use the same methods for your temperate sundew which do not require a full, complete dormancy but will respond favorably to it.
Cobra plants are another thing altogether. Assuming you don't live in a high mountain area, they are very difficult plants to raise and most people do not have the patience. They also do not make good terrarium plants because they get very large (three feet tall with fist sized flowers). They also have a better chance if grown outside because they like bright sun but cool winters and nights. But if you decide to give it a try, here's what I recommend:
Sprinkle your Cobra seeds on damp paper toweling, fold it up and place it in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator. They must have a cold period of at least 2 months before they will germinate. They cannot be grown, even while small in the same terrarium with Sundew and VFT, not only because of their size but also because they require different temperatures.
Cobras do not like to have their roots disturbed so after the seeds have had the cold treatment for at least a couple of months, plant the seeds shallow in a small 4" clay pot filled with a mixture of 2 parts peat moss and 3 -4 parts perlite (soak the peat and perlite in distilled water before planting the seeds). Keep the pots covered and in bright, warm light. Keep the pot in a saucer with a couple of inches of water and make sure the planting medium never dries out. After the seeds germinate and get an inch or so high, put them outside in an area that is in full sun but protected from the hot afternoon sun. Once they are a few months old they can take full sun for all but the hottest months of the year.
Additional tips:
- Always keep the pots in a saucer of water.
- A container several times larger than the pot will help to keep the roots cooler and provide humidity.
- Keep a bottle of distilled water in the fridge and water them from the bottom with cold water.
- In the hot summer months they will appreciate ice cubes placed in and around the pots (not touching the plant) especially at night when they are accustomed to cold nights even in summer in their natural mountain habitat.
- Install a misting system with a timer that will spray them 4 times a day will help keep the roots cool.
- Allow them to have an outside dormant period during the winter, with a little less sun and slightly less water, although you still should not allow them to dry out.
- They tolerate temps between 20 and 32 degrees for short periods but if the temperatures are going to fall below that or remain at that temperature for more than a week then move them to an unheated garage or sunroom. Move them back to their normal environment as soon as the temperatures approach 35 degrees.
For plants you are going to grow inside, it doesn't matter what time of year you plant the seeds. For the Cobras, now would be a good time since they will
hopefully have germinated by spring and can be relocated outside.
Note:
I no longer recommend incandescent grow lights. The heat generated from them can be too intense for plants so you can't get them close enough to the
plant for the appropriate amount of light. The introduction into the market  of the compact flourescent lights has been a boon for indoor plant growers.
I use a 26 Watt CFL "Daylight" bulb with a color rating of at least 6500K. (make sure the bulb has a built-in ballast) Place one over each fish bowl terrarium or small grouping of potted plants. They can be used in a goose-neck type of lamp
or wall-mounted spotlight type of lamp. This is a cool, natural light that
the plants love and you can put it as close as you want. One-quarter inch away from the traps doesn't burn them.
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What kind of Venus Flytrap do you have?
Click on the Pictures to find out
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Whats New?
My email address has changed, please see "Contacts"!
Dormancy Instructions (click here):
Fall is the time to put your VFT into dormancy. Many people are afraid to do it, but your little friends
will thank you. Be kind to your VFT and put them into a regular fall dormant period. They've intertained you all year,
give 'em a rest!
10/28/07: An update on the experiment. Things didn't turn out so well...See the final results.
6/25/07: Finally have some updates on my plants and a little experiment I did with two batches of VFT. One batch (the one shown in the 3/30/07 pictures) was planted
into a terrarium and grown under artificial lights. The other batch was put into a terracotta planter and grown outdoors on my light filtered porch. See the results of the test.
3/30/07: An Experiment - Well, here it is spring again and I've just pulled a bag of Venus Flytrap out of the vegetable crisper. (Yes, that's what I use mine
for). They are sickly looking little things at this time but I know that they've stored up tons of energy over the winter and will be
bursting with new growth in no time. 
Here's a picture of them just out of the bag. I have some trimming to do, a few black leaves, but I'm really quite pleased with how they
came through dormancy. These are 2 - 6 year old plants.
Here they are planted in a clean fishbowl  terrarium with a fresh planting medium of 60% peat and 40% perlite. No sphagnum moss yet, they're small and I don't want to suffocate them. I soaked the mixture to dampen it
before adding the plants. The perlite then helps keep the
moisture level up and with a saucer or cellophane over the top of the bowl, I seldom have to water once I get the humidity established. Until I do,
I spray the top of the soil gently with distilled water until there are a few beads of moisture on the sides of the bowl at all times.
Hard to believe these are same VFT as in this photograph that was taken last Fall, right before being put into dormancy.
I'll post a new picture in a couple of weeks to show how they're coming along.
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Learn about Carnivorous Plants from the experts.
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