The 4 most important points for growing Venus Flytraps:
1) Please note: We ship Venus Flytraps either potted or bare root. If you bought yours from us potted, the plant can grow for at least 1 year in the pot you received it. The provided soil is all it needs, NEVER ADD FERTILIZER or PLANT FOOD. Next year, if it grows large (and it should if these directions are followed) it will need to be potted into a larger pot of the same peat/sand mix (2 parts peat moss, 1 part sand).
2) Place the plant, pot and all, in a tray of pure water. This can be rainwater, distilled water, or RO filtered water. Be careful if buying bottled water. Most drinking water has sodium and other minerals added for taste. These can kill carnivorous plants. Read the label. Keep 1/2 to 1″ of water in the tray at all times. Never let it dry out.
3) Venus Flytraps love sun. Place it, water tray and all, in full sun for at least 4 to 6 hours per day. More is fine. Indoors or outdoors is the same: tray of water, and full sun.
4) These plants need winter dormancy. During dormancy it does not need to sit in the water tray. Just keep it damp, or let it stay out in the rain. Depending on your climate, you may be able to keep it outdoors during the winter. In the Pacific Northwest, we grow these outdoors year-round. They need protection from serious freezes. Cover it if temps get down into the 20s. If grown indoors, place it outside in late autumn when it starts to become cold. Do not wait until it’s actually freezing as the plant needs to adapt to cooling down temps before winter begins. Do not worry if the plant looks dead in the winter. This is how dormant plants often do look. Don’t fret, spring is coming.
If you enjoyed reading about your Venus Flytrap plant and want to read more, a very good book on growing Venus Flytraps, and many other carnivorous plants, is Peter D’Amato’s The Savage Garden. This is (probably) available at your public library.
Recent Comments