Home Houseplants Venus Fly Traps Image by Darren Bertram Carnivorous plants are fun to grow and fascinating to watch and learn about. The Venus fly trap (Dionaea muscipula) is a moisture loving plant that grows near marshes and bogs. The plants have been overharvested in their native habitat and are becoming rare. Native to only a few areas in North and South Carolina, Venus fly traps grow in nitrogen depleted soils. This is why they trap insects, which provide them with the necessary nitrogen. Venus fly trap care is relatively easy and makes a great family project. How to Care for a Venus Fly Trap The Venus fly trap needs slightly acidic moist soils. Grow a Venus fly trap in a peat moss and sand mixture, which will provide mild acidity and help hold water without keeping soils too soggy. The plant needs at least 60 percent humidity and day time temperatures of 70 to 75 F. (22-24 C.). Nighttime temperatures should not go below 55 F. (13 C.). The Venus fly trap is sensitive to chemicals and heavy mineral contents, so a distilled or bottled water is best.

Keep water off the foliage by soaking the plant for an hour in a dish of water to moisten the soil. In order to make Venus fly trap care easier, make it a terrarium. An old aquarium makes a good housing for the plant if you cover it. This encourages humidity and moisture retention and you can allow insects to fly around inside for the plant to catch. Line the inside with TWO parts sphagnum moss and one part sand. Spare Tire Cover Honda Crv 2006The Venus fly trap can then be placed in an east- or west-facing window with high indirect lighting.Dax Bathroom Faucets Venus fly trap is a rosette form with four to six leaves that are hinged and able to close. Houses For Sale In Clarksville Tn Exit 11They are tinged a rosy pink on the edges and secrete an attractive nectar.

The edges of the leaves have numerous fine sensitive cilia. When an insect touches the cilia the leaf closes and traps the insect. Special digestive juices disintegrate the insect and the plant feeds on the insects bodily fluid. Caring for a venus fly trap must ensure that it is exposed to areas where it can capture insects. Learn how to care for a Venus fly trap to help this disappearing species continue. What to Feed a Venus Fly Trap Plant The fly trap lives up to its name by using its clasping leaves to trap insects. Its diet is not only confined to flies and it will eat creeping insects such as ants, too. When you are caring for a Venus fly trap indoors, you need to assist them by capturing insects. Use tweezers and place the insect on an open leaf pad and tickle the little hairs on the edge until it closes. Some people try to water with beef bouillon or another protein but this can cause mold to form and is not recommended. Didn't find the answer to your question? 

Ask one of our friendly gardening experts. Do you know anything about gardening? Help answer someone's gardening question. Read more articles about Venus Fly Traps. Use the search box below to find more gardening information on Gardening Know How: Venus Flytrap Problems: Tips On Getting A Venus Flytrap To Close Growing Carnivorous Plants: Learn About Various Types Of Carnivorous Plants Garden In A Bottle: Growing Soda Bottle Terrariums & Planters With Kids Companion Plants For Leeks: What To Grow Next To Leeks Bog Rosemary Care: How To Grow Bog Rosemary Plants Mexican Bush Oregano: Growing Mexican Oregano In The Garden Ocotillo In Containers – Caring For Potted Ocotillo Plants Regrowing Lettuce In Water: Caring For Lettuce Plants Growing In Water Growing Heather: How To Care For HeatherPencil Cactus Plant – How To Grow Pencil CactusInformation On Growing New Potatoes In Your GardenLily Of The Valley Control – How To Kill Lily Of The ValleyDutchGrown Crocus Sativus Bulbs GiveawayExperience the Charm of Sonnenberg GardensTop 8 Overlooked Succulent Plants

Venus Fly Traps can be very rewarding to grow but too often people run into problems and don't know why. have complied a list of frequently asked questions and common problems that should help answer most of your questions. Please use this information in conjunction with our culture instructions to help ensure that your new plant My Venus Fly Trap came with a plastic dome over it. Should I keep this on it or take it off? Always remove any plastic dome from the plant. You may have to do this gradually over a period of a few days as the plant will be used to higherLift the cup more and more each day until it is completely off after a week or so. Some nurseries will put these little plastic cups over the plants to help keep them from drying out while sitting on a store shelf but the plant will grow much stronger without it. No experienced carnivorous plant grower will grow their plants this way. This can also be used as a warning sign when

shopping for fly traps. Plants under domes will tend to be softer, weaker and more prone to pests and disease. What kind of light does my VFT need? Venus Fly Traps grow out in full sun conditions in nature and require the same light levels in cultivation. If sunlight is not available, bright fluorescent light can be provided as a substitute. A minimum of 40 watts is needed and a day length no less than 14 hours should be given for optimum growth. What kind of soil should I use to The only type of soil you should use is peat moss. Never use potting soil or garden soil as these do not provide the right acidic conditions the plants What kind of water should I use? Always use either rain water or distilled water. If your tap water is very low in minerals you might be able to use it after letting it sit in an open container for a few days. Water that contains a lot of minerals and chemicals can quickly kill the plant.

How much humidity does my plant VFTs are not tropical plants and actually like good air circulation. level of about 40%-70% is good. What can I feed my plant? Any small, soft-bodied insect can be used for food. Small crickets, spiders and flies will work well. If the food item is too large, it will rot before the plant can finish digesting it and the trap will turn black. How often should I feed my plant? As long as the plant is in full growth and has several traps open you can feedNever feed more than half the number of traps open at any one time. If the traps are not closing properly, remove the food item and check the growing conditions to be sure everything is being done correctly. Wait a few days and then try feeding again. It can take a week or so for a trap to completely 'reset' after digesting a meal. I heard that hamburger is a good food for these plants. Never feed any type of meat to your fly trap. It will cause the trap to rot

and waste the plant's energy. Can I trick the trap into closing without actually feeding it? It is possible to get the trap to close without feeding it just by touching the trigger hairs, however this is not a very good idea. Although doing this on occasion will not seriously hurt the plant, it does weaken it since the closing and opening is actually a growth process. If the plant does not get fed it will eventually run out of energy. Can I use other types of fertilizer to feed the plant?Never use any type of fertilizer with fly traps. They have very sensitive roots and it will quickly burn them and kill the plant. The insects that the plant traps act as a fertilizer. Do I have to feed my VFT anything at No, but it definitely helps them to grow faster and bigger. plants, Venus Fly Traps can use sunlight to make energy if no insects are My Venus Fly Trap leaves are just laying on the top of the soil and they won't stand up.

The plant is probably in its Spring or Fall growth phase. During this time the plant makes leaves that lie flat against the ground and the traps are somewhatAs the days get longer the new summer leaves will emerge. longer, stand more upright and have bigger traps. My plant does not seem to be growingI have a light over it but only a couple new leaves have come out and they are very small. Insufficient light is probably the cause. VFTs grow in full sun in nature and need very bright light when grown indoors. See the info about lighting in the My plant is making new, longer leaves but they are very thin and the traps are also small. upright they flop over to the ground.Also, the humidity could be too high. VFTs do not like tropical conditions and need good air circulation. If there is a dome over the plant I have tried feeding my plant but the traps do not close very quickly, or not at all. Slow closing traps usually means that the plant is too cold.

Since this is a growth process, the warmer the plant, the quicker it will close. the temperature to around 80 degrees and see how the plant reacts. still not closing properly the traps may not be fully reset from a previous closing or the light may not be bright enough. After I fed my plant the trap turned This indicates that the food item offered was too large and rotted instead of beingTrim the black trap off and use smaller food items next time. nature, insects that are too large to digest are also strong enough to escape from the trap, allowing the plant to avoid rotting a trap and wasting energy. My plant is making new leaves and traps but some older ones are turning black.As the plant grows, older leaves are replaced with new ones so the plant cuts off energy to the old ones causing them to turn black. trim them off and remove them. The edges of my plant's leaves are turning brown and dry. This can be caused by a few different things.