How do you take care of Venus Flytraps?

Answer 1

First of all NEVER feed it raw meat, ground beef or anything like that, this will very quickly kill the plant. Second all ways keep the bottom of the pot in water, there is no need to put water in the top it soaks it through the bottom. Also if it hasn't eaten a fly or anything in a while you can feed it a live insect, an ant in your house or something of that sort. Third they like A LOT of sunlight and heat. So keep them warm and let them get lots of light. Another little tip if the inside of the traps are a redesh color that means that the plant is very healthy. You can get a venus flytrap at Lowe's.

Caring for the Venus Fly Trap

This amazing plant is native to a small region in the Carolinas. Insects are trapped and digested by the plant to obtain nutrients; they are carnivorous plants. There are six small trigger hairs inside each trap. One hair touched twice, or two hairs touched once, signals the trap to snap shut. Empty traps reopen in a day or so. Traps with prey remain closed for a week or two. Then, the trap will reopen exposing the dry shell of the victim. Flytraps do not need regular feeding and can go long periods without insects. If you are growing them in a condition where no insects can get caught, such as a cool greenhouse, feeding one trap a small insect every couple months is probably beneficial.

5 Top Tips:

1. Never feed your venus fly trap a hamburger as the saturated fat and protein will quickly kill it.

2. During the winter it will remain entirely dormant (do not worry as this is natural) during this time it is best left unfed and unprovoked.

3. The venus fly traps like a humid area with poor soil, peat, sphagnum moss and sand are a recommended mix for which a terrarium is perfect (further instructions given bellow).

4. If your venus fly trap is showing signs of stress (indicated by traps turning black and rotten) do not worry this is a natural part of its life cycle and may accellerate if repotted

5. If food is scarce do not worry, a venus fly trap can survive 1 - 2 months without food, if you are nearing the end of that period and there is still no food available then it is highly recommended that you purchase dried crickets from your local pet shop.

Care - Venus' Fly Traps are perennials that form bulbs. They are winter hardy from about Maryland, southward. If you plan on growing the plant outdoors in this region, sink the pot or container in the ground to help prevent rapid temperature fluctuations. A winter layer of pine needle mulch, three inches deep, may help in areas that are borderline for hardiness. North of zone 7, keep the flytraps protected from deep freeze during the winter. Winter storage temperatures should range from about 30-50°F. This cold rest will satisfy the plant's need to go dormant or "sleep" through the winter. Leaves may die back during winter dormancy. Though awkward terrarium plants, due to light and dormancy requirements; it is possible to grow them in a terrarium if the plants are kept 4-7 inches from fluorescent lights (see terrarium page in web site for details on lighting), and cold dormancy temperatures are provided.

Sun - From early spring through late fall, Venus' Fly Traps should get between full sun and 50% shade. Provide more shade during very warm months and more sun in spring and fall. Long spindly leaves are a sign of not enough light. A healthy plant will have some red or pink color in the mature traps. Dark red forms, such as "Akai Ryuâ„¢", need stronger sun to develop best color. Add sunlight slowly, over the course of a few days, to prevent sunburn. In bog gardens, flytraps thrive near tall pitcher plants that can provide some shading. Often, Flytraps will thrive in constant full sun. Artificial light can work, as long as it's very bright and not too hot, e.g. 4-7 inches below fluorescent plant lights.

Moisture - Keep moist and in a relatively humid environment. Periodic flooding is a good idea, but be sure to provide drainage. Flytraps do not thrive in constantly flooded or stagnant conditions. In terrariums, flood the container, then siphon off the excess water.Place the siphon as close as possible to the container bottom while draining. This helps prevent salt buildup and stagnation. If you are growing in a pot, use a plastic pot with drain holes. Most water sources are OK. If your water is especially full of minerals, salty or basic, use rain or distilled water.

Temperature - Grow at temperatures between 45-98 degrees F 21 - 35 degrees C. Provide ventilation in terrariums or plants will cook in hot sun! See "Care" for winter temperature preferences.

Soil - We use about 1/3 clean sand + 2/3 Peat Moss. A 50/50 blend of Peat Moss and sand also works well, but will dry out quicker. Some growers use pure peat moss with no sand. Do not use potting soil, Michigan peat or soil-enriching additives. Flytraps like acidic, poor soils that don't stay waterlogged. There is evidence that Venus' Fly Traps grow better if they are repotted in fresh peat/peat mix every year or two. This is probably due to the fact that older media gets leached of nutrients and also becomes less acidic.

Trimming - When flytraps begin spring growth, they send up a flower stalk. Most growers cut this off to enhance trap formation. If not removed, small white flowers will appear and may form tiny, black seeds. Flytraps treated in this manner tend to grow slower and may weaken until the seed is mature. Dead leaves or traps can be trimmed off and are normal.

Repotting - This is needed when the plant appears crowded, dries out too quickly or has divided into two or more plants. Early spring is the best time to replant, but flytraps can be moved around anytime freezing is not a threat. Use the above soil mix and water well after repotting.Do not fertilize flytraps! With simple care, flytraps can live many years.

Planting from Bare-Root Bulbs - Flytraps tend to fold their leaves backward, over the bulb, when removed from the soil. This can make it challenging to get the plant back in the media as the plant can try to "spring" back out! First, tamp or firm the soil (media) so that it is not hard, but won't settle. The media should be slightly damp. Then, make a hole in the soil, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 4-5 inches deep. You can use a sharpened stick or dibble to make the hole. Grasp the flytrap in one hand and gently fold the leaves upward, so that the pale part of the bulb is exposed below your fingers. See illustration below.

Lower the bulb so that all pale parts are below soil level and gently collapse the hole with your other hand. Release the plant and make sure the bulb is positioned correctly before gently firming the soil slightly around the bulb. If the leaves arch backwards and try to eject the plant, push it back in and firm the soil more. Water thoroughly after planting.

Answer 2

1. Get a heating Lamp if needed so you can keep it warm.

2. In the summer you should use an air conditioner.

Venus Flytrap require rather high humidity, really BRIGHT light is needed, and its surroundings need to be moist. It also needs purified water/rainwater... Tap water could kill the plant.

Answer 3

1.) Water from below. A net pot is preferrably better. Put the venus fly trap in a good pot that is NOT clay. Place the pot in a container or "dish" (not made of clay) that always contains water. Venus fly traps like moisture and die very quickly if their soil or moss dries up. Fill the container about 1/4 the size of the pot with water and keep it like that all summer. In the winter, the plant will need less water, so about 1/8 pot size of water should be fine. But never let it dry out.

2.) Sunlight. The easiest way to take care of the plant is to place it near a sunny window (preferrably with morning and noon sunlight).

3.) Do NOT overfeed! Believe it or not, venus fly traps do not need to eat bugs in order to survive. The bugs only help the plant grow faster. However, the plant should not have all its traps closed with bugs in each trap. Consider feeding it only 1-2 bugs every 1-2 weeks. Try not to have all the traps closed at once. Just a couple traps should be closed. Feed very lightly in the winter or not at all.

4.) Winter. The plant may seem like its dying during the winter. The traps and leaves may turn black and the traps may fall off, leaving only the "stem". This is a stage many plants go through. Just make sure your plant never dries up, and gets at least a few hours of sun in the winter. The plant should come back to life in the spring. The plant is very sensitive to cold temperatures. Thats why its best to keep it indoors, especially in fall and winter.

5.) Soil. Venus fly traps do not like soil with nutrients. They do not like your backyard soil, or your garden soil. They require peat moss. You can go with Sphagnum peat moss, but I like New Zealand moss the best.

6.)Feeding. It is best to use flies. Make sure any bugs you feed it are ALIVE and are not too big or too small in the trap. Do not feed it any kind of human food or anything else. Small bugs and insects are the only thing venus fly traps can eat. It takes several days, and sometimes a couple weeks for the traps to reopen.

7.)Do not touch traps. Its not a good idea to touch, poke, or slide your finger on the traps or plant. The oils on your skin are bad for the plant and its not good for the plant if its traps close without any food inside them.

8.) Enjoy! Venus fly traps are not the easiest plants to take care of, but they really are amazing and fun to have in your house.

Answer 4

Well the obvious answer is bugs. Make sure that they are not too large (when the trap closes, they should not stick out) or too small (by design, Venus Flytraps do not trap smaller insects because each 'trap' can only fire a certain number of times and it isn't worth it to fire for something very small. Some people also feed them small bits of cheese (again, the piece much fit completely within the leaf). If you feed them cheese, you need to make sure when you put it in that it hits two or more of the small hairs inside the 'mouth' more or less simultaneously. The hairs are a sensing mechanism by the plant; the mouths (their actually leaves) will only close if two or more are hit more or less simultaneously. If you are more interested in the plant part than the flower, pinch the flowers off (they take a lot of energy from the plant) and the traps will do better.

Answer 5

The Venus Flytrap will wither up in the winter, so keep it inside and water it a little as you would normally do.

Answer 6

they eat other insects to they dont only eat flys so during the winter if there is a fly around or another insect the eat it

Answer 7

Feed it water and flies.