Everything to know about Venus Flytraps

When someone thinks about Venus flytraps, their mind often wanders to giant man-eating plants that can swallow you whole but in reality, they are neither giant nor man-eating. Venus flytraps often only grow to eight to twelve inches high and only eat insects –not humans. These plants are relatively low maintenance, however to keep your new plant alive there are some key details to keep in mind.

Description 

Venus flytraps are best known for their carnivorous eating habits. This plant is easily recognized by the two hinged lobes on each leaf. On the inner surface of the lobes are filled with little hairs called trichomes that cause the lobes to shut when their prey comes into direct contact. To prevent wasting energy, the trap will only close when the trichomes are triggered multiple times. On either side of the leaf are bristles that interlock when the trap closes to ensure the prey can’t escape. 

Light 

Consistent light is crucial to keep your Venus flytrap alive. It needs full direct sunlight between six to eight hours daily. Although some will need more. One sign your Venus flytrap needs more light is if it begins to turn black. If this happens, increase the amount of direct sunlight till the natural coloring is restored. 

Water and Soil 

The soil of a Venus flytrap always needs to be moist but never soggy. Make sure you don’t fertilize your plant because it will slowly kill it. When watering a Venus flytrap never use tap water. These waters contain significant minerals that will likely kill your Venus flytrap. Instead, you can use distilled, rainwater, or reverse osmosis water. To ensure the Venus flytrap has enough water, pour the water into a dish under the pot and let the water soak up through the holes in the bottom of the pot. Again, never let the solid try out! Venus flytraps are bog plants and require moist soil. 

Food

The Venus Flytrap, like most plants, relies on photosynthesis to survive but this carnivorous plant also depends on insects and arachnids as a form of nutrients. Ants, spiders, crickets, slugs, beetles, grasshoppers, flies, and other flying insects are all common prey for the Venus flytrap. It can take anywhere between three to five days for the Venus flytrap to fully digest its meal. It can even go months between meals, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect your plant! Despite being able to go months between feeding, the regular schedule should be about once a week to two weeks. If your plant is outside during the summer it can catch prey on its own and does not require you to feed it. Another important note is never to feed your Venus flytrap meat, it will quickly kill your plant. Since most Venus flytraps produce multiple traps it’s important to know that you do not need to feed each trap, only one or two. It’s okay to feed the same trap repeatedly too. The trap will eventually die from repeated digestion and will be replaced by a new trap. This does not mean you have killed your entire plant. 

Additional Information

While it might be tempting, it is not necessary to re-pot your Venus flytrap. It should grow fine in its original pot for about two years. These plants live up to about twenty years but it could be longer if the plant is healthy. Depending on the species of the Venus flytrap, the plant's leaves will grow into a more reddish color. This attracts more prey in the wild.

Now that you have learned the basics of taking care of a Venus flytrap, you are now ready to become an experienced parent of a Venus flytrap!

Written by Carlie Renee