venus flytrap

McFearless

hi
im just wondering if anybody has experience with growing venus flytraps?iv read up on them abit but i wanna know if people grew them indoors if so,what did you do to help them?? thanks :pac:

Owen

I'd one for about 3 years indoors. The trick is to keep it very very moist with plenty of water regularly.

Velvet shank

Rain water, rather than tap water, is also generally recommended. I generally have the plants standing in trays in a centimetre or so of water. Having said that, it is preferable in winter to let the plants enter a more dormant state, with colder temperatures and much less water. I've left some in a completely unheated house this winter, with only very occasional additions of water, and they have done fine. You can keep them year-round at higher temperatures and with fairly constant watering, although the lack of regular dormancy periods is thought to weaken the plants over time and shorten their potential life-span. If you buy one in a shop, be careful of the growing medium in which it comes. It may not be appropriate for the plant, which would require re-potting into something more suitable. I have some growing in pure peat moss, in which they do fine, although other combinations of peat and sand are also favoured.

You can leave them outside during the summer, preferably in an area of maximum sun. In my experience, those left outside for prolonged periods of fine weather (remember those!) take on more red pigmentation and are all the more attractive for it. High humidity is good (probably necessary if plants are struggling). I had some in one of those small mini-greenhouse things (with the plastic covering) last summer and they came on very nicely.

Don't 'fool' the traps too much as it takes energy from the plant and each individual leaf will only open and close a few times before dying. Don't give them burgers or any other scraps of cooked meat! Whatever they catch themselves will be fine. Even if they are not in a situation in which they can catch a lot of stuff, they will still be ok, provided all the basic care requirements are adequate. Healthy plants should flower regularly, but it is advisable to remove the flower stalks as soon as you see them emerging, so that the plant's energies can be concentrated into making healthy leaves, although plants in good condition don't seem to be unduly harmed by being left to complete the flowering process.