How to Care for a Venus Fly Trap

One of the most popular carnivorous plants among gardeners is the Venus fly trap. Although they are considered a favorite, Venus fly traps are infamous for being notoriously difficult to grow. They are so sensitive to their environment that unless great pains are taken, they probably will not grow for you. I have a bit of experience in growing Venus fly traps and I understand how difficult it can be. So, I'm taking the liberty to give you a few tips about growing fly traps. Many don't know this information.

The most common mistake among people who raise Venus fly traps is that they insist on hand feeding insects to their plants. First of all, Venus fly traps are more than capable of catching their own food. Secondly, they only need to eat two or three insects a year. Many people often end up accidentally overfeeding their plant. Overfeeding can kill the plant. You can tell whether or not your fly trap is being overfed by the color of the inside of the trap. It should be a deep red. lighter shades of red, or other colors are signs of overfeeding and sickness. If you insist on hand feeding your fly trap, then keep in mind that they only eat medium sized insects. Larger ones will kill the trap. A sign of this is the trap turning black. If a trap turns black, cut it back. New traps will grow within two to six weeks.

Another common mistake that gardeners make is that they try to grow their fly trap in the wrong kind of soil. It is very important that you grow your Venus fly trap in peat, like the kind you would find in a bog. Do not grow the fly trap in any other type of soil as this can and will hinder the plant's growth. It could even kill it. You must also keep the plant and it's soil constantly wet. It's best if you keep it in a few inches of water. Never let it dry out.

The Venus fly trap does not respond well to cold weather. When the winter months start, cut back the leaves and traps and store the bulb in your refrigerator for about sixty to one hundred days. Make sure that you do not accidentally put it in the freezer.

keep in mind that there are many different subspecies of Venus fly trap. The one I am informing you on is the most common. It is green with red traps. There are other, more exotic subspecies if you would like something different, but be warned. Those ones are even harder to grow.