Venus Flytrap Care: What to Know

[Music] Hello and welcome to HealthyHouseplants.com, where we teach you all about gardening in the great indoors. If you’d like to support our show, please use our Amazon affiliate link below. Today, we are going to talk about the Venus flytrap—a very cool plant that I’ve grown since I was a little kid. I will explain how to keep these plants healthy and happy in your indoor garden and how to have fun with them as well. When I started indoor gardening as a kid, I gravitated towards the trickier Venus flytrap after mastering some of the easier plants. It’s fairly easy to grow if you know what you’re doing, but if you don’t, it can die pretty quickly, so we’re going to cover that today. As I mentioned in my “Plant Stories” video about the history of the Venus flytrap, I became quite popular in middle school because of my plant, with people coming over to my house to feed it after school. It’s a very fun plant and makes for a great science project for kids of all ages. The Venus flytrap is native to a hundred-mile area along the coasts of North and South Carolina, and they cannot be found anywhere else. Because of their very limited range, there has been talk about putting them on the endangered species list. They grow actively during the warm months but will go dormant when the temperature cools down. In fact, they are dormant from November through March and actively growing from April through October. So if you’ve had one and thought it died in November, it didn’t die; it just went dormant and will come back next year. As I mentioned, the Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant that grows six to eight inches in diameter, so it’s not going to get very big. If you’ve been waiting for your plant to grow really huge, it’s not going to happen. The plant has tooth traps that contain a sticky, sweet-smelling substance that lures flies and other insects. When an insect touches the trigger hairs inside the trap, it causes the trap to close. The plant then releases digestive juices that break down the insect, similar to how our stomachs digest food. In terms of keeping your Venus flytrap healthy and happy, they require bright light. Position them near an eastern, western, or southern exposure window. Be cautious with western windows, as they can get hot. You may need to place the plant two or three feet back from the window. Eastern windows are great, as the plant enjoys the bright light there. If you don’t have enough natural light, consider getting full-spectrum light bulbs that simulate daylight. One of the most common reasons Venus flytraps die is their sensitivity to high salts and minerals in water. Avoid using tap water, and definitely do not use softened water, as it contains salts that can kill your plant quickly. Instead, use reverse osmosis, distilled, or rainwater. Keep the plant in about a quarter of an inch of water at all times to maintain its bog-like conditions—letting it dry out can be fatal. When it comes to feeding, Venus flytraps do not require fertilizer since they get their nutrients from eating insects. I made the mistake of feeding my plant hamburger when I was a kid, but it’s better to stick to live food or food that has died recently. One option is to use sow bugs or pill bugs, which are easier to catch than flies. Now, let’s feed the flytrap! I’ll demonstrate how it works. Here, I’m using tweezers to pick up a little fly. To initiate the trap, the insect needs to trigger the hairs inside. It can be a bit tricky, but once it’s triggered, the trap will close. The plant will start releasing its digestive juices to break down the fly and use it as nutrients. However, it’s important not to poke the trap just to see it close, as that can cause it to stay shut for too long and lead to the trap dying prematurely. If you want to attract flies, position your Venus flytrap by a window where they tend to gravitate. You can also use clear containers to catch flies and place them in the trap. In summary, remember to repot your Venus flytrap every two years at the end of its dormancy, ideally in January or February. Use a plastic pot with a mix of one part perlite, one part horticultural sand, and two parts peat moss. Be sure to wet the mix before planting, and never use beach sand, as it contains salt. With these tips, you’ll be able to keep your Venus flytrap happy and healthy. Have fun with your plant, and thank you for stopping by today! Please leave any comments about indoor gardening tutorials you’d like to see. Remember to like, comment, subscribe, and share this video, and don’t forget to hit the bell for notifications on our new releases!