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Venus Fly Trap Care Guide
Venus Fly Traps are perhaps the most recognisable and captivating of the Carnivorous Plants. Charles Darwin was fascinated by Carnivorous plants and and they played a large part in his work on the theory of evolution. He said that Venus Fly Traps were "one of the most wonderful plants in the world". In nature the Venus Fly Trap is only found in a small area covering 75 square miles along the coast of North and South Carolina.
They mainly live in acidic coastal bogs that have a low mineral and nutrient content. Therefore, they have evolved to capture insects to supplement there diet. They secrete a sweet nectar on their leaf surface to attract insects. On the inside of the leaf surface are 6 small stiff hairs. If the insect touches two hairs within 20 seconds (or one hair twice) the trap will snap shut trapping the insect. The Venus Fly Trap has a genius method to make sure they have caught an insect and not just a leaf or other inanimate object. To start with, the trap only loosely shuts, if the plant has caught an insect, that insect will continue to thrash around triggering more hairs that will force the trap to shut fully. if more trigger hairs are not further stimulated the trap will reopen in about 12 hours. When the plant has caught an insect the closed trap forms a water tight seal. The trap then secretes enzymes to break down the prey and the trap then reabsorbs these nutrients. Each trap will only open about 10-12 times before they no longer work. This is why people should refrain from setting off the traps unnecessarily as it uses up energy without the plant gaining any nutrients from prey. When the insect has been digested the trap will reopen leaving just the exoskeleton of the insect behind.
Growing Environment
Fly Traps can adapt to a wide variety of environments. They can be grown in a bright windowsill. A South facing windowsill that receives the most light possible is best. They can also be grown in a terrarium providing they are allowed to go dormant (more below). An unheated greenhouse is probably the best way to grow Venus fly traps. They can also just be left outside to their own devices. Their natural habitat is quite similar to the UK and they can survive UK winters outside with no additional requirements. They may just be a little slower to come out of dormancy in the Spring and a little quicker to go into dormancy in the Autumn then if they were kept in a greenhouse.
Soil and Water
The most common soil mix for Venus fly traps is 2 parts peat to 1 part perlite. I use a mix of 1 part peat, 1 part Growpark pine and 2 parts perlite. Different growers will have there own unique mixes. In the summer they are best watered using the tray method standing in at least 1cm of water at all times. Water (as with all carnivorous plants) should be rainwater, or water with a very low TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) reading. In the winter they should kept much drier, just damp while in the dormancy period. This is to prevent the rhizome from rotting and to help prevent botrytis. Botrytis thrives in cold and damp environments with little air movement so can often by found in cold greenhouses in winter. To prevent botrytis keep the plants drier and introduce some air movement if you can (fan, windows/door open). If you find botrytis on your plants remove any dead and infected material leaving only pale, clean plant material behind introduce air movement and keep drier.
Dormancy
Venus Fly Traps require a winter dormancy. If you don't give your Venus Fly Traps a winter dormancy they may be ok for a year or so, but eventually they will stop thriving and die. They require this rest period to rejuvenate ready for spring. A good time to think about winter dormancy is from Halloween to Valentines day. If these are kept outside or in an unheated greenhouse then they will go dormant themselves. If they are kept in a house or a terrarium then action should be taken. They can be placed in a cooler, less bright area such a garage, or some people even put them in the fridge. They can also just be placed outside in the winter as they are hardy enough for UK winters. During dormancy some fly traps keep a few small leaves throughout winter and some die completely back to the rhizome and it can look like its died, but it will come back in the spring as long as everything's been right for it over winter.
