Venus Flytrap Care Guide (Dionaea muscipula)
Venus Flytrap Facts
Trying to grow a Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a rite of passage for many indoor gardeners. Sadly, for most of us, it ends with a rubbish-looking plant a few weeks later.
Why do they fare so poorly in our homes? The simple truth is that they're not normal houseplants and you can't treat them as such.
They've very specific needs that are almost the complete opposite of your other indoor plants. But don't worry. Once you understand the golden rules these fascinating carnivorous plants can live for decades. Here is everything you need to know to succeed.
A small carnivorous plant that reacts and moves in front of your eyes, it's no wonder we love them! But these iconic houseplants can be tricky if the care they get isn't right. Photo by Mike Aronesty via Wikipedia
Despite their popularity, the main reason they expire quite quickly in the hands of a lay person is the lack of correct care (and triggering the traps for "fun"). I won't say they're simple plants to have around, but with some adjustment to how you might treat and care for a "normal" houseplant they can certainly live in your home or office longer than a few weeks.
They can certainly live in your home longer than just a few weeks (up to 20 years actually!)
There is only the one species of Venus Flytrap, so although there are different varieties and cultivars you can get hold of, most need identical care requirements and will have quite similar growth patterns. The cultivars create individuality through their appearance, some have larger traps and others have different markings or colours.
Venus Flytrap 'Zipp' (Dionaea muscipula 'Zipp') is a cultivar of the classic Dionaea muscipul known for its vibrant green frilled traps. With age, the interiors of the traps will turn a deep red.
The named cultivars tend to appeal to the seasoned collector and are priced accordingly. The standard plant on the other hand is cheap and easy to find these days, you'll spot them in garden centres and even supermarkets from late Spring onwards. That's usually where the trouble starts, because they're sold sitting alongside the regular houseplants and end up being treated like one.
Why the name "Venus Flytrap"?
Taking stock so far, I've told you that Venus Flytraps are difficult to keep and get treated wrongly from the moment they're sold. I haven't really sold the plant to you have I.
At the end of the day a lot of people have a soft spot for these quirky plants and you'll either love or hate the idea of them. The negatives might not be negatives depending on your perspective so once you have your new plant all you need to know is how to keep your Venus Flytrap alive.
They might not be everyone's cup of tea, but most people would agree they're interesting houseplants.
Did You Know?
A Venus Flytrap can snap shut in less than half a second. Charles Darwin was so fascinated by this plant and what it could do that, in his 1875, book "Insectivorous Plants" he called it "one of the most wonderful in the world."
The main reason for failure is that these plants are typically a victim of their own popularity, it seems everyone out there has an idea about how a Venus Flytrap needs to be treated.
Some suggestions are correct and others total myths. Mess up on just one of the care requirements and you're potentially doomed. On top of that, don't forget a rest is needed in winter and you must understand the purpose of the traps and stop tricking them into triggering. Which leads us on nicely to the actual care instructions.
Hi, I'm Tom!
If you're like me and enjoy the challenge of growing houseplants and getting them to thrive, then OurHouseplants can help. This website shares my knowledge and years of growing plants and provides my advice on properly caring for your indoor plant friends.
Venus Flytrap Photos
Venus Flytrap Care Guide
The Three Golden Rules.
Provide direct sunlight, use mainly rainwater or distilled water, and never use standard potting soil or fertilizer.
Light
When you think of a Venus Flytrap growing natively you may think of a dank stinky bog with poor light levels. This isn't actually correct as natively this plant grows in much more exposed locations which receive large amounts of direct sunlight.
As long as you keep up with the watering instructions below, a spot with direct sunlight is ideal. Aim for at least four hours of direct sun a day and more if you can manage it, a south facing windowsill is normally the best you'll get indoors. If that's not possible, find the brightest spot you have or top it up with a grow light.
Your plant will tell you if it's getting enough. Plenty of light and the insides of the traps flush a deep red. Too little and the whole plant stays green, the leaves grow long and floppy and the new traps come through smaller than the old ones.
As with all houseplants, if your Venus Flytrap's previous home was very dark, plan its move to a spot in sunshine gradually, otherwise you risk burning the leaves to a crisp. Start with an hour of exposure a day, then build up over the following week or so.
Watering
During the growing season (Spring through to Autumn) and in a sunny spot, it's very difficult to "over water" this plant. The easiest way to look after it is the tray method. Stand the pot in a saucer or drip tray and keep a centimetre or two of water in it, topping it up when it's just about run dry. The growing medium wicks up what it needs and stays wet without you having to think about it.
This is obviously excellent news when you need to leave the plant over longer periods or you're naturally a bit unpredictable when it comes to watering your houseplants.
Winter is the exception. During the rest period ditch the tray and just keep the growing medium damp rather than wet. Bone dry at any time of year is the one thing that will finish it off quickly.
Wet feet in Summer, damp in Winter, but never bone dry
Finally, you must not use tap water over a prolonged period. If you're desperate it will be okay on the odd occasion, but Venus Flytraps need pure water whenever possible. Tap water contains dissolved salts and minerals which although harmless to us, build up in the soil over time and are basically toxic to these plants.
"Pure water" can be collected rain water, distilled water or reverse osmosis water. Bottled water is a gamble as the mineral content varies hugely from brand to brand, so if in doubt stick with rain or distilled instead.
No water butt? The water that collects in a dehumidifier or a defrosting freezer is essentially distilled and works a treat. Failing that, supermarkets and hardware shops sell deionised water for steam irons for a pound or two, which does the job nicely.
A mix of moss and perlite provides the perfect nutrient-poor environment your Flytrap needs to thrive.
Humidity
In very arid homes or offices crispy leaves can be the result which can make your Venus Flytraps look tatty.
The best and simplest way to provide sufficient humidity to keep your plant looking healthy is to use a drip tray and make sure there is water resting in it at least a few times a week. Some of the water will be used by the plant but also some will evaporate creating a small humid micro climate.
Feeding
You should never feed a Venus Flytrap with houseplant fertiliser. It's not only unnecessary but potentially highly damaging to the plant. Like any other green plant it makes its energy through photosynthesis, but the nutrients it can't get from its deliberately poor soil (mainly nitrogen) come from the flies and other small insects it traps and digests instead.
Temperature
Normal room temperatures are perfect. These plants can also deal easily with light frosts, anything more substantial however and you could be in trouble so do be careful if you choose to let it live outside during the winter dormancy period.
Those open traps and "teeth" really make this an unusual and fearsome houseplant.
Repotting
The general rule is that you should look to repot your Dionaea once a year or once every two years in Spring or Summer. Unless your plant has outgrown its existing pot there is no real need to upgrade to a new size, so essentially when we are repotting all we are doing is changing and refreshing the "soil" or growing medium it's been living in.
You must never use nutrient rich soil for your Venus Flytrap
To get started gently remove the plant and discard the old growing medium, take care not to damage the roots or rhizome as you do so. Fill the old (or new) pot with the fresh growing medium and then create a large enough hole to gently put the plant into. Once in place give everything a good soak (don't use tap water) to settle everything.
The tricky part is often finding suitable growing medium because you must not use nutrient rich soil like compost. This plant must grow in nutrient poor soil so if you give it something with fertiliser you will damage the roots and eventually destroy the plant.
There is lots you can use although normally you should be prepared to mix your own "blend". A mixture of two or more of the following is often used: Peat Moss, Sphagnum Moss, Perlite or horticultural Sand (washed, not builders' sand). Whatever you go for, it must be unfertilised and lime free.
You should also be able to buy a ready made mixes. If you go down this route don't substitute for general houseplant purpose products and only buy clearly marked Venus Flytrap or carnivorous plant mixes.
Propagation
You may think using Dionaea seeds and growing them on is a good way to get more plants for a bargain price, but unless you are experienced with Venus Flytraps (in which case you probably won't need this article), our advice for beginners is - don't.
Germination can be hit or miss depending on the age of the seeds and they take a really long time to grow and mature.
The far easier route is division. Mature plants naturally form clumps, and when you're repotting in Spring you'll often find the rhizome has split into two or more crowns, each with its own set of roots. Gently tease them apart and pot each one up separately. Instant new plants with none of the waiting around.
Only got the one crown? Then our suggestion to get more plants is to cheat and buy fully mature ones through Amazon (or perhaps support your local garden nursery if possible).
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Speed of Growth
Expect respectable growth in Spring and Summer if temperatures are warm, light levels are good and you water well. Even then these plants tend not to be fast growers.
Height / Spread
Average height will only be an inch or so at most, unless you have a cultivar which has a more vertical growth habit. They often spread wider than they grow tall, at several inches across.
Flowers
Flowers are quite common on Venus Flytraps, however they do not really add anything to the plant's appeal. Instead their presence is essentially a drain on resources and could hinder or adversely affect leaf and trap production.
Some people like to keep them in situ on established and mature plants, others will simply snip off the flowering stem once it emerges to divert energy back into the rest of the plant.
The blooms are not overly showy but are a fairly common sight with well cared for plants. It can grow surprisingly quickly and, once it is tall enough, small white flowers open at the top. Photo by H. Zell
It's not all bad news, because if you do get flowers then it's a great sign that you likely have a healthy plant and are looking after it well!
Should you cut the flower stalk off?
- If the plant is strong and healthy.
You can leave it alone and enjoy the flowers. A well-established plant in good light can usually cope just fine, although it may produce fewer new traps while it is putting energy into flowering. - If the plant is small, weak or recovering.
I would cut the stalk off near the base while it is still short. Flowering takes a fair bit of energy and there is little point asking a struggling plant to do that when it needs to rebuild itself instead. - Don't confuse it with a new leaf.
A flower stalk grows tall and straight without a trap at the end. New leaves start as small folded traps and gradually open as they grow.
Are Venus Flytraps Poisonous?
The Venus Flytrap is not considered toxic to pets or people.
Winter Rest
It's good practice to rest a great number of houseplants over winter, but for Venus Flytraps it's absolutely essential. Skip it and the plant gradually weakens and usually gives up after a year or two. From around November through to February (in the Northern Hemisphere) you need to give it three months or so of cool to cold temperatures, somewhere between 0°C (32°F) and 10°C (50°F) is the target.
Find an unheated room, ideally one that does get cold such as a porch, conservatory or garage and reduce watering to just once or twice a month to keep the soil damp (obviously water more or less as needed to avoid the soil being too wet or dry). It still appreciates whatever light is going, so a cold windowsill beats a dark cupboard.
Growth will almost stop completely, and parts of your plant will blacken and die back. It can look pretty grim, but do not be alarmed as come Spring when things get lighter and warmer, replacement growth will start.
If you bought your plant in Autumn and it's already looking sorry for itself a few weeks later, this is almost certainly what's happening. Don't bin it, give it the rest and see what comes back in Spring.
The Feeding Traps
The plant does ultimately need to catch prey in order to feed itself and prosper. The easiest and most natural way is to stand it outside during the warmer months and let it get on with it. Indoors it will still catch the odd fly, but if it's caught nothing for a month or so you can step in.
Feeding it yourself is simple enough. Use a live insect, or a rehydrated dried mealworm or bloodworm from the pet shop, no bigger than about a third the size of the trap. Drop it in, and if it's not moving, gently stroke the outside of the closed trap a few times over the next minute or so. This mimics a struggling insect and tells the plant to start digesting rather than reopen. One or two traps fed a month is plenty, there's no need to fill them all.
Animation showing the flytrap closing - By Mnolf
The traps have hinges in the middle that allow it to snap close, much like you can slam a book shut when you balance the spine in the palm of your hand and push up.
The signal to the plant to close is when movement is detected on the trigger hairs found on the inside of the traps. Cleverly, one touch isn't enough. A hair needs to be touched twice within about 20 seconds (or two different hairs brushed in quick succession) before the trap snaps shut. This stops it wasting energy closing on a raindrop or a bit of falling debris.
If movement keeps happening within the trap at this point, for example if the insect tries to escape, the trap will keep closing trapping its prey even tighter before it starts to consume what's been caught. Once it has eaten its meal the trap will reopen, often a week or so later.
Each trap has trigger hairs that need to sense movement before the leaf will close. Photo by Noah Elhardt
If movement ceases after the initial closure the plant will assume the prey has escaped or its been "tricked". The trap will then gradually reopen for future use, usually taking a day or so.
The traps might look inviting to curious fingers (and whatever else can be used to poke the trigger hairs) but resist! Each trap has a limited life span which in part is determined by the number of closures that occur, after 4 or 5 closures the trap will become inactive.
After this happens, it will no longer function as a trap, although they'll still act like a standard leaf and carry out photosynthesis for the plant.
Venus Flytrap FAQs
While they can survive on sunlight and water alone for a time, they need the nitrogen from insects to grow vigorously. Think of insects as a high-quality multivitamin rather than a primary food source.
No. Never feed them human food. The fats and proteins in meat will cause the trap to rot, which can be highly damaging to the health of the entire plant.
Yes. Standard potting soil contains fertilizers that are lethal to these plants. They require a nutrient-poor medium, like a mix of peat moss and perlite.
Yes, and in the warmer months it will love you for it. Outside it gets the full sun it craves and can catch its own food without any help from you. Just keep up with the rainwater and bring it somewhere sheltered if a hard frost is forecast.
Traps going black are a normal part of life for this plant, each one only lasts so long before it's replaced. But if the whole plant is heading that way outside of winter, something in the care isn't right.
Final thoughts
If you've made it this far you'll have noticed the care isn't complicated, it's just different to most houseplants. Direct sun, pure water, poor soil, a proper winter rest and hands off the traps. Get those right and the Venus Flytrap stops being the plant that perishes after a fortnight and becomes one of the more interesting things living on your windowsill for years to come.
When one of mine starts looking unhappy, I don't start feeding it, spraying it or moving it around straight away. I check three things first: whether the compost has dried out, whether it is getting enough direct sun, and whether I've accidentally used the wrong water. Those three things explain the vast majority of serious Venus Flytrap problems.
If yours is already struggling, or you're not sure whether what you're seeing is normal, I've put together a separate guide covering the common Venus Flytrap problems and how to turn things around.
About the Author
Over the last 20 years, Tom has successfully owned hundreds of houseplants and is always happy to share knowledge and lend his horticulture skills to those in need. He is the leading content writer for the OurHouseplants Team.
