The maintenance of the Venus Flytrap is just as special as its diet. We have summarized everything you need to know about fly trap care.
The Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) has some special requirements when it comes to care and keeping. In many details, it even differs significantly from the requirements of most garden and house plants. We have summarized the most important facts and explain how you can successfully keep the carnivorous plant.
Caring for a Venus Flytrap: What to look out for?
As an exotic species, it is hardly surprising that the Venus flytrap sometimes differs greatly from other conventional indoor and garden plants in terms of its care requirements. The mere supply of nutrients from animal prey is already a great special feature and a unique selling point. We will briefly explain what you should pay attention to so that your Venus flytrap thrives.
Holding Venus Flytrap: The Right Location
The Venus flytrap likes it sunny. Direct sunlight is important for the trapping leaves to open wide. The plant thrives best indoors on the window sill - in a mild and even climate, it can also move outdoors in summer. The flytrap makes further demands on the air humidity: this should ideally be between 50 and 60 percent. Also, be sure to protect your Venus flytrap from drafts, because they don't like that at all.
The right substrate for the Venus Flytrap
The basis for the successful care of the Venus flytrap is always the choice of the right substrate. The plant thrives best on special carnivore soil, such as Floragard special soil for carnivorous plants. This has to do with its origin: as a bog plant, the Venus flytrap needs soil with an acidic pH and low nutrient concentration. In addition, your substrate should support a balanced water balance with good water absorption, but also release. These claims can onlyoptimally fulfill a carnivore soil.
Venus Flytrap" Watering Properly
In its natural environment, the Venus flytrap is in the open field and is in contact with constantly moist soil. This fact must also be simulated by regular watering when kept as a potted plant. It is important that the surface of the substrate never dries out. In contrast to many other potted plants, the Venus flytrap tolerates short-term waterlogging without any problems. That's why you can calmly place them on a trivet with water to equalize the frequency of watering a little. Another peculiarity is their intolerance to "hard" water with high ion content. It is therefore best to use filtered rainwater or distilled water mixed with ten percent tap water to water your Venus flytrap.
You can find detailed instructions on how to water the Venus flytrap here.
Feed Venus Flytrap
Basically, you wouldn't need to feed your Venus Flytrap as it would still get enough nutrients from insect digestion without your caring affection. However, feeding - if done correctly - can't hurt either. The most important thing when feeding is that the prey is still alive when it is placed in the snap trap. The stimulus that is triggered by the movement of the insect must last for a long time, otherwise the secretion of the digestive enzymes does not start. The second aspect is the size of the prey. The rule of thumb is that the prey should be one-third the length of the catch leaves for effective digestion to occur.
For more detailed information on feeding the Venus Flytrap click here.
Repot Venus Flytrap
You should repot your Venus Flytrap at least once a year. You can tell when the time is right when the above-ground plant material is already overhanging the pot. A fully rooted pot also indicates that it is time to repot the plant. Prepare a new, larger planter for repotting and fill it with a suitable plant substrate.
You can find detailed instructions on how to repot the Venus Flytrap in our special article.
Care for Venus Flytrap in Winter
The Venus Flytrap is very frugal and doesn't ask for much from you. However, she does not want to give up her hibernation. The signsfor a move to the winter quarters, the Venus flytrap sends an unmistakable signal: the newly developed trapping leaves become smaller and smaller and no longer develop the characteristic red inside, until they finally remain completely closed. As soon as you recognize these signs, you should move your plant to a suitable place for hibernation. Unheated staircases or basement rooms with large windows are ideal. The temperature should always be between 5 and 10 °C. The lower the temperature, the lower the light should be.
Note: The Venus flytrap is already very frugal when it comes to its nutritional requirements. Even in summer, under normal circumstances, they do not need any additional fertilization and get their nutrients by digesting the prey. Therefore, never fertilize in winter to avoid toxic damage from over-fertilization.