Venus Fly trap

The Venus fly trap (Dionaea muscipula) is surely one of the world's most unusual-looking plants. People grow it not because of what it looks like but because of what it does: It eats flies. This fact makes it one of the most fun plants to grow, especially for children, who may watch it for hours as it "dines."

This leaf/trap consists of two lip-like lobes united by a hinge. Nectar within the trap is the bait that draws an insect in to its death. Once inside, if the insect makes contact with one of the trigger hairs, the trap is sprung: It closes, shutting up the prey inside. The insect is digested via enzymes within 4 to 10 days. After digestion, some "jaws" reopen while others will die back.

Care:

It is no harder to care for than many other houseplants, but it does require specific conditions.

Caring for this carnivorous plant requires feeding it live flies, mosquitoes, and gnats. Grasp the insect with tweezers and gently insert it into the trap until it contacts a trigger hair inside the trap. It will help to keep a journal to track when you feed because a Venus fly trap has a set number of times during its life that it can open and close.

Pick off the flower when you see the plant coming into bloom in May or June. Flowering leads to seed production, and this whole process will only divert energy away from the plant. Venus fly trap is not grown for its floral beauty, but for the carnivorous display it puts on.

Light:

Place your pot in a location where it will receive 12 hours of light daily during the growing season from spring to fall. Aim for at least 4 hours of this to be bright, direct sunlight.

Water:

It is better to water Venus fly trap with rainwater than tap water. Leave a container outdoors to collect the rainwater. In the absence of rainwater, use distilled water. Best is to keep a little dish underneath and water that dish once every couple of days.

Winter:

The plant goes through a period of dormancy beginning in autum when the hours of daylight and sunlight levels decrease. It will lose its leaves and appear to die, but it actually lives on underground through rhizomes. This is normal, and you should not try to make up for the reduction of daylight hours by giving the plant artificial light.

Keep the plant in the coolest room of your home and cut back on the amount of water. Give it just enough water so the soil does not dry out completely. In the early spring when it starts regrowing, resume the regular watering schedule to keep it moist at all times.

Please note Venus fly trap will arrive in a cup, you must remove from the cup.

Venus fly traps are very delicate plants, we can not assure that some traps will not close during travel movement.

Please only buy this beautiful plants if you understand that while we pack carefully and have experience shipping these plants successfully, some traps shutting in the packaging are normal and to be expected. 

No refunds/returns will be accepted on this particular product.