How do I care for a Venus Fly Trap?

Venus Fly Traps

Venus fly traps will thrive in direct sunlight if available. If you are able to keep your venus fly trap in a sunny window, it will do well. If using a humidity dome, or keeping your venus fly trap in an enclosed container, keep in mind that direct sunlight can cause the temperature in the container to climb drastically. Venus fly traps can do well under artificial light. As a general rule, the more intense the light, the better. Venus fly traps rely on insects for some nutrients, but light is still vital for photosynthesis.

Venus fly traps require pure water with little or no minerals. Reverse osmosis or distilled water is best, but well water or rainwater can suffice. The Venus fly trap does not need water on the leaves – just keep the substrate moist. Venus fly traps do not need high humidity, as long as their substrate is kept moist. Growth may be more vigorous with high humidity, however.

Opinions on substrate for Venus fly traps differ greatly, from peat/sand, coco fiber, to topsoil. At Josh’s Frogs, we’ve found long fiber sphagnum moss works well. Just keep the sphagnum moist, and your Venus fly trap will do well.

Many people assume that Venus fly traps are tropical plants. Actually, Venus fly traps hail from temperate climates, and are typically dormant part of the year. Although a Venus fly trap can go 2-3 years without a dormancy period, it’s a good idea to provide your Venus fly trap with one. Simply stop feeding, water less, and place your Venus fly trap in a cooler area, such as the bottom shelf of your fridge or in a garage/basement. After a couple months, bring it out and water heavily.

Venus fly traps gather important nutrients from eating insects, especially nitrogen. It’s important to feed your Venus Fly Trap regularly, ideally once every 1-2 weeks. Don’t overfeed your Venus fly trap, as each trap will only eat 2-4 times before falling off. Small insects, such as flightless fruit flies, make an ideal food for your Venus fly trap.