Venus Flytrap Care Sheet

Getting started

Please pot your Venus flytrap as soon as possible after receipt (if shipped bare root) and move it to a spot outdoors with filtered sunlight, then move to a full sun location outdoors after a few days. The plants we grow are accustomed to full sun outdoors.

The plant may show signs of stress after shipping, such as closed or blackening traps. This is normal, and it will recover and grow new traps with appropriate care.

You may notice your new Venus flytrap has black roots. This is normal! Venus flytraps naturally have long, thin black roots. They're fine and not rotted.

Potting medium

Use a 3:1 peat:perlite mix, 100% chopped long-fiber sphagnum, or equal parts peat, perlite, and sphagnum. You can find long-fiber sphagnum on Amazon or at orchid supply stores; peat and perlite are sold at most garden centers that carry potting soil.

Do not use standard potting soil or fertilizer.

The medium must be thoroughly moistened before potting: soak the sphagnum or peat in a bowl of appropriate water (see Water below) for 30 minutes, then squeeze out the excess.

Growing indoors? Use 100% chopped sphagnum or 2:1 sphagnum:perlite for extra aeration. Peat-based mixes aren't recommended indoors, but if it's all you have, a 1:1 peat:perlite mix can work.

Pots

Plastic pots are preferred. Never use terra cotta or anything that may leach minerals into the medium. Opaque Solo cups with holes punched in the bottom work great as temporary pots.

Water & humidity

Use distilled, rain, or RO water only. You can also use a ZeroWater pitcher, but regularly test the TDS and replace the filter as needed.

Keep the pot sitting in a dish of ¼"–½" of water at all times. Letting the dish dry between fillings (no longer than a day or two) can be okay, as long as the medium doesn't dry out and you live in a humid area.

Tap water will kill Venus flytraps.

Indoor-grown Venus flytraps do not need misting or high humidity, and won't be happy in a terrarium.

Sunlight

Venus flytraps really need full sun outdoors to thrive. Experienced growers may grow indoors under full-spectrum lights; less experienced growers should avoid windowsills and other indoor environments.

Indoor growing requires very high light: at least a 24W–36W full-spectrum LED grow light for 8–10 hours or more per day. Windowsills, even south-facing, don't provide enough light and must be supplemented with proper grow lights.

Winter dormancy

Venus flytraps need a period of dormancy in winter or they won't live very long. Growers in the southern or western United States may be able to grow flytraps outdoors year-round with a natural dormancy through the winter. Growers elsewhere may need to provide a protected dormancy: an unheated greenhouse, or 2–3 months in the fridge. We've seen Venus flytraps survive very low nighttime temperatures growing outdoors here in North Carolina (they're native to our zone 8 coastal areas).

Fridge method: Bare-root your plant and wrap the roots in damp long-fiber sphagnum. Place it in a produce drawer for 2–3 months, making sure the sphagnum stays damp. Indoor growers should use the fridge method.

Feeding

Outdoors: Please do not feed your outdoor Venus flytrap. It should catch bugs naturally while growing outdoors.

Indoors: Feeding can be tricky and must be done carefully. Feed one trap one re-hydrated freeze-dried bloodworm (available at pet supply stores that sell fish food) every 2–3 weeks. If the trap turns black after feeding, wait for a new trap to grow and open fully before feeding another. Over-doing it can kill the plant.

Pests

Venus flytraps are rarely bothered by pests.

Maintenance

Cut off flower stalks before the flowers open; Venus flytrap flowers take too much energy from the plant and may cause it to decline or die. Regularly remove dead leaves (traps and the flat stalks they're attached to), and remove any carpet moss that grows on top of the medium.