Dionea muscipula: Caresheet
Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 10:52 pm
Dionea muscipula, or Venus Fly Trap, is a carnivorous plant from the bogs and swamplands in North and South Carolina. See map. Because they come from poor soil, their roots have developed to be very sensitive to any chemicals or contaminates in the soil. This caresheet will go over the three basic needs of all carnivorous plants.
Photo courtesy of http://www.flytrapcare.com
There are four main types of carnivorous plants, Dionea or Venus Fly Trap, Drosera or Sundew, Sarracenia or North American Pitcher, and Nepenthes or Tropical Pitcher. Although they mostly need the same requirements, Nepenthes are a little more high end, requiring very humid air.
1) Light- Venus fly traps need atleast 12 hours of sunlight a day, with 4 hours being direct. While the other three don't need as much light, and Sarracenia like dappled. It all depends on your species but Venus fly traps definately need the bright, long light.
2) Soil- All carnivorous plants need nutrient POOR soil, not really soil at all. They do best with Peat's moss (Spaghnum moss). A half and half mix with Peat moss and sand is the most widely used. I use pure whole (not milled) Peat's moss with a layer of live Peat's moss on top. NEVER USE FERTILIZER. This will burn the roots and kill the plants.
3) Water- Tons and tons and tons! The soil should always be MOIST, not soaked, as after a while you may get mold. To keep the soil you may need to water daily, but using a cup underneath, keeping the water level just below the pot, will provide a constant evaporation of water rising up into the pot.
**Other Notes** Venus fly traps, Sarracenia, and most Sundews require a dormancy every winter of about 3-4 months at a temperature above freezing. About 40*F (4.44*C) is ideal. A cool garage window or basement would be a good idea. During this dormancy they will still need light, although not nearly as much. Some people (in warmer climates) may have to provide an artifical winter. As an only resort, you can keep the plant in the refridgerator. It is not recommended, as the plant won't get any light. During this dormancy most of the traps will die and turn black. They can be trimmed in the spring. In Venus Fly Traps the spring traps will have broad stems and will hang low to the ground, while summer traps stems will grow long and skinny. FEEDING- Venus Fly Traps do not to be fed alot. A fly every two weeks or so is perfect. Never feed anything other than bugs, or bugs with hard exoskeletons (i.e. ants, ladybugs). Flies and boxelderbugs are perfect.
A healthy Venus Fly Trap will have the insides of the traps turn a dark shade of red. Here is a picture of mine duing the end of the summer and definately a healthy plant! Here
Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave comments. And Thank you to Fly Trap Care.com for all your help and great articles. If you want to dive deeper into carnivorous plants check them out. Great community. *This caresheet doesn't really go over any other species of carnivorous plants in detail. Although similar, they may need different requirements. Please research them seperately if you are interested in them.*
Photo courtesy of http://www.flytrapcare.com
There are four main types of carnivorous plants, Dionea or Venus Fly Trap, Drosera or Sundew, Sarracenia or North American Pitcher, and Nepenthes or Tropical Pitcher. Although they mostly need the same requirements, Nepenthes are a little more high end, requiring very humid air.
1) Light- Venus fly traps need atleast 12 hours of sunlight a day, with 4 hours being direct. While the other three don't need as much light, and Sarracenia like dappled. It all depends on your species but Venus fly traps definately need the bright, long light.
2) Soil- All carnivorous plants need nutrient POOR soil, not really soil at all. They do best with Peat's moss (Spaghnum moss). A half and half mix with Peat moss and sand is the most widely used. I use pure whole (not milled) Peat's moss with a layer of live Peat's moss on top. NEVER USE FERTILIZER. This will burn the roots and kill the plants.
3) Water- Tons and tons and tons! The soil should always be MOIST, not soaked, as after a while you may get mold. To keep the soil you may need to water daily, but using a cup underneath, keeping the water level just below the pot, will provide a constant evaporation of water rising up into the pot.
**Other Notes** Venus fly traps, Sarracenia, and most Sundews require a dormancy every winter of about 3-4 months at a temperature above freezing. About 40*F (4.44*C) is ideal. A cool garage window or basement would be a good idea. During this dormancy they will still need light, although not nearly as much. Some people (in warmer climates) may have to provide an artifical winter. As an only resort, you can keep the plant in the refridgerator. It is not recommended, as the plant won't get any light. During this dormancy most of the traps will die and turn black. They can be trimmed in the spring. In Venus Fly Traps the spring traps will have broad stems and will hang low to the ground, while summer traps stems will grow long and skinny. FEEDING- Venus Fly Traps do not to be fed alot. A fly every two weeks or so is perfect. Never feed anything other than bugs, or bugs with hard exoskeletons (i.e. ants, ladybugs). Flies and boxelderbugs are perfect.
A healthy Venus Fly Trap will have the insides of the traps turn a dark shade of red. Here is a picture of mine duing the end of the summer and definately a healthy plant! Here
Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave comments. And Thank you to Fly Trap Care.com for all your help and great articles. If you want to dive deeper into carnivorous plants check them out. Great community. *This caresheet doesn't really go over any other species of carnivorous plants in detail. Although similar, they may need different requirements. Please research them seperately if you are interested in them.*
Great stuff Lil 
