FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi all. I have recently started growing a venus fly trap. The container it came in was rather small and made of plastic, which gets rather hot. So I moved it to a large glass mason jar and painted the jar around the soil to prevent it from getting too hot. There is also styrofoam inside the jar surrounding the soil for insulation. I drilled 8 holes in the lid of the jar and am just wondering if I should leave it on or not...I am wondering if it may get too hot and also if the increased humidity is more dangerous than it is good for the plant. I have attached some pictures.

I live in Southern Alberta, Canada.

The humidity is around 40-60% currently and the temperature has been between 18-30 Celcius.

The plant is in my basement room next to a West facing window.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Welcome to FlytrapCare!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that setup looks like a good oven in which to cook a flytrap! I'd suggest getting a standard plastic pot, or glazed ceramic, whichever you might prefer, that's at least 5 inches deep and repot the plant. At the very least, take it out of that jar as soon as possible so that it doesn't cook.

Yeah, that looks kinda dangerous.
Flytraps don't require the high humidity, and terrarium type containers can lead to problems with heating up, soil becoming stagnant, mold, etc. Standard plastic plant pots work fine. When I first started I kept messing around with terrarium designs until Matt informed me they do just fine in normal containers.

The jar is quite large (hard to tell scale in the pictures) with a wide opening, so I am thinking it might get enough air flow if I just left it open. Like I said it is in the basement and air conditioning is not that far away

kittenmittons wrote:The jar is quite large (hard to tell scale in the pictures) with a wide opening, so I am thinking it might get enough air flow if I just left it open. Like I said it is in the basement and air conditioning is not that far away

I'd still agree with the others, though. VFTs are great at adjusting to different humidity levels and it really should not be high on your priority list when it comes to the plant's needs. It would do much better in an open container in full sunlight as long as weather permits.

The jar, while large, will still heat up fairly quickly and that much humidity and stagnant air will promote fungal growth if you aren't careful. In addition, you can easily overwater and get root rot since there is no drainage.

kittenmittons wrote:The jar is quite large (hard to tell scale in the pictures) with a wide opening, so I am thinking it might get enough air flow if I just left it open. Like I said it is in the basement and air conditioning is not that far away

If you use the jar without a lid, then it should work. I suppose its just like a regular pot with really high transparent edges. There is the issue of stagnant soil though, so I would be careful with watering.

What are the average temps like in your city during the summer/fall?

I would leave it outside for the summer then. For the rest of the year you may want to consider a growlight.