FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

the venus flytrap is usually one of the first plants that pop into someones head when they think of carnivorous plants, and rightly so being one of the most interesting plants around.most people really want one and im sure most of the people on this site have one, so ive made this post to give people some backgroun info on their lovely plants.

INFO
the venus flytrap comes natively from north and south carolina, specificly in a 60mile radius of wilmington (apparently). authough mostly growing in wet sandy and peaty soils the venus flytrap has been succesfully cultivated by many keen growers...yes just like you.There also appears to be a naturalized population of Venus Flytraps in northern Florida as well as populations in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. (again apparently) The lack of nutrition of the soil is the reason that the plant grow its traps: insect prey provide the nitrogen for protein formation that the soil cannot. so if you were ever wondering why your flytrap ate...heres your answer. now we come to its eating habits the venus flytrap.the flytrap is one of a very small lot of plants that are able to do "rapid movement" In the open state, the lobes are convex (bent outwards), but in the closed state the lobes are concave (forming a cavity). Its the rapid flipping of this (bistable state) that closes the trap, but the mechanism by which this occurs is still poorly understood... basicaly when the trigger hairs get touched twice, it close and traps its pray If the prey is unable to escape, it will continue to stimulate the inner surface of the lobes, which closes the edges of the lobes together even more tightly, eventually sealing the trap hermetically and forming a 'stomach' in which digestion occurs.Oxidative protein modification is likely to be a predigestive mechanism of the venus flytrap...dont ask me what that means...i have no flippin clue. after about ten days the prey is reduced to a lttle pile of chitin (what your nails are made of) and then the trap reopens, ready to eat another poor insect.

cultivation


Venus flytraps are popular as cultivated plants, but have a reputation for being difficult to grow. Successfully growing these specialized plants requires recreating a close approximation to the plant's natural habitat. a good temprature for growing a VFT in is 45-98 F (apparently) . Healthy Venus flytraps will produce lots of white flowers in spring, however, many growers remove the flowering stem early (2-3 inches), as flowering consumes some of the plant's energy, and reduces the rate of trap production. If healthy plants are allowed to flower, successful pollination will result in the production of dozens of small, shiny black seeds. YAY!!! Plants can be propagated by seed but seedlings take several years to mature. More commonly, they are propagated by division in spring or summer.

CARE

only use rain disttiled or RO water, to water your lovely plants, any tap water will kill your poor dears keep your VFTS soil moist but not wet BUT in hotter and drier country or in a strong wind people stand them in water trays so the dont dry out .when it comes to potting medium there are a variety of choises, i myself use either LFS or 50 50 peat perlite.when we come to sun,VFTS are sun lovers give them at least 6 hours, or more, of sunlight if you give em sun theyll grow up big and strong, and get some red coloration. and remember mister VFT does'nt like fertilizer.

DORMANCY

when the winter comes your VFT will start to go a bit sleeepy and start going dormant (sad i know) when they go domant do dont need much light so just put them in a cool dark place until spring, when your plant will wake up and star growing more YIPPEEE

FERTILIZER
never give your plant fertiizer unless your a very very experienced grower FERTILIZER CAN KILL! im not even gonna try give you the measurements cos i dont want to be the one who makes you kill your flytrap

things to remember


only give them rain distillled or RO water
use mineral lacking soil such as peat
give them at least 6 hours sunlight, the more sun the better
dont stop them going dormant, just go with the flow
enjoy your plant

great care points for beginners and easy to understand!

its beginners who need all the help and thats why i made this guide

A good care sheet, although on this website we already have a caresheet. Its a good idea though for other plant forums, that maybe dont know much about cp's. Keep it up!

i made it beause some people only use the forums.

How do you propagate them by division? Just by splitting the root/stalk system?

when your flytrap is ready to divide you'll know,the rhizome splits in half and sometime when you uproot it it simply come apart and sometimes it needs a slight pull