Inherited a Venus Flytrap. Help!

[Ottercave]

Just as the title says. I’ve become the owner of a Venus Flytrap.
I’ve sat her in a saucer of de-ionised water.
I’ve taken off any black traps.
Do I need to cut off the flower stalks?
Other than name her what else do I need to do?

Hi there, @Ottercave. We've now moved your thread over to Gardening, as requested. Hope that helps and best of luck with your new pet!

In summer, stand her in an inch of water. You can get away with shallower in winter.

in theory, removing flower spikes stops the plant wasting energy on producing them. But you might like to let them grow and see what they’re like.

Don’t give in to the temptation to trigger the traps

Don’t give fertiliser

Stand in good light.

I think rainwater is best but I have no idea if deionised is similar or not?

From experience, don't name her. If you name her, it will be more heartbreaking when she inevitably turns up her toes in three months.

(I hope someone can give you better advice than mine)

Mine thrived in a dark ish corner of my kitchen. Then we damp proofed the house and I had to remember to water it and she died, so dark and humid is my advice and o was always told to cut flower stalks as they use too much energy. Mine also always took ages to recover after repotting so if you get that far, repot in far too big a pot with specialist soil, not compost

www.hccarnivorousplants.co.uk/pages/growing-guide

I nearly bought a carnivorous plant in the winter to keep my fungus flies under control. I came across this nursery site with info and various growing guides.

After reading it I realised that it was really not a good time to buy because the sundew type plant I was intending to buy (from a general gardening site) should have been either resting and have no leaves or it was forced for sale and would probably die anyway. 🤔

It says Venus fly traps are growing between Valentines Day and Halloween.

No advice op except I seen YouTube videos on these plants, so, take a look and good luck.

Unfortunately @LadyHarrietVane we’ve already named her. Hopefully we won’t end up with a Vera mk2 and upwards. 😂

@Geneticsbunny I had read that de ionised/distilled water were ok if you don’t have any rainwater. I was expecting to get her so hadn’t been collecting any plus when I posted it hadn’t rained in ages.

@MereDintofPandiculation Thank you. That’s pretty much what I thought but wanted to check.

Very helpful @Melroses I’ve bookmarked that page.

@IcakethereforeIam Will do. Not my normal Youtube viewing. 😂

@desperadodogface I’ll get some specialist soil. Hopefully she’ll survive.

Thank you everybody for your help. She’s sat on the window sill in our conservatory at the moment. Fingers crossed she likes it there.

I’m being brave taking her on as I have no green fingers at all. I even managed to kill a Japanese Peace Lily. 😱😭

so dark and humid is my advice That’s not their natural habitat! The reason they are insectivorous is that there’s no nutrient in the soil. Therefore not much else can grow there. Therefore there’s nothing to overshadow them.

Standing in an inch of water means watering can be less frequent, so should be manageable. Keeping a small watering can of water near every group of houseplants is useful as it removes the “I haven’t got time, I’ll do it later” excuse.

I even managed to kill a Japanese Peace Lily My son did that, no idea how. But he’s now creating his second garden, and has a houseful of houseplants. (Still woefully ignorant though)

My mother got quite angry at people telling her she had green fingers. She’d say to me afterwards “it’s not green fingers, it’s knowledge and experience”. I’d add to that curiosity - observing your plants, asking questions and finding out the answers.

@MereDintofPandiculation That’s why I’m doing a bit more research where Vera is concerned so I learn.
I think I killed the Lily because I repotted it into a big pot not realising they like their roots to be compact in a pot. I have a new one that seems to be thriving in the world's smallest pot. 😂
My conservatory gets a lot of sun and flies so that’s where Vera is at the moment stood in about an inch of de-ionised water. I’m in there quite a lot so can keep an eye on her and the Lily.

That’s why I’m doing a bit more research where Vera is concerned so I learn. I was just trying to reassure you your perceived lack of green fingers didn’t mean you were doomed to never be able to look after plants.

My son got a fly trap for Christmas. He loves succulents, cacti and unusual plants. Also growing a pineapple plant😳. Currently has a flower stalk which he hasn't cut because he wants to see what happens! Has survived almost three months. Definitely prefers lighter window sills. Copes with intermittent watering. will give him tip of standing in water.
When you say specialist soil - what should I look for? No idea where his interest comes from - I am clueless!

I breed them. You’ve already had good advice, the only thing I’ll add is that they should be allowed to go dormant over winter. So in November move it to a cold but light place (an unheated greenhouse is ideal, if you have one) where it can rest. This is when a lot die, as people forget about them - out of sight and out of mind! They still need to have their feet in rainwater during this phase.

If they don’t get to go dormant, they can still survive but are likely to be in a weakened state and their leaves can grow a bit wonky.

If the plant thrives, and multiplies to the point where it’s getting congested in its pot, they are easy to split. Remove it from its soil in early spring as it comes out of dormancy. Separate the plantlets - they will just pull apart in your fingers very easily - and pot each one into its own pot. Now you have a family! Next year, after splitting again, they will take over your house!

Make sure you use specialised compost if ever repotting, keep up the deionised water to keep it moist. And as someone said, don't trigger the traps and you should be fine.

@VenusClapTrap ah that explains the wonky leaves coming on the one I bought on a whim in January. how do you nurture a weak Venus fly trap? And can you grow them in terracotta post rather than plastic?

All you can do, really, is ensure all its needs are met in full - plenty of light, sitting in an inch of rainwater, remove all flowers. Too late to try to get it into dormancy now, but next autumn do move it somewhere cold so it can get a good sleep. Soon the insects will come and it can feed on them, which will help it. Don’t be tempted to try to feed it artificially.

Another cause of wonky leaves can be whitefly (bane of my life). Look carefully to see if you can spot any tiny white aphids on the leaves.

When you say specialist soil - what should I look for?

Something like this. Unfortunately I don’t think you can get peat free soil for carnivorous plants.

Oh and there’s no reason they won’t grow in terracotta. Most people use plastic though, because it keeps the water in better. Terracotta is porous, so you’ll have higher rates of evaporation and be topping up more regularly.

Place marking - dying to buy one of these

I've a vague memory of plants being grown in sphagnum moss, or a sphagnum moss mix, would this work for carnivorous plants?

@VenusClapTrap how do they get fly infestation if they are supposed to eat them! I came on here to get some tips as I have just been given one and a pitcher plant. That surprised me.

I know, it’s a bit ironic isn’t it?! Aphids (whitefly) are too tiny to trigger the traps unfortunately.

Butterwort (Pinguicula) are good at catching fungus gnats. None of them seem to eat aphids.

This has reawakened my interest in getting one 😁

But yes, I need a Butterwort for my fungus gnats. 🤔

Great advice thank you! Mine has been on a chilly windowsill all winter but has picked up recently.

Mine gets tap water😬 will get some rainwater

It's still here after a year!! Un heard of

Will follow all advice as it definitely kept the giant mosquitoes at bay last summer