While many houseplants hail from tropical climates, the Venus fly trap’s natural environment would be classed as warm temperate. This means that the plant does enjoy a little bit of extra humidity, but doesn’t require as much as many other houseplants do.

You will typically have to feed them in spring and during the summer, as it is unlikely that they will be able to catch enough prey naturally inside a home. King Henry': An excellent starter plant for newcomers to carnivorous plants, Dionaea muscipula 'King Henry' is large, fast-growing, and hardy in Zones 5–9 (with protection in colder areas). It has green leaves and large traps with red interiors. This flytrap grows up to 5 inches tall. This specialized system is designed to conserve energy, as it takes a great deal for the plant to force the traps closed. If there is no movement detected, such as if a leaf or other inanimate material falls into the trap and then fails to move again, the plant will not waste energy closing on it. The most common misconception is that carnivorous plants will die if they are not fed insects regularly,” says Kevin. Snapping the traps shut - I know I said above not to tease the plant, but it is an interesting experiment to touch the leaves once or twice and watch them snap shut. You could extend this by touching various parts of the traps and leaves. Do they snap shut when you touch just the hairs? How about the inside of the trap and not the hairs? What if you touch only one hair and not multiple? What if you disturb the non-trap leaves? Experiment by touching various parts of the plant in different ways.Solution: Use strong artificial lights to maintain a routine throughout the plants’ active months. 2 | Humidity – Should a Venus Flytrap Terrarium be Open or Closed? This really only applies to plants grown inside, if the plant lives outside it will generally catch enough on its own. Humidity and Temperature The trap should close and the process of digestion should begin as long as you let nature take its course.

If you are currently struggling with a plant, this article can help you: How to Save Your Venus Fly Trap . Venus Fly Trap Care Here is a guide to pot dimensions for a mature fly trap (seedlings can grow in much smaller containers) As the Venus fly trap is native to swampy areas it generally likes it a bit more humid than most plants. While not necessary, many growers choose to place them in terrariums to encourage high humidity levels. Instead, the main diet for a Venus fly trap consists of small insects with soft bodies. Some of the best insects to feed a Venus fly trap include:To better understand why you need only ask its biological history. The Venus flytrap is naturally endemic solely to North and South Carolina, USA.

Fertilisers can also be used, but should not act as a replacement to insects, as Kenny Coogan from the International Carnivorous Plant Society explains: Venus flytraps should receive 12 hours of direct sunlight to grow it their full potential. But, they can live a healthy life with a minimum recommended amount is 6 hours of direct/indirect sunlight. What length of photoperiod should a Venus flytrap receive during dormancy? If you keep the Venus flytrap outside or in an unheated garage or cool window, it will simply die. It should get plenty of sun exposure each day, regardless of the weather. The independent variable is the thing that you change. It could be the type of food, the frequency of feedings, or the place you touch on the leaves. The dependent variables are the things that are determined by what you do. So in the case of the type of food, the dependent variables would be the size and overall health of the plant. In the case of touching the leaves, the dependent variable would be the behavior of the traps (do they snap shut or not?). The controls are the things that stay the same for all trials. A good experiment has as many controls as possible. For the different types of food, your controls would be that all the plants are treated exactly the same - same light source, same distance to light, same watering schedule. For the touching experiment, the control would be that you're touching the same plant each time. Venus Flytrap ExperimentsVenus flytraps are a threatened species in their native habitat, due in large part to over-harvesting. In most places, it is illegal to take a Venus flytrap from the wild. Another key thing to remember is that you should not place foodstuff that is not part of these plants’ natural diets into the traps. In their native bog environment, the soil is acidic and low in nutrients, and the water table is high, keeping the ground moist year-round. Most carnivorous plants have evolved in low-nutrient environments, but random mutations have enabled plants like Venus fly traps to trap prey and have an advantage in these harsher conditions. Solution: Make sure your container is an open one, and no matter where you are in the world, you’ll need to find a very cool spot (between 0-10 degrees C) for the plant to rest each year.