quote:

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can fly traps eat anything other than bugs.

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I would also like to know that. I don't have a venus fly trap, but am thinking about getting one.

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"As long as there are tests,
there will be prayer in public schools"
- Maxine

thanks but that doesnt awnser all of my questions.

Here is the Garden Helper fact page for carnivorous plants:

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/carnivorous.html

This is a site that is a total resource for all aspects of carnivorous plants:

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2000.html

A quick look told me that you must not feed it meat, it only eats insects. Do not repot it. Do not get the soil soggy, but always keep it moist. Give it bright light but don't let the sun bake it. DO NOT fertilize flytraps, you'll kill them.
This site suggests ways to make simple terrariums that will keep the humidity high.

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Dave
Even my growlights are getting restless!

I don't have access to the supplies or that sort of thing for building a terrarium but until I can make one I put an unsealed plastic bag over the plant. Will that help with humidity?

I don't have an empty one right now but I'm almost done with a milk bottle could I do something with that and it be better than the plastic bag?

k thanks

I've had one, which is now several, for about 3 years. I grow it in a glazed ceramic pot, in a 1:1 mixture of Canadian sphagnum peat and sand (mixed coarse and fine), sitting in a bowl of distilled water of varying depth - 1/2" to 2" below soil level (this is random, as I remember to water it, though it is consistantly lower in winter). I never feed it anything but fresh bugs, and these rarely, just when I want to play with the traps. It's outside in all summer in bright direct sun catching its own food - lots of closed traps with legs sticking out! It flowers in the summer and I nip off the buds as soon as they appear. I cut off black traps. I don't do anything to increase the humidity other than growing it/them soaking in water. This winter I left it outside in my coldframe with a bottom heat seed starting mat. It doesn't seem any better or worse than the previous winters inside close to a cold window. Basically, other than growing it in distilled water, I don't do too much extra for it and it has lived, grown, and multiplied, though it is not perhaps as luxurient as some pictures. But I like it. That's all.

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may God bless the WHOLE world!

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Originally posted by rubberbandman:
I just got a venus fly trap the other day and have a few questions. First, I live in an area with almost no humidity how can I get maximum humidity for my fly trap. Second, can fly traps eat anything other than bugs. Third, 3 out of the 8 traps on my plant that are redish green won't close though the other 5 that are all green do is it because the redish traps are about dead? and Fourth, my fly trap came in a pot that it is almost as big as should I transplant it into a bigger pot? Well those are my questions and I would be really happy if someone could awnser them.

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First, don't worry about the humidity right now.

Second, do NOT feed the plant ANY fertilizer, the plant will get enough bugs on it's own. NO RAW MEAT or anything.

3rd, Only use rainwater or distilled water and set the pot in a shallow container and put about an inch of water in it then place the pot in the water.

4th, do not manually trip the traps to close, they only have a limited number of open/closes, about 4-6 times. Then the trap dies. Red color in a trap means it's getting good light, green means it needs a bit more light.

You could repot it but for now I would wait in your case.

Hope that helps!

Tom

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My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

I have a venus fly trap and it has been fine for a while. One thing I would make sure to do would be to make sure the insect you give the VFT is large. The plant uses a lot of stored energy to close and so giving it little bugs all the time will drain it's energy. For more info on the VFT's I would go to:http://www.botany.org/bsa/misc/carn.html

Or, if you want to learn about the closing of the trap, go to: http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/daily/2005/01/26-flytrap.html
Those websites should answer most of your questions.

I was just about to say that (the 1/3 thing)! Also, bugs w/ wings, as they can sometimes stick out and invite fungus. Crickets are not a good idea if you are keeping them in the terrarium for an extended amount of time, since they can sometimes develop a fungus in too much moisture. Also things with tough exoskeletons (ants are OK) like beetles, and caterpillars and things can tend to chew the inside of the traps.

As far as humidity, they do best in high humidity, but it's not dire. Whatever you do, do NOT let it sit in water, it will eventually rot the roots.

I have had great success with repotting these guys, I start w/ horticultural sand and wash the silt away with distilled water. I then mix that with peat moss (NOT the enriched kind! Fertilizer is BAD!), about 1:1. I also throw in a bit of perlite for extra drainage. Once that is all mixed really well, I will put that over gravel (stay away from marble and anything with calcium), in a sterilized (with a final rinse of distilled water) terrarium. (Also stay away from polished rock, it has a tendency to peel and pollute). I usually break away the excess soil, make a hole in the soil, place the plant in and fill. To compact the sand around the roots, I water, but I use a mixture of water and SuperThrive, which is a hormone and not a fertilizer. It is excellent at keeping the plant from going into shock. Do not press with your hands! The plant should have room in the soil. The final step is to add live moss on thop of the soil, around the VFT. I then put distilled water (the ONLY kind you should use for a VFT) into a spray bottle and spray the heck out of the tank.

To answer the question about how to propagate a VFT, if you take a cutting, make sure you pull down at the leaf, getting some white from the base of the plant. You can then lay it in the soil and cover the bottome with a bit of soil.

I hope that helps!

youshould keep them in an enclosed jar or terrerium with lots of water