Venus Flytrap
Dionaea muscipula
A temperate carnivorous plant from Carolina bogs with snap traps that close when trigger hairs are touched twice. It needs full sun or strong grow lights, pure mineral-free water, and a cool winter dormancy to stay healthy long term.
Light
Full Sun
Water
High
Difficulty
Difficult
Humidity
High
Pet Friendly
The Venus Flytrap is non-toxic to cats and dogs. However, the plant is fragile, and the traps may be damaged if pets play with or ingest them.
Care Notes
Light
Give intense light so traps color up red. Indoors, use a south window or strong LED grow lights for 10-12 hours a day. Outdoors, full sun is preferred.
Water
Never use tap, bottled, or typical filtered water. Minerals burn the plant. Use only distilled, reverse-osmosis, or rainwater. Keep the pot in a shallow tray with 1-2 inches of pure water so the mix never dries out.
Soil
Use a mineral-free 1:1 mix of sphagnum peat and perlite or silica sand. Never use fertilized potting soil.
Humidity & Temperature
High humidity helps. These are temperate plants, not tropical: they need about 3-4 months of winter dormancy (roughly November to February) with temps around 35-50°F. The plant may look nearly dormant then; that is normal.
Common Issues
Black traps after triggering too often or feeding oversized prey. Only feed fully open traps with live insects no larger than one-third the trap size. Never feed meat or use regular fertilizer.
In-Depth Care & Growth
Feeding & Soil
Fertilizer
None
Soil
50% Sphagnum peat moss and 50% perlite or silica sand; must be mineral-free.
Physical Attributes
Mature Size
5 to 6 inches in diameter
Growth Rate
Moderate
Propagation
Rhizome division, leaf pullings, and seed germination.
Common Varieties
B52
Giant form with oversized traps, deep-red interiors, and thick sturdy lime-green petioles.
Akai Ryu (Red Dragon)
Uniform deep burgundy to maroon color across traps and stalks.
King Henry
Very large crimson-interior traps on elongated upright green petioles.
DC All Red
Deep burgundy color through petioles, traps, and teeth.
Low Giant
Low-growing habit with oversized deep-red traps on short broad green petioles.