Q&A for How to Grow a Venus Flytrap

If it is an indoor plant, you will need to feed it periodically, while an outdoor flytrap does not need to be fed.

No, they won't hurt a person. They are not a threat to anything larger than a housefly or mosquito.

A Venus flytrap can go up to 2 months without eating any insects. After that, it will start to deteriorate.

It can take between 10-14 days for a Venus flytrap to grow from a seed. However, it will take up to 4 years for the plant to mature.

For a fully mature plant, the growing process usually takes anywhere from two to four years.

You start with peat moss that has been treated with distilled water and place soil in plastic container with cover. After piercing the top and bottom with holes, place the moss into the container and moisten with distilled water. Scatter the seeds on top of the moss and place a light layer of moss over the seeds. Spray with water and put the container in indirect sunlight.

A flytrap closes quickly over its insect prey, but it takes several days to digest most insects. When done digesting the insect, the plant reopens.

For optimal growth, a Venus flytrap needs about twelve hours of direct sunlight every day.

They are most likely fungus gnats and are easily taken care of by planting mosquito dunks in the soil.

The cost varies depending on the rarity and maturity of the bulb offered.

It's probably going into dormancy. Don't worry, it will grow back next spring. If you want to check, dig it up and look at its base. If it's black and soggy, your plant is dead.

No. The soil has minerals in it that will burn its roots. Its roots are not made to feed it; they it in place and provide water. Also, do not give fertilizer, and only use water with distilled, reverse osmosis, or rain water.

It can reach a maximum size of about 13 cm (5 inches) in diameter, if you take good care of it.

The plant is doing its job then! Those stems will most likely flower or grow mouths to eat flies.

Sometimes that may happen when water dries up and does not absorb. You might have overwatered the plant. Or, it might be insect remains.

Try collecting rain from outside with a bowl or use tap water after it has been left for 24-48 hours to dissipate the chlorine. Most grocery stores sell bottles of distilled water, though.

It may be fungus.

It means it's too cold. Bring it to a warmer location by placing it in a window, or a lamp.

You can find them at nurseries. Some other stores that carry seeds, such as Walmart or Hobby Lobby, might also carry them. Call in advance to find out.

Etsy and Walmart both seem to have cost effective options. The most common price I'm seeing is ten dollars for the plant itsef, but Etsy seems to have seed options which cost within the 2 - 5 dollar range (USA). Another option would be plant nurseries - but I know from experience how frustrating it can be to find a nursery both nearby and which has what a particular garden or gardener needs -- my recommendation would be Etsy.

You should not use well water to feed your venus flytrap.

Try using a repellent or use a small paintbrush to brush them off. You could also squeeze a bit of rain water on the gnats using a eye dropper to kill them.

You must have touched the trigger hairs that made it think there is a fly in its mouth.

Venus fly traps cannot grow in soil. You should plant them in moss.

It is recommended. Putting the seeds into a fridge will get it ready for a deep sleep, and when it is planted it will grow more naturally and with less stress.

Hold it under the stems where it has like a ground under it,then carefully put it in the pot and put in healthy, decomposed dirt.

With a hair spray bottle filled with rain water. Spray it every morning and evening.

If this is an indoor Venus flytrap, then you may need to feed it insects from time to time. A Venus fly trap can go 1 to 2 months without food. To learn how to properly feed your Venus fly trap, please read How to Feed Carnivorous Plants .

It will take 10 to 14 days for the seed to germinate, however it will take 2 to 4 years for the plant to fully mature.

No, unlike the famous Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, a Venus fly trap can't hurt a person. Even if it closes on your finger, it won't hurt it or be able to digest it.