Expert: Christopher Littrell - 3/14/2008

Question
how do i take care of a butterwort. and the venus fly trap .
i just got them in small containers from lowse.when should i put them in larger pots and what type of dirt to use, zone is 6.

Answer
Hello Toni,

First off, read up online and in books, like D'Amato's "Savage Garden" and Sarracenia Northwest's online and CD based Ebook.

Venus Flytraps require:

1. Full sun.

2. Peat moss/perlite or silica sand in 50/50 mix.

3. Mineral free water, like distilled, rain, or reverse osmosis water in a large tray up to 1/4 the pot in depth.

4. No fertilizer, ever. Never use potting soil or orchid mix as those might contain fertilizer or other harmful materials.

5. Dormancy from November to February in cold winter conditions.

Butterworts are more difficult to supply information about uless the exact species is known as their are different species that may require slightly different conditions to survive.

In general, give Butterworts partial light like in a well lit window or under very strong florescent lights of around 10,000 lumens 5-8 inches from their leaves.

Butterworts from North America would ned dormancy similar to the Flytrap as well as the same water requirements exept no tray watering... they can suffer root rot from too much standing water.

Butterworts from Mexico are characterized by dry, warm winter dormancy.

Butterworts like more drainage in their medium, so mix up to 3/4 of their medium with perlite or silica sand and 1/4 peat moss (never use potting soil for Butterworts either). Water them enough to keep their moss moist all the time, but never overwater them and keep from getting water on their leaves.

Repot these plants just after winter dormancy, which is now, although any time is really fine. Butterworts should be repotted with soil around their roots to minimize root disturbance. Flytraps can be repotted bare root with no problem at all. The largest containers you will likely need for them are five inch pots.

Your zone is fine to grow the Flytrap in outdoors so long as you protect the plant with a bag and a bucket of insulating mulch around the pot in winter. Flytraps grow naturally in zone 7.

Use the peat moss that says Sphagnum peat moss that comes in a large sqare bale as small bags usually contain fertilizer too. You can go to online carnivorous plant sites like cobraplant.com and californiacarnivores.com to buy soils for your plants that are specially prepared.

Christopher