Expert: Christopher Littrell - 12/16/2009

Question
Hi Chris,
I was thinking about getting some Venus Flytraps but I had some questions I need answered.  I've heard that flytraps don't do well indoors(terrariums or on windowsills), and that the best results come from planting them outdoors.  The thing i'm wondering is that I live in southern Michigan near the Ann Arbor/Detroit area, so would a flytrap be able to survive?  Michigan obviously is colder than the native Carolinas.  I've also heard that you should use mulch if you live in a colder enviroment.

So what should I do?  Is having a flytrap outdoors in Michigan a lost cause? Is keeping a flytrap in a terrarium not a good idea?

Answer
Hello Matt,

You can certainly keep Venus Flytraps in colder regions than they normally grow in. Place them in 4-6 inch pots and keep about 1/4 of the pot depth in a tray of distilled, reverse osmosis, or rain water, ensuring no mineral deposits are introduced into the water after any distillation process (as happens with what is called "drinking water"). Pot them in sphagnum peat moss and perlite in a 1/1 ratio, ensuring no fertilizers are in the mix.

You will hear and see a variety of ways to keep Venus Flytraps, including terrarium growing. Terrariums are the hardest to keep for a variety of reasons, like sunlight, drainage, mold growth and the like. Venus Flytraps are full sun plants that really require high intensity light to survive during the growing season. You can simply place them outdoors in a secluded and protected area where birds, animals, and humans will not bother them and where herbivorous insects will not attack them yet where they get full sun in spring, summer and fall. In winter, after they begin slowing in growth in response to lesser photoperiods, you can move them indoors pot and all to a cold window where they will feel enough of the cold to remain dormant, down to about 40 degrees would be optimal, and where they can receive some airflow and light to kill mold. After winter freezing passes, you can move them back outside to come out of dormancy naturally as the days lengthen again.

If you place a Venus Flytrap indoors year round, you only have one option. Buy a large number of lights or one very powerful light system. You would need a minumum of 12000 lumens in my experience, however, placing them in a bright window with 12000 lumens of florescent light over them to add extra intensity is even better. Place the plants as close to the lights as possible, around 4 inches most of the time is appropriate, however; when they flower in March to April you may have to find a way to accomodate the 8-12 inch flower scape while maintaining light intensity. The best way to provide adequate coverage of light while keeping costs down would be to buy several twin mount 40 watt florescent shop lights with cool white tubes. Each tube emits 3000 lumens in general and 4 tubes side by side would provide 12000 lumens for a plant located centrally under the light tubes. For the required winter dormancy, you would have to time the lights so that as the seasons change, the lights provide cues for the plants to begin dormancy cycles. Timing the lights for 16 hours a day in spring and summer is a good start, then begin reducing the hours of light down by one per week in late fall (typically beginning around the beginning of November or mid-October) until the plants receive 8 hours a day for a week. They should begin producing cold weather protective hormones at that time and can be introduced to a cold place where they will remain until winter breaks. They will not grow much, nor will they actually require much, if any, light during dormancy. When winter passes, begin ramping up the hours per day of light one hour per week and warm the plants up until they are back in 16 hour a day lighting and in regular temperatures between 70-80 degrees. At that point, it should be around February to March, the plants will be growing normally again.

Christopher