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Carnivorous Plants/Lighting for Venus Flytraps.

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Expert: - 6/4/2009


Question
Hello. I purchased two Venus Flytraps with approximately 35 heads and I was wondering what kind of lighting we need to be able to keep these in doors and during the day they will be outside. And, how can you tell if they are dead or alive because a few have black from the top to half way but have a green roots. Are these dead or alive? Thank you.

Answer
Hello Jamie,

What you are seeing is a pot with several Venus Flytraps growing together from a parent plant in all likelyhood. Each plant will have about 6-12 traps total. As old traps die off, they are replaced by new ones that sprout from the center of each plant.

If you grow the plant outdoors you will not need to keep it indoors and you will not need additional lighting. As a general rule, you really should keep the plant in one place as fast changes in temperature and humidity as it is moved from one place to another can adversely affect it and even cause illness and death in some plants. Either keep it outdoors, or indoors for the best results. Best bet is to keep it outside all the time in a protected place where it can get full sun all day and where animals and curious neighbors will not harm it.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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