Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 10/29/2010

Question
Hi there. I would like to give a venus fly trap as a gift this holiday season. I am
in NH, so planting the fly trap at that time is not an option. Would it be okay
to care for the plant inside until the ground thaws and it is possible to plant
the trap? I read up on the plant, and it says the plant is dormant during the
winter months...could this be an ideal situation?
Thank you much,
Crystal

Answer
It's not exactly an ideal situation.  At our nursery, we grow flytraps exclusively outdoors.  Right now they are all dormant and show no signs of new growth.  If you bring them indoors, they will emerge from dormancy because of the warmer temperatures.  When they're in active growth, you have to provide full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight).  

For many homes, this is difficult to do.  Without adequate sunlight, the plant will exhibit long lanky growth and appear very weak.  This is the common reason why people kill their flytraps.  They attempt to grow them indoors without providing sufficient sunlight.

There are many tropical carnivorous plants that grow very well in the home, such as a sunny south or west window.  Visit the tropical plant section on our website for more information about the varieties of plants available.  

If you still want an outdoor plant to give for the holidays, consider a Sarracenia over a flytrap.  They are more tolerate of lower light conditions during the winter and will survive OK with the extra starch reserves in their rhizomes.  This isn't ideal, but they will grow OK.  Just make sure the plant is placed outside in spring after the risk of frost has passed.

I also suggest using the Best Plants For You feature on our website.  Just answer a few short questions, and you'll get a list of plants best suited for a particular growing condition.

http://www.cobraplant.com/bestplants

Good growing!
Jacob Farin