Expert: Christopher Littrell - 2/9/2010

Question
QUESTION: I am planning to buy a Venus flytrap. I've seen them,and could not choose which to buy. There is one with red traps but they're medium sized, a Green one with more but small traps,and a fly trap with big green but few traps.
Also, should I buy from a store with those disposable cups as mini terrariums, or from a store without those.(Both plants look healthy.)I can't find a large trap bigger than 2cm on those traps.I live in Taiwan.

ANSWER: Hello Kate,

I would not buy from a store unless you plan on trying to save the plants from certain death. Flytraps bought from stores tend to be planted in inappropriate soil, fertilized, placed in inadequate lighting, or even watered with tap water, if they are watered at all. Many tend to die within a few days or weeks after being bought. To obtain a Flytrap that is both healthy and well cared for, try online with cobraplant.com or californiacarnivores.com. I do not know if those companies are capable of shipping to Taiwan, but it would be worth a try. You can also do a search for online carnivorous plant vendors in Asia and they might ship to Taiwan.

In any case, I cannot see the plants, so helping you pick from a written description would be futile. In any case, if I were to buy from a store, I would go for the plant that has the red coloration in the traps and undamaged or pest free leaves. Make sure the plant is potted in sphagnum peat moss that is unfertilized and that the plants have been kept in the brightest sunlight possible in the nursery section of the store. When buying from stores, never buy carnivorous plants in what we term Death Cubes as those little terrariums are not built to keep any carnivorous plant alive, rather, they seem built with the intent to kill them rapidly so that you have to go back to the store to buy another. Go for the plants with no dome and best care so far as you can tell.

Christopher

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well, actually I mean the flower market in Taipei.It has many sections and there is a part that sells carnivorous plants.They have it in a black, brown,and a little bit gooey soil with perlite. Is it peat moss? (It is a little bit green)Usually I use long-fiber sphagnum moss(the one used,I've seen,in orchids.)They are pretty small, and as you suggested,I should get ones with a red coloration.How do I make the plant produce larger traps? Does it grow bigger over each year? Or does feeding it increase its size?

Answer
Hello Kate,

There are several varities, subspecies, of Venus Flytraps. Most do produce red inside their traps, though a few remain completely green. The reason I indicated that you should seek those with red coloration is due to that being an easy indicator that a plant has been raised in strong light recently. Venus Flytraps are just like any other plant. They grow a bit bigger over time until they reach an adult size. Venus Flytraps tend to grow to about 4-6 inches across and can grow up to about 4-6 inches tall with about 8-12 inches of flower scape in spring (trap size can get to over one inch in length in adult plants.) There are a few larger specimens out there, but most keep to under an 8 inch size limit in general. Flytraps use captured insects as fertilizer. Their leaves absorb nitrogen and phosphorus from the dead insect after it is digested and use those elements like any other plant to grow more leaves and larger, healthier leaves and flowers. Carnivorous plants tend to get by on very little nitrogen and can survive without insect prey in general though may be somewhat smaller and weaker looking than their insect capturing counterparts.

I do not know if the plants you see are in sphagnum peat moss. I would have to actually see it to determine that. If the substance the plants are in smells like the long fiber moss you used before and the vendors are growing their Venus Flytraps in that mix for lengthy periods without problem, it is likely a mix of sphagnum peat and the aforementioned perlite for drainage.

Christopher