I just got a Venus Flytrap from TraderJoe. Is there any secret to growing these so they live long and prosper?
They cannot have regular soil. Only specific carnivorous soil or pure sphagnum moss (not miraclegro or any with any additives/fertilizers). Put it in a bowl with *only distilled or rain water* to bottom water & a day after the bowl dries, fill up again. The drainage holes must be in the water. They like water & the evaporating water will create humidity. Don't trip the traps. If you want to feed it (indoors only), the bug must be ⅓ size of the trap.
Feed about every 4-6 weeks in the beginning, then once stable & healthy, can be as often as 2wks. Try not to exceed that, but if one catches a bug, nbd.
They need *a lot* of light. If growing outdoors, full sun. If indoors, a good grow light is required. When the traps start turning red, you know they're getting good light. I have 2-3 wands of a cheap grow light about 8" from mine.
Don't fret over dying or black leaves, they die over time (see pics).
As long as there are multiple traps, you're good. After a while, you may find what look like baby traps growing along the side (see pic). Congrats, you have babies! After dormancy, you can use this time to repot & divide. You now have 2(+) vfts!
Dormancy - every year in winter, the vft should be placed in a cold environment and given just a few hours of light a day. It will look dead. It's not. (I skipped my first year bc I also got them in autumn)
Idk if I forgot anything lol
Oh, you can trim the dead traps. I usually do it every couple of months, bc I've inadvertently set off traps and that's really not good, so I do it as infrequent as possible without letting the dead leaves mold.
They flower too (you can see the stalk in the middle of the plant). Supposedly you can grow other vfts with flower stalks, but I've never had any luck 😂. Plus, division provides new plants, so don't be like me lol.
If I think of anything else, I'll let you know!