How to water a Venus fly trap

How to water a Venus fly trap

1. 01

   When to water

   Keep Dionaea muscipula’s bog-like growing medium wet during active growth instead of waiting for dry-down. This wet-tray method is for the Venus flytrap, not a rule for ordinary houseplant pots.

   Maintain the wet saucer during spring and summer growth, then use a lower water level and cooler winter-rest conditions. Do not carry the active-growth setup through the whole year unchanged.

2. 02

   How to water thoroughly

   Use rainwater or distilled water and water from below through a saucer or tray. Keep about 1 cm (0.4 in) of water in the tray in spring and summer and less in winter. Adjust the depth to your pot.

   Use an acidic, nutrient-poor carnivorous-plant medium and a container that can drain. Keep the tray wet without treating compact ordinary potting mix or stagnant overflow as the growing medium.

3. 03

   Signs of too much or too little water

   If the medium dries, the saucer empties repeatedly or mineral residue appears, rethink the water you use and your tray routine. Declining traps or leaves are cues to inspect water and light together.