At Mystical Moments Photography we are plant crazy and love nothing more than sharing our knowledge with our friends and family. We thought it would be helpful if we shared what we have learnt with our readers too. Lets Start with a common favourite in the carnivorous plant family, The Venus Fly Trap.
The Venus Fly Trap, other wise known as the Dionaea muscipula is native to North & South Carolina and typically grows in subtropical environments. This carnivorous plant belongs to the sundew family Droseraceae. This plant is one of the only carnivores to display physical movement when food is captured. Inside each trap are very thin trigger hairs, multiple hairs need to be triggered within a few seconds for the trap to activate.
Once activated, the trap snaps shut trapping anything inside and very rarely is the insect able to escape. The insect trapped inside needs to move around for a while for the traps outer teeth to grip tighter and begin the digestive cycle. Nectar will begin to produce from the digestive glands on the inside of the plant. The digestive cycle can take a few days. The Venus Fly Trap does not swallow insects, the plant drains all fluids out of the insect it has captured.
After a few days the trap will reopen and leave a dry corpse stuck to the inside of it trap. It is important to not trigger the traps as they only open and close a few times before dying off. This drains a lot of energy from the plant and if it is not being fed will cause the plant unnecessary stress. If you plan on feeding the traps by hand it is recommended to not feed the trap anything bigger than the trap itself. Fly's and spiders are this plants preferred dinner.
The Venus Fly Trap is a flowering plant and will sprout a beautifully long stem with multiple
heads. These bloom into stunning white flowers which can be pollinated and if done right will turn to seed. It is recommended to cut these stems off as the flowering process does take a lot of energy from the plant itself, it wont die but may change slightly in appearance and traps become less responsive.
These plants need as much sun as you can give them, the inside of their traps will turn a bright red to attract bugs. A very sunny window or a greenhouse is perfect conditions for the Venus Fly Trap. Be cautious not to rotate this plant too much as the traps will become confused as to which way they need to grow. It is recommended not to feed the traps anything bigger than the trap itself, and if you are to feed the food needs to be alive in order for the digestive cycle to begin. Water only with deionised, distilled or rain water as tap water contains minerals that are too harsh for the plant to handle. Do not be alarmed if your plant grows the leaf but no trap, this is called 'blind' and is completely normal. Keep the plants tray topped up with water as these plants are bog plants and do not like to dry up. Winter is a dormant period for these plants so growth may slow down. Let your traps die and turn completely black before pruning them off. The Venus Fly Trap does not produce roots, it has a rhizome bulb from which all of its energy is stored.
Thank you for taking the time to read Mystical Moments "Carnivorous plant care 'Venus Fly Trap' addition". We enjoy sharing our knowledge and the things we love with our readers and cannot wait to share more plant care guides with you! Stay magical everyone.
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