General Care
The Very Basics
Venus Flytraps require very little effort to grow, just a lot of Tender Loving Care. They have some of the most basic requirements of all plants: a little warmth, rain water, a good soil mix (peat, perlite, sand) and some shelter. That's it. If you do give your plant those things it will grow, there's very little that can go wrong.
You have to remember that these plants are from a small area between north and south Carolina less then 100 miles wide. If you've ever been to that part of the U.S.A. you will know how humid it is there. You need to try and replicate these conditions in your plant's growing environment. It doesn't have to be exact. They are very hardy plants and will quite happily grow on a south facing windowsill in the U. K. That's how I grow mine, I can enjoy them and they are just fine. I know some growers who use greenhouses and polly tunnels. Sure they can have far more plants and they get more sun, but the warmth of a home is a big contributor to a lot of successful growth for a lot of UK growers.
Do They Require Feeding?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions ever. I'll put it simply, Each trap can only catch so many insects before its job is done and it can return to the soil. Why spoil a plants perfectly natural life? let it catch the bugs it wants. It will have to grow larger and prettier to increase it's chances of feeding and to us that's what usually defines a good looking plant, big full traps.
Even in what seems to be an isolated windowsill, the plants will catch plenty of flies. They don't really need the bug, except for small nitrogen deposits and some other minerals, they get all the energy they need through photosynthesis. Those traps are (usually) green for a reason. I say usually because some cultivar (see Cultivars section) are red in colour, or yellow. This is due to a mutation in the pigmentation gene to engineer a different cultivar of the species. This pigment blocks the chlorophyll and will make the plant grow slower.
Something very rarely mentioned in care sections are the needs for insecticides. It really does pay to use an insecticide fom day 1, as if you do get pests, you will not know about it until the damage is done and it's too late. You should use a high quality systemic poison which means that it soaks into the plant itself rather than forming a poisonous coating.
The insecticide should only ever be used as instructed on the bottle. A popular brand is Provado, their systemic offering states that it should be used every six weeks to ensure protection. Signs of pest damage are "crinkly" leaves, malformed traps and strange growth patterns. Even on an isolated windowsill pest such as Aphids are able to attack.