While you may have this idea that if you own a Venus Fly Trap then you will never have flies in your house, I’m afraid you may be mistaken.

Each plant has up to around 7 leaves per crown or rhizome, any more and what you’re looking at is really 2 plants.

When a leaf catches a fly it will be closed for several days, unable to catch any more. Once opened it can repeat this step around 3-4 times before that leaf dies off, and is replaced by another, a process which can take days to weeks.

In the hot summer months we are looking at hundreds of flies passing though our houses and lots of small midges in the evenings. While your plant may catch a few, if you want to get rid of the damn fly permanently, you may need to look for a chemical or more commercial fly trap.

Chemical Fly Trap

Some chemical fly traps can catch flies from around 100m2, which is a fantastically efficient system. These work using a protein attractant and cost around £15.

These last around 10 weeks which is perfect for the summer months and is surely more efficient than a plant.

The use of chemical fly traps in areas where there are lots of flies in addition to the Venus Flytraps is a benefit as you are far less likely to see your plant catching flies. This extends the life of your plant by a huge amount.

OK so many of you leave your Venus Flytraps outside all summer, I know I do but should you leave them outside over winter for dormancy?

Well given the unknown seasons we’re having with snow in february and sun in september it’s probably a good idea to bring them in over the winter into a cold room for dormancy.

Leaving them outside would be a bit like playing blackjack with the delicate rhizomes.

The first video shows the growth from seed, the long development process the plant faces in it’s first year.

The second video shows a typical year for a mature plant.

First year in life of my 4 Venus Flytraps

What makes this video particularly interesting is that one of the seeds takes weeks longer to propagate than the others, yet ends up the largest.

Click here to view the embedded video.

One year in life of my Venus flytrap

Click here to view the embedded video.

Venus Flytraps require special care, and an understanding in the care required to ensure good growth.

Care comes down to these main points:

• Sunlight (where and how much)
• Water Quality
• Planting medium (Soil, Peat, Perlite etc.)
• Adequate maintenance

If you get these things right your new seeds or plant will thrive in the hot weather we’re having.

Check out the Venus Flytrap General Care Guide and General Care FAQ for tips on the best care:

As we plant literally thousands of Venus Flytraps for our experiments we are experimenting with different substrates and ratios.

We’d love your input on your preferred soil mix. We’ll try and plant a couple seeds in each recommendation and you’ll be able to monitor their progress here on the site.

[source: "Growing Carnivorous Plants"]