How To Grow Venus Fly Traps

To many people's surprise, the Venus flytrap is not native to some tropical, exotic country or steamy rainforest. The Venus flytrap is native only to the coast of North and South Carolina, in a radius roughly 100 miles around Wilmington. It is a small rosette plant, generally six to eight inches in diameter. The leaves consist of leaf stems, or petrels, that may be heart-shaped and flat on the ground, or thin and upright. The trap …

…on these plants in cultivation, as it will take a few months for large traps to return. Therefore, clip off flower stalks when they are 2 to 4 inches high for vigorous summer leaves. Finally, insect pests do attack these plants, particularly aphids. Check deformed leaves closely: they are usually the result of aphids sucking juices from new leaves. Apply diazinon or orthene. The Lily Miller brands available at K-Mart work well, or use a wettable powder.