Trader Joe ’s is well known for its unique and affordable selection of food market items , including their bouncy plants ! One of their most popular offerings is the Venus flytrap plant This carnivorous plant is famous for its unique trapping leafage and makes for an easy , fun houseplant Let ’s explore some fundamental details about caring for a Trader Joe ’s Venus flytrap .
Overview of the Venus Flytrap
The Venus flytrap ( Dionaea muscipula ) is a modest perennial carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands in North and South Carolina in the United States . Their farewell are specialized into two - lobed snap traps that can rapidly fill up to catch louse and little creatures . When the trigger hair inside the yap are stimulated doubly within a light timespan , the trap snaps shut . The industrial plant then put up the prey through enzyme and assimilate the nutrients . Venus flytrap do not swear entirely on trapped insects for food but do benefit significantly from the added nitrogen . In the veracious conditions these intriguing plants can live for 20 year or more .
Buying a Venus Flytrap from Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe ’s offers bouncy Venus flytrap plant life for sales agreement at many locations for just $ 5.99 each . The plants are sell pot in 4 - inch containers , with several small immature traps ready to begin catch insect . The Trader Joe ’s flytrap are not very large but make for an affordable presentation to develop these carnivorous curiosities at home . It ’s important to understand how to care for them decent though , as they do have some specific needs . Here are some key tips :
audit plant life closely for sign of wellness – Avoid any with yellowing , dry or blackened trap . Select ones with immature , unwavering leave of absence and white hair - trigger inside the yap .
Re - pot at base in a desirable carnivorous plant soil mix – The standard potting stain they come in will not work farseeing term .
Situate in vivid indirect light – Near a cheery windowpane is idealistic . Direct blistering sunshine can scorch the traps .
Use distilled or rainfall water only – No pat water ! The minerals in tap urine will kill them .
Keep their “ feet sozzled but point dry ” – ride the dope in shallow piss trays but avoid wet the leaf .
provender traps populate insects or raw ground beef – Do n’t overfeed but do supplement as demand .
Ensure wintertime dormancy – Allow plants to experience cooler temporary worker and cut down light in wintertime .
Caring for Your Venus Flytrap Long Term
Carnivorous plants like the flytrap have very specific concern needs . With tending to their growing atmospheric condition and habits though , they can thrive for year . Here are some key aspects of hold your Trader Joe ’s venus flytrap houseplant sound .
Sunlight
Venus flytraps command very bright visible light to do well . They choose 12 - 14 minute under full spectrum grow lights or in a south - facing gay window . Direct raging midday sun should be avoided as it can scorch the leaves . proffer some shade during the hottest part of the daytime .
Temperature
idealistic temporary for flytraps are 65 - 85 ° F ( 18 - 29 ° C ) during the day and 55 - 65 ° F ( 13 - 18 ° C ) at night . They enjoy warmer summertime conditions and require a winter dormancy period with nerveless temperatures below 50 ° F ( 10 ° C ) for 3 - 4 months .
Water
Only use distilled piddle , reverse osmosis dribble water , or rain for flytraps . Normal pat water has mineral that will kill them . Keep the soil moist but not soggy . Water from below by sitting pots in shallow trays of water . Avoid getting the leaves and traps squiffy .
Soil
A nutritionally poor , acid grease mixture specifically for carnivorous works is indispensable . A usual blend is half peat moss and half perlite or ok guts . The received potting stain venus flytrap come in from the store must be replaced .
Feeding
While flytraps get some nutrients from soil , feeding the ambush live dirt ball provide important nourishment . Small fly , emmet , mealworms or cricket are perfect . equal a lying in wait doubly with a prey item will trigger it to shut down . deflect overfeeding – give most traps just 1 - 2 feeding per calendar month .
Dormancy
flytrap require a wintertime dormancy menses of 3 - 4 month with cooler temps and reduced ignitor to make it long full term . Reduce watering gradually in gloam and leave plants to go dormant . Resume normal caution when leaping growth begin .
Transplanting
Repot flytraps each spring into fresh soil , divide the rhizomes as they outgrow pots . Their root systems are pocket-sized but frequent repotting in special soil is lively . Discard any one-time stock potting mix still clinging to roots .
Propagation
Established flytrap plant life will produce offshoot rosette that can be softly divided and repot to propagate novel plants . Seeds are also potential but can be tricky and dim to originate into ripe trapping plant .
Common Issues with Venus Flytraps
Venus flytraps may run into problem if their demand for light , water , soil and dormancy are n’t meet right . Here are some common issues to catch for :
dark-brown or black traps – Can indicate too much direct Sunday or drouth stress .
minuscule , scrawny traps – Often due to insufficient unclouded levels .
moulder traps / foliage – Usually because of overwatering or standing water .
Mineral buildup on leaf – intemperate tap H2O or fertiliser is probably being used .
Death after bloom – Lack of wintertime quiescence period of time can be fateful to plant after flower .
Weak bug - catching – due to underfeeding and lack of nutrients from springy insect quarry .
Failure to prosper – wrong grime , Christ Within and lachrymation practices take their toll over time .
With attentive aid though , your Trader Joe ’s venus flytrap can annul these booby trap and live on catching hemipterous insect happily for many years to come ! Just be sure to offer this unique carnivore with the right spring up atmospheric condition and you ’ll succeed .
Finding More Venus Flytraps Beyond Trader Joe’s
Once you ’ve get the flytrap bug , you may want to add more of these fascinating plants to your collection . Here are some options for source additional venus flytraps :
Carnivorous plant baby’s room – specialness growers offer various venus flytrap cultivars by postal service parliamentary law or at retail storehouse . These supply the broad selection but are more costly .
Local garden centers – Some sovereign garden shops gestate unrecorded flytrap plants in their houseplant section , often at great prices . Availability may be limited though .
on-line stores – retailer like Amazon , Etsy , etc . betray springy flytraps shipped decently to your door . Easy but can be hit and drop .
Hardware stores – Big corner stores like Home Depot and Lowe ’s may stockpile them seasonally along with other houseplant . survival of the fittest is usually quite special .
Other grocery storage – Check plant sections at chains like Safeway , Kroger or Albertsons for flytrap . Not plebeian but can get favourable .
Carnivorous plant swaps – Connect with local agriculturalist to business deal divisions , seeds and growing tips . Great way to get variety .
Fun Facts About the Venus Flytrap
Beyond being cool glitch - eat plant life , venus flytrap have some surprising trait that make them even more fascinating . Did you make love :
flytrap only course live within a 75 mile radius in the Carolina coastal plain .
The trap close in less than a second when triggered , one of the fastest drive in the plant kingdom .
A digestive fluid inside the maw breaks down prey and absorbs nutrients .
The trap always reopen after catch prey , unlike some other carnivorous plant life that trammel and digest for good .
Flytraps can remember and consider stimulant , reopening only after set off double to ward off wasting DOE on off-key alarum .
Large traps can ware quarry as bad as small toad frog and petite bird in rarified cases . Most eat small fly , spider and ants though .
flytrap bring on fairly white flowers on tall stalks during summer but necessitate cross - pollination between plant to rig seed .
Flytrap seed can take several months to germinate and 5 + years to develop into mature trap plant , get extension by air division much sluttish .
In the wilderness , flytrap flora often die back to below flat coat rhizomes in winter , protect by lactating peat for warmth . Above undercoat yap and leaves totally perish with frost .
Charles Darwin was fascinated by flytrap and carnivorous plant , foretell their ingenious trap abilities “ the most wonderful plant in the world ” .
Final Thoughts
The Venus flytrap is emphatically one of the most unique , recognizable and intriguing houseplant available today . While infamous for its microbe - catching abilities , it does require some very specific guardianship to keep it trapping happily in a home environment long term . If provided the proper light , humidity , quiescency period and alimentation though , a Trader Joe ’s venus fell
VENUS FLY TRAP it’s ate my fly! Bought from Trader Joes
FAQ
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