Everything You Need to Know About Trader Joe’s Venus Flytraps

Trader Joe’s is well known for its unique and affordable selection of grocery items, including their live plants! One of their most popular offerings is the Venus flytrap plant This carnivorous plant is famous for its unique trapping leaves and makes for an easy, fun houseplant Let’s explore some key details about caring for a Trader Joe’s Venus flytrap.

Overview of the Venus Flytrap

The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a small perennial carnivorous plant native to subtropical wetlands in North and South Carolina in the United States. Their leaves are specialized into two-lobed snap traps that can rapidly close to capture insects and small creatures. When the trigger hairs inside the trap are stimulated twice within a short timespan, the trap snaps shut. The plant then digests the prey through enzymes and absorbs the nutrients. Venus flytraps do not rely entirely on trapped insects for food but do benefit significantly from the added nitrogen. In the right conditions these intriguing plants can live for 20 years or more.

Buying a Venus Flytrap from Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s offers live Venus flytrap plants for sale at many locations for just $5.99 each. The plants are sold potted in 4-inch containers, with several small immature traps ready to start catching insects. The Trader Joe’s flytraps are not very large but make for an affordable introduction to growing these carnivorous curiosities at home. It’s important to understand how to care for them properly though, as they do have some specific needs. Here are some key tips:

• Inspect plants closely for signs of health – Avoid any with yellowing, dry or blackened traps. Select ones with green, firm leaves and white hair-triggers inside the traps.

• Re-pot at home in a suitable carnivorous plant soil mix – The standard potting soil they come in will not work long term.

• Situate in bright indirect light – Near a sunny window is ideal. Direct hot sunlight can scorch the traps.

• Use distilled or rain water only – No tap water! The minerals in tap water will kill them.

• Keep their “feet wet but head dry” – Sit the pots in shallow water trays but avoid wetting the leaves.

• Feed traps live insects or raw hamburger – Don’t overfeed but do supplement as needed.

• Ensure winter dormancy – Allow plants to experience cooler temps and reduced light in winter.

Caring for Your Venus Flytrap Long Term

Carnivorous plants like the flytrap have very specific care needs. With attention to their growing conditions and habits though, they can thrive for years. Here are some key aspects of keeping your Trader Joe’s venus flytrap houseplant healthy.

Sunlight

Venus flytraps require very bright light to do well. They prefer 12-14 hours under full spectrum grow lights or in a south-facing sunny window. Direct hot midday sun should be avoided as it can scorch the leaves. Offer some shade during the hottest part of the day.

Temperature

Ideal temps for flytraps are 65-85°F (18-29°C) during the day and 55-65°F (13-18°C) at night. They enjoy warmer summer conditions and require a winter dormancy period with cooler temperatures below 50°F (10°C) for 3-4 months.

Water

Only use distilled water, reverse osmosis filtered water, or rainwater for flytraps. Normal tap water has minerals 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 wet.

Soil

A nutritionally poor, acidic soil mixture specifically for carnivorous plants is essential. A common blend is half peat moss and half perlite or fine sand. The standard potting soil venus flytraps come in from the store must be replaced.

Feeding

While flytraps get some nutrients from soil, feeding the traps live insects provides important nourishment. Small flies, ants, mealworms or crickets are perfect. Touching a trap twice with a prey item will trigger it to close. Avoid overfeeding – give most traps just 1-2 feedings per month.

Dormancy

Flytraps require a winter dormancy period of 3-4 months with cooler temps and reduced light to survive long term. Reduce watering gradually in fall and allow plants to go dormant. Resume normal care when spring growth begins.

Transplanting

Repot flytraps each spring into fresh soil, dividing the rhizomes as they outgrow pots. Their root systems are small but frequent repotting in special soil is vital. Discard any old standard potting mix still clinging to roots.

Propagation

Established flytrap plants will produce offshoot rosettes that can be gently divided and repotted to propagate new plants. Seeds are also possible but can be tricky and slow to grow into mature trapping plants.

Common Issues with Venus Flytraps

Venus flytraps may run into problems if their needs for light, water, soil and dormancy aren’t met properly. Here are some common issues to watch for:

• Brown or black traps – Can indicate too much direct sun or drought stress.

• Small, stunted traps – Often due to insufficient light levels.

• Rotting traps/leaves – Usually caused by overwatering or standing water.

• Mineral buildup on leaves – Hard tap water or fertilizer is likely being used.

• Death after flowering – Lack of winter dormancy period can be fatal to plants after blooming.

• Weak bug-catching – Caused by underfeeding and lack of nutrients from live insect prey.

• Failure to thrive – Incorrect soil, light and watering practices take their toll over time.

With attentive care though, your Trader Joe’s venus flytrap can avoid these pitfalls and live on catching bugs happily for many years to come! Just be sure to provide this unique carnivore with the right growing conditions and you’ll succeed.

Finding More Venus Flytraps Beyond Trader Joe’s

Once you’ve got the flytrap bug, you may want to add more of these fascinating plants to your collection. Here are some options for sourcing additional venus flytraps:

• Carnivorous plant nurseries – Specialty growers offer various venus flytrap cultivars by mail order or at retail stores. These provide the widest selection but are more costly.

• Local garden centers – Some independent garden shops carry live flytrap plants in their houseplant sections, often at great prices. Availability may be limited though.

• Online stores – Retailers like Amazon, Etsy, etc. sell live flytraps shipped right to your door. Easy but can be hit and miss.

• Hardware stores – Big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s may stock them seasonally along with other houseplants. Selection is usually quite limited.

• Other grocery stores – Check plant sections at chains like Safeway, Kroger or Albertsons for flytraps. Not common but can get lucky.

• Carnivorous plant swaps – Connect with local growers to trade divisions, seeds and growing tips. Great way to get variety.

Fun Facts About the Venus Flytrap

Beyond being cool bug-eating plants, venus flytraps have some surprising traits that make them even more fascinating. Did you know:

• Flytraps only naturally live within a 75 mile radius in the Carolina coastal plains.

• The traps close in less than a second when triggered, one of the fastest movements in the plant kingdom.

• A digestive fluid inside the traps breaks down prey and absorbs nutrients.

• The traps always reopen after catching prey, unlike some other carnivorous plants that trap and digest permanently.

• Flytraps can remember and count stimuli, reopening only after triggering twice to avoid wasting energy on false alarms.

• Large traps can consume prey as big as small frogs and tiny birds in rare cases. Most eat small flies, spiders and ants though.

• Flytraps produce pretty white flowers on tall stalks during summer but require cross-pollination between plants to set seed.

• Flytrap seeds can take several months to germinate and 5+ years to grow into mature trapping plants, making propagation by division much easier.

• In the wild, flytrap plants often die back to below ground rhizomes in winter, protected by wet peat for warmth. Above ground traps and leaves totally perish with frost.

• Charles Darwin was fascinated by flytraps and carnivorous plants, calling their ingenious trapping abilities “the most wonderful plant in the world”.

Final Thoughts

The Venus flytrap is definitely one of the most unique, recognizable and intriguing houseplants available today. While infamous for its bug-catching abilities, it does require some very specific care to keep it trapping happily in a home environment long term. If provided the proper lighting, humidity, dormancy period and nutrition though, a Trader Joe’s venus fly