How to Buy a Wild Venus Fly Trap

Wild Venus fly traps (Dionaea muscipula) are now considered endangered because so many have been dug up, but there are some areas of Florida and the Carolinas where this carnivorous plant still grows wild. However, if you want to buy one of these unusual plants, they're available from growers, gardeners and perhaps a local nursery. Here are some tips on how to buy a wild Venus fly trap.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Telephone book
• Computer
• Venus fly trap plant or bulb
• Flower pot
• Potting soil

1. Check local phone books for nurseries, greenhouses and carnivorous plant societies that might carry Venus fly trap plants for sale.

2. Search online to find anyone who sells Venus fly trap bulbs. Two places you might locate these unusual plants are blackjungle.com and bugbitingplants.com (see links in Resources).

3. Decide whether you want to purchase a plant or a bulb and from which supplier.

4. Learn what your Venus fly trap will need once it gets home, such as the type of soil it prefers and how to pot it correctly.

5. Giver your Venus fly trap several hours of sunlight every day.

6. Water your plant every other day to keep it moist and hydrated.

Tips & Warnings

• If you feed your plant dead insets, you will have to wiggle then around or the plant will not eat them.
• Distilled water or rainwater works best to water your Venus fly trap.
• Don't leave your plant in the sun for extended periods of time or it will burn.
• Often plants that are for sale in flower shops or a retail stores are stressed, but they can be brought back and live a healthy life.

Resources

• Visit this site to find interesting facts about the Venus fly trap
• Go here to purchase venus fly traps and other carnivorous plants
• Visit this site for venus fly traps and other unusual plants