What Do You Feed a Venus Flytrap During the Winter?

With their jaw-like leaves that clamp around their small prey, Venus flytraps are one of the most exotic and exciting of all houseplants. Flytraps catch and digest small creatures for their nourishment because they grow in locations with poor soil nutrient content. However, a lot of misunderstanding exists about how, when and what to feed these mysterious plants. One of these myths concerns what to feed the Venus flytrap during winter.

General Food

Whether feeding your plant in summer or winter, you should try to use the type of food the plant would find in its natural habitat. For example, small spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, flies and slugs make ideal flytrap food, according to information from the International Carnivorous Plant Society. However, anything larger than one-third of the leaf size is not recommended. Larger prey takes longer to hold and digest, and the plant risks infection and leaf rot in the process.

Dormancy

In the wild, Venus flytraps go through a period of dormancy during winter. This usually results in drooping, brownish leaves and a general lack of healthy appearance. However, this is normal and helps the plant conserve energy during colder, leaner times. For this reason, it's not advisable to feed Venus flytraps during winter as it interrupts their natural cycle. Some expert growers may create conditions favorable to year-round growth. However, in most cases, avoid feeding the plant anything in winter.

Amount

Every time you feed a flytrap, it takes around a week for the plant to digest the insect. However, the plants don't require a lot of feeding throughout the year. In general, feeding plants four times a year with approximately three insects per feed is enough. If you want to include a winter feed, try just one or two small insects. Don't try to keep every leaf full of insects through the colder months.

Considerations

Despite the common myths spread by some garden store workers, Venus flytraps should not eat small chunks of hamburger. According to the Botanical Society of America, doing this will trigger rot and eventually lead to the death of the plant. Some larger plants in the wild will eat big prey, even small frogs. However, this is a rare occurrence and not something you should try with your plant. Other unsuitable food no matter what the season includes beetles and very large caterpillars. The beetles are difficult to digest and the caterpillars can eat some of the flytrap leaves before the leaves smother and kill the bug.

References

• The International Carnivorous Plant Society; What Should I Feed My Venus Flytrap? Hamburger Meat?
• Botanical Society of America; Mysterious Venus Flytrap
• The International Carnivorous Plant Society; Winter Dormancy? Huh? What?
• The International Carnivorous Plant Society; How Often Should I Feed My Venus Flytrap?