While growing a Venus flytrap indoors might sound like a great idea, however, you should remember that it is not an indoor plant. It is a houseplant that can be kept indoors but you need to take specific steps to ensure that your plant adapts to such an environment.
The best idea to keep an indoor carnivorous plant is to keep it in a terrarium. Terrariums are miniature versions of terrains that tend to mock the native habit of the plant to ensure that the plant is comfortable and grows well.
While terrariums may seem complicated, choosing or making one is relatively easy. Further, it makes it easy to feed live insects to your Venus flytrap as they don’t stand a chance of running or flying away. It also allows you to customize the terrarium as per the needs of the Venus flytrap.
How to make a Venus fly trap Terrarium?
So, let us discuss the steps that you need to follow to make the ideal terrarium for your Venus flytrap –
- Types of Terrarium
- Soil
- Light
- Maintaining the Terrarium
1. Types of Terrarium
Terrariums come in various shapes and types. However, choosing the right type of terrarium is very important for the plant as it is supposed to survive in the terrarium. You need to keep various factors in mind while choosing a type of terrarium as each has its pros and cons.
For example, a closed terrarium makes feeding live insects to your plant easy, but it reduces the access of fresh airflow for the plant. Ideally, the Venus flytrap requires an open terrarium as it needs access to fresh air and proper lighting. Thus, a large bowl-styled or open-top terrarium is generally suggested for a Venus flytrap.
2. Soil
The soil plays another important part in the health of your plant. Always avoid using soil that is high in fertilizers and minerals as it may damage your plant. Generally, it is best to use a mixture of peat moss and perlite in a ratio of 1:1 since it fulfills the low nutrient, acidic need of the plant. You can also use pebbles as they soak up the extra minerals like calcium from the soil and help keep the soil nutrient-free.
3. Light
Light plays an important role in the growth of your plant. However, in a terrarium, it may not have access to ideal lighting due to which the plant may weaken. Similarly, excess light or sunlight may heat the terrarium, causing the plant inside to cook and eventually die off.
The best idea, in this case, is to place the terrarium near a south-facing window where it receives abundant, indirect light. An alternative is to use a fluorescent light to provide the plant with artificial light.
4. Water
The water of the wrong type and quantity can be fatal to the Venus flytrap. So, if you choose a terrarium, ensure that it has proper drainage and no stagnant water is left behind when you are watering the plant. Further, only use distilled or reverse osmosis water to help keep the plant safe from oversaturation of minerals.
Thus, these are the steps to build the ideal terrarium for your Venus flytrap.