Venus Flytrap Lighting: Outdoor vs Indoor and Assessing Plant Health

Question

Hello. I purchased two Venus Flytraps with approximately 35 heads and I was wondering what kind of lighting we need to be able to keep these in doors and during the day they will be outside. And, how can you tell if they are dead or alive because a few have black from the top to half way but have a green roots. Are these dead or alive? Thank you.

Answer

What you are seeing is a pot with several Venus Flytraps growing together from a parent plant in all likelyhood. Each plant will have about 6-12 traps total. As old traps die off, they are replaced by new ones that sprout from the center of each plant.

If you grow the plant outdoors you will not need to keep it indoors and you will not need additional lighting. As a general rule, you really should keep the plant in one place as fast changes in temperature and humidity as it is moved from one place to another can adversely affect it and even cause illness and death in some plants. Either keep it outdoors, or indoors for the best results. Best bet is to keep it outside all the time in a protected place where it can get full sun all day and where animals and curious neighbors will not harm it.

Christopher