Keeping carnivorous plants is a hobby that’s just starting to gather steam. There’s something fascinating about seeing a Venus Flytrap snap shut on an annoying fly.
Venus Flytraps do well in acidic soil and need high levels of moisture. The pot you choose needs to be made of a strong, sturdy material that won’t dry or rot your roots. It should be able to house your plant from germination to the end of its life.
Keeping one for the very first time? We’ve got your list of the best pots for Venus Flytraps covered, as well as the answers to some of the most common questions carnivorous plant owners have about these lovely little fly eaters.
What is a Venus Flytrap?
The Venus Flytrap, scientific name Dionaea muscipula, is a small, flowering plant commonly found in the Carolinas and a few other states along the American East Coast. They can grow in soil that is low in nutrients, and prefer slightly acidic soil, unlike many other plants. This makes them ideal growers in habitats that have been affected by natural events like fires.
They are, of course, most popular for their unusual diet. Venus Flytraps are carnivorous plants, and use sets of hinged lobes lined with trichomes – small, thin, sensitive fibers – to recognize the presence of prey such as flies and other small insects. When they sense one, the lobes close and trap the insect, then begin to slowly digest it over the course of roughly a week.
Venus Flytraps require plenty of sunlight and water. They thrive in humid environments and gather most of their nutrients from their diets.
The Best Pots for Venus Flytraps
Keeping your first carnivorous plant? Here are the best pots for Venus Flytraps based on material, size, and design.
DecoPots Self Watering Planter
This plastic pot is lightweight and classically designed to suit any room. It’s large enough to house even the largest fully-grown Flytrap and comes in tons of colors to match your personal taste. We like that it’s BPA-free; no dangerous root-rotting chemicals here!
Our favorite feature is the titular Self Watering system. This pot is designed to retain moisture in a separated reservoir at the bottom and slowly feed it up through the soil over time, meaning you don’t have to worry about forgetting to water your plant for up to four weeks.
The DecoPots Self-Watering Planter is great for first-time Flytrap owners.
HBS Self Watering Planter
If you want the look of a classic plant pot with the durability of polypropylene plastic, then this is the pot for your flytrap. The material is fully UV stabilized, with the pigment mixed right in so there’s no chipping or fading.
We appreciated the bottom-watering system with its saucer that allows you to avoid dumping water straight into the pot. The system can water itself for two weeks at a time, and with aeration slots built straight in, you don’t have to worry about root rot.
Reasonably sized and elegantly designed, the HBS Self Watering and Self Aerating Planter make beautiful presentation pots.
NCYP Glass Terrarium
Looking for something to suit a more modern aesthetic? Try this geometric terrarium. Roughly perfect for a brand-new Flytrap, it’s great for letting sunlight in at all angles while keeping curious cats from batting the traps off the plant by providing moderate coverage.
The strong, ultra-clear glass is what sells this pot for us. It’s strong enough to hold up the soil and the plant itself on the bottom while staying thin enough to regulate temperatures.
We love the NCYP Glass Terrarium for the interior carnivore enthusiast.
LE TAUCI Ceramic Plant Pots
There’s nothing simpler than these pots. The fully-glazed ceramic is extremely heat resistant and sturdy and sits on a simple saucer for easy water drainage. We loved the inclusion of mesh covers for the drainage system. These allow water to flow out, which prevents root rot but retains soil to keep it from making a mess.
They come in a set of three, from four inches wide up to six and a half inches wide, meaning that you can repot your flytrap as it grows without shelling out for extra pots…if you don’t just plant more Flytraps, that is.
The LE TAUCI Ceramic Plant Pots are an awesome gift idea for any Flytrap lover.
Seencool Indoor Planter Pot
It’s hard to find a plant pot that balances durability with breathability, but this one seems to have done it.
We found its glazed ceramic to be surprisingly lightweight. This well-designed pot is strangely simple; it’s got a classic shape that will complement the Flytrap’s unusual composition beautifully. It’s perfect for setting up in your office or den.
If you want something simple and sweet, try the Seencool Indoor Planter Pot.
Kenzoplants Plastic Planters
These pots give off serious vintage vibes. They come in a variety of bright pastels (and classic colors) and three sizes that make them amazing for growing with your carnivore garden.
What we love is the fact that they fit in most macrame planters. Want your Flytrap to hang from the ceiling? This pot is for you. Either way, the complimentary saucer and drainage plugs keep the soil where it’s supposed to be.
The Kenzoplants Plastic Planters come in a multicolored pack of five.
D’vine Dev Terracotta Plant Pots
Terracotta is an unusual choice for a Flytrap pot, but this one is finished so smooth that it isn’t really a concern.
These planters are super simple and eco-friendly, made from classic clay. They’ve got a very simple saucer set up with drainage pads included for easy planting and repotting, which is perfect for a Flytrap’s tricky potting needs.
D’vine Dev Terracotta Plant Pots are covered by a hassle-free replacement plan. If yours isn’t right, send it back and get the problem solved fast.
HOMENOTE Plastic Planter
Classic and hassle-free, these planters made it onto our list because they’re remarkably affordable for a pack of five.
We love the drainage design of these pots. sizing of these pots makes it easy to move your Flytrap up as it grows, while the drainage system means that it’s more likely to grow at all. Instead of uneven draining from a single central hole, these pots have small perforations throughout for better aeration and drainage.
The HOMENOTE Plastic Planters come in four colors of thick, sturdy plastic that won’t deform in the heat or shatter like ceramics may. The
Venus Flytrap PotS Material FAQ’s
One of the biggest questions new plant parents have about flytraps is how to pot them and their proper care. Here are the answers to some of those pressing questions.
What pot should you use for Venus Flytraps?
Because venus flytraps require particularly acidic soil to grow properly, many standard plant pots will deteriorate over time from holding them. This may not do any damage to the plant itself but can mean ruining a nice pot.
The best pots for venus flytraps, then, are non-porous pots made from materials like fully glazed ceramic or, ideally, thick plastic. Terracotta can work well if it’s properly treated, but most regular ceramics should be avoided if you don’t want to keep replacing the pot over the plant’s lifetime.
In terms of size, you’ll want something that’s at least four inches deep and four inches in diameter.
What soil combination works best for Venus Flytraps?
Many experts recommend a one-to-one mixture of perlite – a kind of volcanic glass – and peat moss. Don’t use regular potting soil, compost, or fertilizer; flytraps don’t need the extra nutrients from the soil and may in fact be poisoned if it’s overly rich.
To keep your plant as happy and healthy as possible, repot it about once a year in either late winter or early in the spring. You should use this as an opportunity to replace the soil mixture and check to see if you need a larger pot.
How Do You Repot A Venus Fly Trap?
- Fill the new pot with the 1:1 mixture of perlite and peat moss.
- Gently water the new potting mixture and create a small hole in the center where your venus flytrap will be placed.
- Carefully take your venus flytrap out of its current pot, ensuring you handle the roots and not the traps.
- Place your venus flytrap into the new potting mixture and carefully compress the soil into place around its roots.
- Water your plant thoroughly.
After repotting, It is normal to see your venus flytrap stall in growth for a week or two. You might also find that your venus flytrap may lose a few traps after being repotted. As long as the plant has healthy roots and enough nutrients this is nothing to worry about.
How can you tell if your Venus Flytrap is dead?
Venus flytraps go dormant for about three or four months in the winter. During this time, the leaves will turn brown and the traps won’t move. This is perfectly normal; all you need to do is keep the soil moist and guard it against freezing if temperatures dip below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
If, however, your plant is losing leaves or traps in the spring or summer months, turns completely black and soft, or starts to smell, then it’s likely dead. Flytraps die quickly, so it’s difficult to save them once you notice signs of ill health.
The best thing you can do is be preventative; don’t overwater it, be sure it gets plenty of sun, and don’t bother the roots between repotting sessions.
Do Venus Flytraps Need Deep Pots?
We recommend getting a pot with a minimum pot depth of four inches.
Venus flytraps are relatively small plants, growing to about six inches in diameter when fully grown at maturity. For this reason, flytraps don’t need pots that are very wide. However, venus fly traps benefit from deeper pots that allow for root growth.
Root growth is beneficial for venus flytraps because longer, thicker roots help the plant absorb available water.
What Is The Best Venus Flytrap Pot?
Venus flytraps are unusually beautiful, or maybe they’re beautifully unusual. They’re nature’s way of turning the tables. If bugs are going to eat plants, why shouldn’t plants eat bugs?
Either way, buying the best pots for venus flytraps can mean your home is free of flies and full of beautiful greenery for a long time.
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