Audrey

[truepenny]

So I had to go to the grocery store today because otherwise I had nothing whatsoever to eat for lunch. Since, as I said earlier, I am feeling crummy, I was not best pleased. But that was before I wandered by their potted plants table and saw that they had two Venus fly-traps, each in its own tiny terrarium (made by putting a clear plastic cup over the flowerpot, but still).

Six bucks.

I brought one home.

Having read what the The Carnivorous Plant FAQ has to say about Venus fly-traps, I fear the odds are excellent that I will kill it. But in the meantime I am completely delighted. And I know not to make the immediate and obvious mistakes of either repotting it or following the advice on the label and feeding it meat. (Venus fly-traps are not designed to deal with fat.)

I'm not terribly good with plants; thus far the only ones I've managed not to kill are our enormous philodendron and the aloe vera. But how can I not try to keep a Venus fly-trap?

Comments

[oracne.livejournal.com]

I had one in college, briefly. I killed it. I felt really bad. Here's hoping yours does better, and it probably will, since you have actual instructions!

[sue-donym.livejournal.com]

I have a Venus fly-trap somewhere in the swath of plant carnage left in my wake. Poor thing. His name was Max.

Good luck! :)

[joatamon]

Ooooh, I want one too! I want one too!

::envy::

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

Luck with keeping it alive, do keep us informed. And gosh, that's cool.

[libskrat]

Will they eat these !@$$#@U*@#$ ladybugs?

Husband and I evicted seven or eight of the dratted things yesterday.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

FAQ says the exoskeleton is too crunchy. (That was my first thought, too.)

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

Gosh, that's an impressively detailed FAQ.

[maureenkspeller.livejournal.com]

We, of course, have mobile, furry Venus Flytraps (must get more nitrogen into those cats' diets, really I must; it's embarrassing when they hunt for flies while we have visitors) but I await news of your plant. I saw a display of carnivorous plants at a horticultural show a while back and they were distinctly ... er, different. No mistaking that stall for anything else. It exuded menace in a stay-put kind of way.

[skalja.livejournal.com]

Oh, good luck! I love Venus fly-traps.

[headgardener.livejournal.com]

Did the FAQ give the advice to use water that has been boiled up in a kettle then allowed to coll down to water it: they can't take hard water? Need slightly acid conditions. Think peat bog. Good luck

(Oh, mine died. But then, I didn't save up cooled kettle water for it.)