Q: My Venus flytrap is dying! What am I doing wrong?

• Happy plant

A: As I said earlier, I think the most common cause for Venus flytrap death in horticulture is inadequate lighting. If you are providing your plant with enough light (but I really doubt you are), make sure you are using a good soil mix like 50:50 peat:sand (and not garden soil!) and only purified water. You didn't fertilize your plant, did you?

If you have already bought one, read everything about Venus flytraps in this FAQ as soon as you can. Also, scan the rest of the FAQ for relevant topics. For example, there is more information in the general cultivation part of the FAQ that may be helpful for you.

The Venus flytrap is an amazing plant and is usually the first carnivorous plant that most people try to grow. But it can be a very difficult and discouraging plant, and as a result is also the last carnivorous plant most people grow!

If it is autumn and your plant is slowing down and looks like it is dying, it might just be going dormant! In this case, it might be perfectly happy, but just taking a snooze.

Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; personal observation.