FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have a small insect problem and want to keep things natural around my koi pond so I figured why not get a predator for those stinkin bugs!!! One expensive trip to home depot and I have a sweet little venus fly trap (among many other things!) My question is can I plant the flytrap by my pond where the soil stays real damp from the pond water? I plan on keeping it in the container it came in and just buerying the entire pot right where it stays super wet from the waterfall. Will that work?

Hello and welcome to flytrapcare!

I doubt that the soil around your pond will be suitable for a Venus flytrap to live in. Even though you plan on leaving it in the original pot that it came in, which is most likely filled with peat moss, the soil will leach minerals into the peat and eventually make the plant sick or kill it. You could put the pot in another pot that's sealed, or put plastic down under the pot to help prevent the soil from leaching in. Or you could create a little bog garden!

Oh, and it's not likely that the Venus flytrap will have any affect on the bug population, but it will definitely make a dramatic improvement to the overall experience of your koi pond.

pondlady wrote:I have a sweet little venus fly trap (among many other things!) My question is can I plant the flytrap by my pond where the soil stays real damp from the pond water? I plan on keeping it in the container it came in and just burying the entire pot right where it stays super wet from the waterfall. Will that work?

What type of water is in your koi pond? If it's well water or tap water, it will probably kill your Venus Flytrap (too many dissolved minerals). Venus Flytraps (and other carnivorous plants) require exceptionally pure water (as in distilled or rain water).

To me, the best way to accomplish what you are tring to do is to buy a plastic basin or tub or storage container of a size and shape that will fit well around your koi pond and about 8-10 or 12 inches deep, drill several small holes in its base, and then bury that plastic container almost up to its lip in the ground next to the pond. Then fill the container with a good carnivorous plant growing mix (be sure to research this subject carefully here at FlytrapCare.com, and avoid any Miracle-Gro products), and water the little "mini bog" you have created with only distilled water or rain water--not the pond water if it is well or tap water.

Then plant Venus Flytraps and pitcher plants in the little sunken bog planter you have created and watch them grow and flourish. The rain water you pour into the little bog will drain sufficiently out the holes drilled in the bottom so that the container does not stay saturated and become stagnant, and that flow of water outward from the holes will help keep surrounding soil water from entering the little bog (so long as the ground around the mini-bog is not saturated with water.

Steve

In this case the plant is secondary (well not even quite secondary ) My main focus and project is the pond and my koi. While I would love for this plant to survive and eat up my ants and nats I can't be bothered to go to such extremes for one small plant. Could I keep it in a pot on my patio next to my pond and just water it with bottled distilled water? My pond is surrounded by plants and all are waterd with tap water. There is no way I could keep pond or tap water off the fly trap... How much of a radius does one fly trap work with? I am so over whelmed with decorating my pond re potting lilly's and canna and water temps and levels and making the falls work UGH! lol it's a full time job. Oh and can I leave it in the pot it came in? Should I take it out of the plastic it came in?

pondlady wrote:Oh and can I leave it in the pot it came in? Should I take it out of the plastic it came in?

You can leave it in the pot it came in, but I would take it out of the plastic container. That was more for transporting the plant than for providing good living conditions. If you leave it in that plastic container and give it the sunlight it should get, it will cook in there. Also, without any air movement, it will promote the growth of fungus and mold.

pondlady wrote:Could I keep it in a pot on my patio next to my pond and just water it with bottled distilled water?

Yep, that would work well!

Good luck with the koi pond. I'd love to see some photos of it if you get a chance.

lol I was taking pics of different stages of the whole production and... PLOP I droped my camera in my pond!!!! So I am Craigslisting trying to find a replacement. I do a lot of wildlife pictures too while I'm at work so as soon as I get a cam I will but for now I guess I will post some old old old ones of when we first got the pond in the ground lol. It's small (my first actually) but I plan on expanding ASAP!

what about a bog garden?


allen,

Where do you live? Some areas get tap water that's pure enough to use on carnivorous plants.

I live on the central coast of california. I doubt that we can use tap. I have tried in the past (without doing research back when PC ment parental control not personal computer) with tap water and they all died FAST. Our water is super hard too. I am planning on starting to buy my top off water for my pond as it is and slowly replacing all my treated tap water for store bought pond water.

allenc666 wrote:what about a bog garden?


allen,

To be honest I was planning on buying some half wine barrels with the flow spout build in and making this major project for myself but I came across a fountain not too long ago for 10 bucks! so All that's out! Besides i plan on tearing it all out soon and building a partial above ground pond with a bog filtration and a biofilter and using the bog as a full waterfall feature so I can get bigger koi!!! lol all dreams for now though!

and bog gardens have a lot of nitrates from the fish pollutants... wouldn't that kill a carnivorous plant?

sounds to me like you may not want to bother...Carnivorous plants are quite a labor of love (i am new to them but i find them insanely amazing), and won't impact your bug population really at all. Sounds like you should just focus on your project and not worry about fitting VFTs into the scheme of things. If you do buy one and take care of it..prepare to full in love with the little sucker!

pondlady wrote:and bog gardens have a lot of nitrates from the fish pollutants

bog gardens, if made as Steve instructed, will have no nitrates.

afh928 wrote:sounds to me like you may not want to bother...Carnivorous plants are quite a labor of love (i am new to them but i find them insanely amazing), and won't impact your bug population really at all. Sounds like you should just focus on your project and not worry about fitting VFTs into the scheme of things. If you do buy one and take care of it..prepare to full in love with the little sucker!

I think you got it just about right. I try to avoid any poisons and unnessasary fertalizers and such but this is getting out of hand. I guess my next stop is parasites. Iv got to pick up some lady bugs any how. Iv got a nasty infestation of apheds I was thinking about taking the plant to my office. Very VERY sunny and plenty of bugs for it to eat. Thanks again guys, I have been trying over and over again to get one of these things to survive but now that I have all the information this site offers I think this one has a fighting chance! And I promise if it looks like it's starting to take a turn for the worse I will give it to my mother! She grows dew something or other and they THRIVE!

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c388/ ... ure001.jpg

There is a link to the picture of my venus fly trap and it's in the same folder as all my pond pics. Those were taken this weekend as I repotted and thinned out the herd and put up my water fall feature. Next is more soil (because it is raised about 4 inches out of the ground) and some stones around the pond liner to hide that liner and then... maybe I'll be done lol