Question
I recently moved from the SF Bay Area to Los Angeles.  I've had a few sundews (not sure what species) that have managed to survive for 3 or 4 years, but my venus fly traps keep dying off.

I've recently become more interested in providing the optimal conditions for my plant after receiving a terradome (clear plastic dome with a hole in the top) for my birthday.  I understand that the dome will help to maintain high relative humidity, but I'm worried that full sunlight (and I'm told that full sunlight is VERY important) will result in excessive temperatures in the dome.

How do I balance the needs for full sunlight, reasonable temperatures, and high humidity without a complex fan-based control system?

Answer
Hi Juston,

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a big fan of terrariums.  This is the common reason why first-time growers struggle growing carnivorous plants.  As you've noted, it's difficult to give sun-loving plants the proper sunlight without the temperature becoming to excessive in the terrarium.  Because of this and other factors (fungal infection, stale soil, lack of air circulation), terrariums provide more problems than solutions.

It's also a big myth that carnivorous plants require super high humidity.  Carnivorous plants adapt well to the regular humidity of most homes and gardens.  Only a small handful of the 600+ species of carnivorous plants require the controlled environment of a terrarium, but these plants are sometimes difficult to maintain even for experienced growers.  The vast majority of carnivorous plants, such as flytraps and sundews, can grow very well without a terrarium.

We have customers in LA who have successfully grown flytraps and other carnivorous plants outdoors, without terrariums.  At our nursery, we grow our flytraps and North American pitcher plants strictly outdoors.  I also have tropical sundews growing in my kitchen window without a terrarium.  Relative humidity at our nursery has also dropped to a record low of 14% last summer.  Our plants are still growing strong!

So my suggestion is to simply grow your plants without a terrarium.  You'll have a much easier time giving your plants the proper sunlight.  Your plants will also acclimate to lower humidity.  In fact, carnivorous plants are capable of adapting to lower humidity, but they are not capable of adapting to lower light!

Read our care sheets for more information about growing flytraps, sundews and other types of carnivorous plants.  You'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy growing them can be!
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

Good growing!
Jacob Farin