Best Pots & Planters For Venus Flytraps

I know sometimes all you want is a recommendation. I'm going to talk about the best pots and planters for venus flytraps below. But, if you are here just for a recommendation, I wanted to do that right away. If you are looking for information on how to pick your own por or planter, keep reading below. I strongly recommend the planter below for repotting your venus flytrap.

I strongly recommend the Hydrofarm Active Aqual plastic planter sold at my store above. These are hands down the best venus flytrap planters I have been able to find. The meet all the needed requirements. 

• They are plastic
• They are tall and hold a lot of substrate
• They have incredible drainage holes and side holes for maximum air flow to roots.
• The plastic is heavy duty and made to last for many years in harsh weather. 

I'm going to go into all this information in detail below but if you just want a recommendation for the best venus flytrap pot or planter, the Hydrofarm Active Aqua planters are it. 

These planters are 5x5 inches at the top and 7 inches deep. They hold exactly a half gallon of substrate.

Click Here To Order Planters From My Store

If you want to see what they look like with venus flytraps in them, you can check out mine below. I did a video showing my process for repotting my venus flytraps into these planters. 

Venus flytraps are not your normal everyday plant. They do need some special considerations for care. Having the right pot or planter for venus flytraps is actually an important part of caring for them. Today, we are going to talk about what considerations you need to make so you can pick out the best pot or planter for your venus flytrap. After we go over what to look for I will give you my top recommendations, including the planters I use for most of my own venus flytraps.

The first thing we are going to discuss is what you need to look for when picking out a venus flytrap planter. There are several considerations, picking the wrong planter can lead to unhealthy venus flytraps. If you want your venus flytrap to be as healthy as possible, you will want to use the following information when picking out your next venus flytrap pot or planter.

Let's start off with the venus flytrap planter materials you need to avoid. I recommend steering clear of the materals below. 

Terracotta or Clay

Venus flytraps can be a little picky when it comes to what they like in their water and substrate. They really don't like any minerals like salt or other dissolved solids commonly found in tap water and regular dirt. You're probably thinking, what does this have to do with a pot or planter?

Many common pots or planters available for purchase are made of clay or terracotta. Both clay and terracotta planters can leach dissolved solids and salts into the water and substrate. I strongly recommend avoiding any planters that are clay or terracotta. Another con of these planter types is they can wick water away from the substrate. Both materials are porous and absorb water, you don't want your pot or planter taking water away from the substrate, especially in the heat of summer during peak growing season.

I tend to avoid clay all together, but you can find clay pots that are fully glazed. This means that they glaze the inside along with the outside. The glaze does prevent the clay pot from leaching minerals and absorbing water from the substrate. Just make sure the glaze covers the entire inside of the pot or planter, it's pretty common that they only glaze about half way up.

Glass

You also want to avoid anything glass. Glass can become super hot in the sun and burn the roots. This is especially true if your planter is clear glass. I should note that if you keep your venus flytraps indoors and away from hotter temperatures, glass could be okay as it doesn't leach like terracotta or clay.

Now that you know what to avoid, lets take a look at what materials you should consider when looking for the best pot or planter for venus flytraps.

Plastic/Resin

Plastic or resin should definitely be your top option when you decide which pot or planter you choose for your venus flytrap. Plastic does not leach and minerals or salts into your substrate. It also does not wick any water away from your soil. Plastic also does a better job regulating temperature. If you use a white plastic planter, it will help keep the roots cool. We will talk about colors more here in just a bit. I would recommend plastic or resin above all the other materials for giving your venus flytrap the best chance at a healthy life. 

Venus flytraps tend to grow long roots. The longer you allow them to grow the bigger and more robust your plant and traps will be. If you have a planter that is short and small, it will stop the roots from being able to grow down and stretch their legs out. Your venus flytrap can live this way, but it will hold it back from it's true potential. 

I strongly recommend getting a planter that is tall and fairly wide. I tend to put my flytraps in planters that almost seem a little too big. This will allow the roots to stretch way down. I recommend a planter that is at least 6 inches tall. 

I also recommend that you get a planter that is a bit wide. I recommend something that is at least 5 inches. The main reason I like a wider planter is for root insulation. When it's really hot or really cold, venus flytrap roots can be a bit sensative. Having a larger planter allows you to insulate the roots more. When it get's really hot, it will be harder for the heat to penetrate the thicker substate and will keep the roots safe. Also, venus flytraps go through a cold dormant period. If you have stretches of weather that go below freezing, the excess substrate can help keep the roots safe.

Yes, even color is important when you are picking out your venus flytrap pot or planter. You want to make sure that your planter is a light color, white being the best. Dark colors tend to absorb heat and can burn the roots in the summer growing season. The lighter planters will help deflect the sun and keep the roots nice and cool. 

It's worth noting that if you grow your venus flytraps inside, the color of your planter is less important. Typically, indoor plants are not exposed to extreme heat. If your plant is kept out of the elements, a darker color would probably be okay!

Yes! Definitely. Drainage is extremely important. It's a common misconception that venus flytraps are swamp plants and always want to be sitting in wet conditions. They actually prefer really good drainage. This is why we use a mix of peat moss, perlite and crushed glass. Venus flytraps have been known to rot when they sit in boggy wet conditions all the time. In order to avoid these conditions, I recommend buying a planter with really good drainage. 

Many planters will just have the one lonesome drainage hole in the bottom. This is not good enough in my opinion. If you buy a planter that does this, hopefully you followed my advice above and it's plastic. Plastic planters are easy to put additional holes in. You can use a drill and create some extra drainage. 

The planter I recommend is the Hydrofarm Active Aqua planter, I actually sell them in my store, you can click the link to check them out. These planters have a lot of incredible drainage holes, no one does it better! They also have holes that run down the side to help bring some air flow to the roots. I strongly recommend something like this when it comes to drainage. 

I bottom water all my venus flytraps from a tray. This is another reason you want really good drainage holes. You want to make sure that if one gets clogged, there are more to help wick the water up. If the planter stops wicking water, the venus flytrap won't last long. The roots love access to water at all times, clogged drainage holes can stop this from happening. You want to make sure you have excess drainage holes to ensure the planter can always wick up water from the tray. 

I have found one planter that checks every box. The Hydrofarm Active Aqua planters are absolutely amazing. If you truly want the best for your venus flytrap, these are the go to planters. Most professional nurseries use these planters for their collection. As a matter of fact, almost all my venus flytraps and sarracenia are in these planters. I just don't like planting venus flytraps in any other planter. The only exception is if the venus flytrap is tiny, then I might consider putting it in a smaller planter.

If you are dead set on looking for something smaller, I can make a couple of recommendations for something on Amazon. Keep in mind that venus flytraps will grow into a bigger planter. If they are medium to adult sized, I recommend the Active Aqua planters. If they are tiny baby plants, then you might want to go with something a bit different. I'll link a couple of recommendations below. 

These are actually pretty nice little planters, they are 4 inches wide and 3.5 inches tall. They come in terracotta color, these are plastic not terracotta. They are just made to simulate the look. You can also get them in a light green and white color. Whatever you preference is! 

Click Here To See These Venus Flytrap Planters On Amazon.

You should have a pretty good idea of what to look for when picking out your venus flytrap pot or planter. Venus flytraps can be picky plants sometimes. They can be difficult to grow if your not familiar with them. Knowing which planter to pick out for them is important and will help you grow them big and strong. 

If you are interested in planters, I'm assuming you want to repot your venus flytrap. Check out the video below, I show you how to make venus flytrap substrate. I also show you the process I use to make my substrate I sell. Thank you and make sure to come back!