Trader Joe's Shoppers Are Freaking Out About This Returning Plant
In a world Beyond Meat, where the Impossible Burger is the new burger king and meatless Mondays are being touted as a major step forward by vegans everywhere, it's reassuring to know that there is one carnivorous creature we can all still get behind: the Venus flytrap. You can't help but channel your inner 8-year-old when it comes to the Venus flytrap — or Dionaea muscipula — because, no matter your nutritional habits, political leanings, or houseplant savvy, there is one thing that virtually every human being on Earth can agree on: Watching a plant eat a fly is just downright cool.
According to Carnivorous Plants, the Venus flytrap is native to North and South Carolina, where it's been giving fly children of the coastal boglands nightmares for centuries. And while Smithsonian Magazine claims that there are around 630 species of carnivorous plants, it is unlikely that you will ever see a Southeast Asian pitcher plant (which is the size of a toilet bowl and prefers larger prey, like frogs, lizards, and rodents), let alone stick one on your kitchen windowsill to keep out unwanted pests. But word on the street is that, if you play your cards right, you can snag a Venus flytrap of your very own on your next grocery trip to Trader Joe's.
Trader Joe's succulents face deadly competition
Trader Joes' fan account, @traderjoesobsessed, recently posted a photo of the Montrose, California Trader Joe's supply of Venus flytraps, with the caption "VENUS FLY TRAPS are back ($4.99)." Whether the summer plant will eclipse pumpkin empanadas as the store's seasonal favorite remains to be seen, but the reality is that these meat-eaters are set to knock succulents off their high horse. Watch out, tiny cactus; there's a new dangerous houseplant in town, and its name is Venus.
Somehow, the Venus flytrap did not make it onto Real Simple's recent article about the best summer items to look out for at Trader Joe's, which preferred to list items flies eat, like dill pickle popcorn, rather than those they get eaten by, like carnivorous foliage. But if @traderjoesobsessed is to be believed, a $4.99 Venus flytrap might be the best thing you can buy for your kitchen this summer. Follow Carnivorous Plants' advice and keep yours in direct sunlight to keep its trademark red color strong. This plant is a bit of a diva, requiring pure water and the flesh of living insects to keep it going, but if you take good care of it, it will take good care of you (by murdering any fly that gets in its way, mua ha haaaaaa).