Ask a group of children what their favourite plant is and invariably the Venus Fly Trap plant will rate a mention or two. Its mesmerizing action once a fly has been caught in it's snare is undoubtedly one of the great fascinations of the horticultural world. And, needless to say, if it weren't for its bug-catching abilities it would be a fairly overlooked plant - and certainly not have a whole nursery aisle dedicated to its many varieties.

The Venus Fly Trap plant, Dionaea muscipula, weaves it magic - not only on flies - but on any small bug that is seduced by a pheromone found in rotting meat. Once the critter has landed on the cilia they become entangled by the fine hairs that cover it and eventually the lids close holding the prey captive as the digestion process begins.

While this may all seem enticing enough to race out and buy one, be assured that they're not as easy to grow as one might assume. Sitting on their nursery aisle shelves they look simple enough and give nothing away of the pain they may inflict on your gardening prowess.

Like most plants that are difficult to grow, and the venus fly trap plant fits perfectly into that category, the key to success is to understand, and then replicate, their natural environment. Contrary to popular belief, their natural environment is not in a container. These plants are more familiar with a bog garden than a plastic pot - which explains their appetite choice.

But if you have to grow the venus fly trap in a container then there some specific things that you can do to still encourage them to grow. First, you can start by keeping their soil damp. As natives of the bog garden they don't appreciate dry feet or having to scavenge for moisture.

Also, they prefer to be kept in the shade - or at least partial shade - for most of their days. If you consider their original habitat it's obvious that these flytraps were continually bathed in shade by the trees that helped create the bog in the first place.

The Venus Fly Trap plant won't require any fertiliser either. It removes all its nutrients from its prey and can satisfy its own diet quite efficiently. If you have to fertilise this plant then use a very weak liquid fertiliser once per year. Any other fertilisers will be too strong and will most likely kill it.

Apart from it's growing location the only other requirement for this plant is some general maintenance from time to time. Repotting your plant every 2-3 years will ease any rootbound problems plus will give it some more room to grow. While you are repotting you may even consider propagating some further flytraps by dividing the rhizomes. An outer leaf with its own rhizome and root material is worthy of its own pot.

So, provided you keep your Venus Fly Trap plant moist, located in shade, regularly maintained and under-fertilised they should provide you, and the kids, with years of enjoyment.