John Lewis’ unconventional Christmas ad has led to a surge in demand for venus flytraps – with some garden centres unable to cope.
The off-the-wall advert – clearly inspired by Little Shop of Horrors – entitled Snapper: The Perfect Tree, depicts a young boy making friends with a grow-your-own Christmas tree which turns out to be a mischievous flytrap.
In the advert, the decidedly un-festive plant is chucked out into the garden to be replaced with a traditional fir tree.
It ends with the boy running out to give the Venus flytrap a gift, with the strapline reading: “Let your traditions grow”.
Sales of the plants have reportedly shot up by 2,000 percent since the ad.
However, some owners have said Brexit is making it harder to get hold of the unusual flora, due to the difficulty in obtaining certificates for imported plants.
Following Britain’s exit from the EU, plants imported from the EU require a certificate – with the same paperwork needed even for smaller orders.
Tim Holmes from Tunbridge Wells Garden Centre, part of the Blue Diamond Group, told the BBC: “We can’t just get one or two trays through anymore, there’s legislation involved that is making it really hard to get hold of them.
“It’s been 30 plus years we’ve been ordering these plants and there’ve been no issues. Hopefully we’ll have more before Christmas.”
While another garden centre owner told the broadcaster she has had to tell customers to order theirs in advance.
She said: “We usually have a list of people wanting them and so people who have left their numbers, we give them a call and they go very quickly.”
The biggest supplier of flytraps to the British market is Netherlands firm Carni Flora, which typically ships around 2,000 in the run-up to Christmas.
However, it now expects to export at least 40,000 in December.
Owner Justin van Kessel said he was “flabbergasted” by the volume of orders.
He said: “The level of demand is quite insane. Christmas has come early for us.”
Ironically, flytraps tend to go dormant in winter when their insect prey is in short supply.
A government spokesperson said: “From 31st January 2024 a simplified, effective, risk-based system of biosecurity controls will be introduced at the GB border, removing low-risk plants from all import health controls and further reducing the burden on industry through a new ‘trusted trader’ approach.”
