How to grow Venus flytraps best? A detailed guide to the latest care methods
The Venus flytrap is a perennial herbaceous plant native to North America, a very interesting carnivorous plant with a very short stem, and at the tip of each leaf grows a trap that closely resembles a “shell” and can secrete nectar; when a small insect intrudes, it can snap it shut at extremely high speed and digest and absorb it. Now let us take a look together at how to grow Venus flytraps best!
Growth habits of the Venus flytrap
The Venus flytrap likes a cool, moist environment and needs sufficient light during the growing season. Its suitable growing temperature is 15-20°C, and indoors it should be placed in a bright spot. In summer, when temperatures are high, direct sunlight leads to poor growth, so shading should be provided; especially in the tropical and subtropical regions of the south, excessive temperatures must be prevented to avoid affecting growth. In winter in northern regions, it should be brought into a greenhouse or into the home of a family with heating conditions, placed where sunlight can reach it, and kept at a temperature above 10°C, never below 7°C, to avoid frost damage that causes leaf drop.
Asexual propagation of the Venus flytrap
1. Leaf cutting method: Peel a whole leaf from the mother plant, insert it obliquely or lay it flat on a clean substrate such as sphagnum moss, keep humidity high and light bright, and in about 2 months or so shoots can grow.
2. Division method: The Venus flytrap often grows side shoots. When they grow large enough, the divided bulbs will naturally separate from the mother plant; at this point they can be dug out and grown separately, or separated and planted when repotting.
3. Flower bud method: The flower bud of the Venus flytrap sometimes turns into a plant. It is already known that this phenomenon is caused by temperature differences; if the day-night temperature difference is very large, it will induce the flower bud of the Venus flytrap to transform into a new plant. At this point this small plant can be cut off and planted in soil, and it becomes another new Venus flytrap.
Seed propagation of the Venus flytrap
1. Flower pot: Fill the flower pot with substrate, then place it in a glass jar or water basin containing pure water so that the substrate absorbs water until the surface is moist, then use a spray bottle to mist the surface (spray in a mist form).
2. Sowing: Carefully open the seed packet and evenly scatter the seeds on the surface of the substrate, then cover with 0.3 cm of potting soil.
3. Spraying water: Use a spray bottle to mist the surface (spray in a mist form), spraying carefully so the seeds are not washed away.
4. Cultivation: Place the flower pot with the sown seeds together with the glass jar or water basin on the inner side of a sunny windowsill. If it is a water basin, add a plastic cover with an opening at the top to retain moisture. Be careful to replenish water in time; generally they germinate in about 10 days (20°C).
5. Seedlings: When the seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, they can be transplanted. Wrap the base of the plant with sphagnum moss for transplanting (not too high; wrapping the roots is appropriate), with a certain firmness (when pinched with fingers, it can sink in and then spring back to recover). After transplanting, water thoroughly with clean water to settle the roots.
How to grow the Venus flytrap
1. Substrate: Growing Venus flytraps requires a substrate with good water retention that is acidic or even strongly acidic, with a pH between 3 and 5. Pure sphagnum moss can be used, or a mixed substrate of 2 parts peat plus 1 part perlite or coarse sand; for the tray method of growing, a mix of 1 part peat and 1 part perlite or coarse sand can be used. When planting, the white bulb part should be entirely buried in the substrate. If the leaves curve downward and make it hard to handle, you can wrap the stem with sphagnum moss to make planting easier, or lift the leaves upward before planting. The substrate can be replaced generally once every one or two years according to actual use; repotting in early spring before growth is best. When repotting, clean away dead leaves thoroughly, and if there are divisions they should be planted separately to promote growth. The bulb of the Venus flytrap grows creeping, and after a period the plant will shift position in order to obtain more nutrients; when repotting, it should be replanted in the center of the pot or leave more distance in the direction of the growing point.
2. Water: The Venus flytrap is relatively sensitive to salt; if the mineral concentration in the water is too high, the plant will decline until it dies, showing as the plant stopping growth or becoming smaller, and ungrown traps, leaf edges, and growing tips beginning to wither. Therefore water with low mineral content must be used. The Venus flytrap likes moisture and cannot tolerate dryness. During the growing season the substrate must be kept fairly moist but not waterlogged. In addition to daily watering, the low-water-level tray method can also be used for growing. The substrate absolutely must not dry out completely; once it dries out the plant shrinks and suffers severe damage or even death. During dormancy the substrate should remain damp but not wet; if too wet the plant easily rots.
3. Humidity: The air humidity for the Venus flytrap should be kept above 50%. Generally the growing environment can meet this, and no special humidification is needed as long as the potting soil is moist. But newly planted Venus flytraps must maintain high humidity to avoid dehydration and shrinking; after the roots have grown and the plant begins normal growth, gradually lower the air humidity.
4. Temperature: The suitable growing temperature is 20-30°C, and it can survive at -7 to 38°C. High summer temperatures (maximum temperature above 35°C) easily cause stem rot; good ventilation, root-zone cooling, good light, and a large day-night temperature difference all help reduce the occurrence of disease. When winter temperatures are below 10°C it will go dormant. During dormancy most leaves wither, leaving only a very small dormant leaf in the center. If the temperature drops further to around 0°C, at this point the leaves and roots may all wither, leaving only the underground bulb to overwinter. The dormant bulb is fairly cold-resistant and can withstand short periods of about -7°C.
5. Light: The Venus flytrap is a light-loving plant and can accept full sun; suitable light can make the plant strong, with larger traps and vivid colors. But in summer, to avoid high temperatures, appropriate shading can be used; you can shade with a shade net of about 50% shading rate or place it in a bright spot that does not get sun around midday. Insufficient light will make the plant weak and small, grow slowly, with leaves dark green, thin and tender, and small traps; traps or leaf stalks that are red under normal conditions turn green (in this situation do not immediately provide strong light, to avoid sunburn from not adapting to strong light; instead strengthen light gradually).
6. Nutrients: During the growing season, a general-purpose compound fertilizer diluted five thousand times can be sprayed on the leaves, 1-2 times a month. When fertilizing, it is better to apply thin fertilizer frequently; never use too high a concentration, to avoid the serious consequences of fertilizer burn or even fertilizer death. If you have no experience, do not fertilize at will. Feeding can also be used: feed insects or fresh lean meat, and the size must be appropriate, preferably about 1/3 the size of the trap, so the trap can completely enclose the food, and the number of traps fed must not exceed 1/3 of the total number of traps. But even without fertilizing or feeding, the Venus flytrap will not “starve to death”; the substrate also contains necessary nutrients, and the plant must also obtain growth through photosynthesis. Feeding cannot replace photosynthesis either, and good light must still be maintained.
7. Pests and diseases: In summer, when it is stuffy and humid, leaf spot and stem rot easily occur, and broad-spectrum fungicides can be sprayed for control. Good ventilation, root-zone cooling, good light, and a large day-night temperature difference all help reduce the occurrence of disease. If part of the stem is found to have rotted, immediately remove the rotted part completely, then soak it in fungicide for 5 minutes, and plant it into a sterilized clean substrate.