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nefermery

Venus Fly Trap Flower - help!

Nefermery
12 years ago

Hey there, I'm a new member and I have a Venus fly trap living at home for about a month now. This seemed like a good place to get some answers about Venus Flytrap care.

My mom, who takes care of the plant, started noticing that a flower stalk was starting to grow up from the middle of the plant. I've read that having flowers can cause the plant to become sluggish and possibly die, but she would like to have the flowers grow anyway.

I'm just wondering if there are any tips out there for helping to keep a Venus fly trap alive after it has flowered (most Google results say either to cut the stalk or grow seeds, which isn't what I'm looking for. The search didn't bring up much helpful tips, either :/).

If it helps, the plant is growing inside an apartment, but it's nearby a window where it gets a good amount of sunlight during mid-to-late afternoon. This is our first Venus Fly Trap, but not our first plant.

P.S. We've been feeding the plant live bedbugs (which have been crawling from our neighbors apartment into ours) and I'm wondering if that's a good or bad thing.

Comments (20)

  • carnivoor
    12 years ago

    A healthy VFT flowers without dying so, as long as your plant is all right there should be no problem. If you want to see it flower I'd say go for it(I don't find the flowers all that beautifull) and if you want to pollinate the flowers(small brush) you can do that too,and you will get viable seeds from that. Production of new traps might halt for a while.
    I'm not sure if bedbugs are bad for the plant, but you should know that traps only open and close a limited amount of times before turning black. In addition , it takes energy from the plant to digest bugs in the traps so don't overfeed your plant.
    VFT don't need to be fed, If they catch a fly in the house that's a bonus but they don't NEED it.
    FYI ,VFT's are best kept outside in full sun(if it's used to be indoors like yours give it time to adjust and don't just put it outside in one go)

  • Nefermery
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    @carnivoor: Ah, so my mom and I should be wary about overfeeding. Thanks, that's good to know. :)

  • petiolaris
    12 years ago

    VFT's, unfortunately don't do well inside, no matter how much light comes from a window sill and/or artificial lighting. They really need to be outside, in direct sunlight. What you have going is risky in the short term and deadly, down the road.

    {{gwi:554180}}

  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    12 years ago

    I agree with petiolaris. I don't even bother answering posts from people that insist on growing them or Sarracenia indoors anymore. It's like banging your head against a wall. There ARE carnivorous plants that CAN be grown indoors. Just not those.

  • 2gd2btru
    12 years ago

    Hi guys - I am in South Africa and I have to say I do not agree with you. I have been growing and nurturing VFT for ages now and they are indoors in a west facing room - which means they get sunshine from about 1pm onwards. I have them in a drip tray and give them rainwater only. I only feed them once a month, crickets or fly's and I dont feed every trap - Only maybe two or even sometimes one. In the winter I dont feed at all. My VFT are fat, healthy and are producing traps like crazy. So if they are going to "die down the road" how long do you think it will take - since I have had them almost a year now. That was tongue in cheek if you didnt already notice. Anyway I see yours are not in trip trays in water but are nice and fat and healthy. What I want to know from you is its winter here like I said, and they are still doing well, not many traps are turning black and they dont seem to be hibernating for the winter. Should I put them in a dark, cool garage and let them sleep or just leave them where they are? I will take photos of them and download at my next post

  • banjoman
    12 years ago

    VFTs may do OK indoors for a year or maybe two. But by 3 or 4 years they will likely die from the combination of not getting full sun in Spring and Summer, and not getting much needed dormancy through the Winter.

    {{gwi:554181}}

    Ideally, you should adapt them to outside conditions in the Spring or Summer from inside conditions, and then Winter them in a cold garage.

    This will enable them to live many years, and flower to their heart's delight.

    Good luck.

  • banjoman
    12 years ago

    By the way, the tiny VFT you can see in the lower left of the pot in the picture above is from seeds from my VFT flowers 2-3 years ago. It can be fun to see many VFTs coming up from seeds, but it takes MANY years for them to grow into adult plants.

  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    12 years ago

    How cold does it get there in winter?

  • 2gd2btru
    12 years ago

    Hi tommyr - It sometimes get to about -1C in the early mornings and about 10C during the day. My VFT are not growing now but they are not going black either. As mentioned they are not in a cold dark place, but in the same spot I kept them throughout the summer which is inside in a west facing (afternoon sun) window. I will get them used to outdoors as soon as summer arrives. I think its too late to put them into hibernation now as summer is about 8 weeks away now. What do you think?

  • petiolaris
    12 years ago

    VFT's are native to a portion of Wilmington, North Carolina and they experiences freezes and rebounds into the 10's C. I'd say that what you have essentially the same. temps.

  • sitting_boy
    12 years ago

    You do not need to get them into a cold garage, I put my one VFT, which is doing horrible after I dropped it and snapped off 4 traps, in a cold window sill in the winter, which has a small crack enough to get into the 40s I imagine. Mine is outside right now and gets a few hours of direct sun, it only has like 5 leaves. It is growing a flower as well, and I fear it could die after the flower. Will putting it in more direct sun help? Is it easy to grow seeds of them once the flower opens if it gets fertilized?

  • Hegory
    12 years ago

    VFTs do best with four or more hours of sunlight. it shouldn't have traps on it in the winter. Winter is when it is supposed to be dormant.

  • sitting_boy
    12 years ago

    well when it was winter mine was still growing a couply of tiny traps, does that mean the window sill was too warm? I could just leave it outside this winter it only gets to like rarely 28 degrees farenheight.If it was too warm that could be why the plant is kind of weak?

  • sitting_boy
    12 years ago

    update: I moved my triggerplant, sarracenia, and VFT to a sunnier location where they get something like 6 hours of sun or more.

  • Hegory
    12 years ago

    good, keep them well watered. But do not have the water in the tray more than half-way up the pot or it will cook the roots; on hot days you may need to water overhead occasionaly to help cool the soil.

  • sitting_boy
    12 years ago

    Great tip, hegory. I never would have thought of that. I just use makeshift dishes like plastic chip dip containers, but I will keep that in mind. Only my sarracenia has a tall enough dish to go up that high. thanks :)

  • Hegory
    12 years ago

    I think that is what happened to my capensis, because as hard as I try I can't get it to get healthy again.

  • londonparis21
    6 years ago

    I realize that it has been at about 5 years since this post has been put up haha, I had a question on what I should do if my VFT flowers, I do not want it to flower because it makes the plant very weak and most VFT die after flowering. I found this after surfing the web for about an hour yet, I haven't found an answer. Do NOT put your VFT in a dark area with no sunlight, it will die. It will continue trying to do photosynthesis, and furthermore, like I said it will die. Instead, put a sealed bag over it and put it in the fridge over the winter, NOT the freezer. Make sure to keep the soil moist. http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq2380.html I have read this entire site and it has helped me in many ways. I hope that if you have any questions it'll help, and also, should I cut the stem before it flowers? :P

  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    6 years ago

    If it's flowering out of season cut it off. Putting it in the fridge also gives it no light and that's o.k., mine have all gone in the fridge for 10 years now with no problems.

    A healthy VFT flowering in season is O.K. if you want seeds or just like the flowers.

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