Should You Let the Venus Flytrap Flower
Should you let the Venus Flytrap flower?
Definitely no!
That seemed too easy and outright harsh, right? Well, not if you look closely into the reasons behind it. As tempting as it is to see those beautiful flowers from your Venus flytrap at full blossom, experts advise against it, especially for growers that are just starting in the game.
If you are wondering why then, maybe, this article is for you. After careful research and proper experimentation, we’ve found the reasons to “nip it in the bud.”
Flowering Takes a Great Deal of the Flytrap's Energy
Every experienced cultivator should already know this point by now. Usually after flowering, the Venus flytrap will get sluggish for an entire year due to the lost energy.
They often get over this “slow” period quite quickly if they are in the wild. However, indoor plants don’t bounce back as well. Compared to being in the wild, the light, humidity and other conditions are mostly limited when in sitting in a pot on a window sill.
With these conditions rarely ideal, the Venus trap may never be able to escape its weakened state. In fact, in some cases, they even die. That is why we always advise novice growers to trim the flower stalk as they begin to develop.
You can tell when the plant is preparing to flower because a long, thin, cylindrical stem starts growing out of the center part of the plant.
Usually, the young flower stalk grows side by side with a young leaf. But, the shoot will grow taller and taller until it forms a bud.
Here’s another one of our articles about Venus flytraps: 10 Strange Facts about the Venus Flytrap
Removing Young Stalks
Try to remove the young stalk as soon as possible. But, bear in mind that many more may grow on the plant trim them off too.
If for any reasons, you don’t catch it until the flower stalks get tall enough for the flower buds to begin blossoming, then you might just let the flower grow. After all, the damage has already been done.
Wait! Just let it go on to pollinate the plant and try to harvest the seeds. Note, however, chances are that your flytrap may die unless you are skilled enough to save it.
While, you may read people condemning this process of cutting off the flowers stalk. They claim that their plants do well without removal of the flower buds. The truth is that these people are just outstanding growers or really lucky. That said, things might not work for you, and I as it did for them.
Still not convinced?
By Letting the Plant Flower, You May Be Making it Prone to Developing Smaller Traps (Shock Traps)
I may be going out on a limb here, but if you are like me, you are probably growing this Venus flytrap for its ability to trap, more than for its flowers. This reason on its own invalidate the need for flower.
Experts say bulbs consume more nutrients than any other part of the plant. Therefore, it can mean bad times for different parts of the plan like the traps. In turn, the plant would begin to struggle for nutrients because of the shock traps inability to trap insects as intended. Vicious downward cycle…
Now That Your Venus Flytrap is Flowering, What Should You Do?
I’ve discussed a bit about this in the opening session, but I’ll try to be more emphatic about it.
Having known all the effects of letting your Venus flytrap to flower, its decision-making time. So, you need to act fast.
Well, if you happen to have a green thumb with these plants and other carnivorous plant, like it, then why not. You can leave your Venus flytrap to flower. However, if you just started out, then it is most likely a poor decision to let your plants flowers. That’s maybe because doing so incorrectly at this stage could leave the plant in some sort of exhaustion. A Venus flytrap that’s exhausted will look pale and pathetic for months also, in that state its more susceptible to fungal infection, and then death.
Anyway, you might also consider the benefit of reading our definitive guide on how to grow Venus flуtrарѕ from seeds.
There you have it, useful information about the flowering stage of a Venus flytrap. We hope you learned from this well-researched piece and that you are now ready to help set your Venus flytrap on the path of successful growth. Remember that domesticated Venus flytraps require the right growth condition to grow correctly but are worth the trouble.
But Wait... Don't Toss That Stem Out Yet
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