VENUS FLYTRAPS
Dionaea
Venus flytraps are the most well known of all carnivorous plants. However, they aren't abundant in the wild.
Venus flytraps have a unique active trap system. Traps have small trigger hairs (hover over the photo on the right) on the inside of the lobes. When two trigger hairs are triggered at the same time or one trigger hair is touched twice in under 20 seconds, the trap will abruptly close shut, preventing the insect from escaping. If the trigger hairs continue to be triggered, the trap will squeeze to form an airtight seal. It then begins to excrete the digestive enzymes.
3 cups
Blueberries
trigger hairs
The spines on the edge of the leaf also mesh together to create space for super small insects to escape, so the plant doesn't have to waste energy on small prey. Then the trap slowly digests the nutrients, leaving the exoskeleton on the leaf.
SOIL
Three parts peat moss to one part perlite to one part sand works well for me.
DORMANCY
I think that dormancy is necessary for long term plant health. Think of it as sleeping. If you don't sleep, you'll get very tired. It's the same for these plants. Growth will usually stop during this time, and the traps will either close really slowly or just not close at all. They should have a cold resting period. In temperate areas, growing them outside works really well.
WATERING
I use the tray method for watering, letting the water go down a little before watering again. They don't like to be sopping wet for long periods of time.
PROPAGATION
There are three methods of propagation: Seed, leaf pullings, and division. Seed is very simple but can tire the plant quite a bit. Beginners should cut the flower stalk off to avoid tiring the plant. When they open, the stigma of the flower is not receptive. You'll have to wait for the stigma to appear fuzzy in order to get seed. Then just transfer some of the pollen to each stigma. Leaf pullings are a faster way to get mature plants. When repotting, strip away a few of the leaves, making sure to get a piece of the white rhizome. The dead leaves will usually have a white part connected to the rhizome even after the leaf has died. These bits can be used as well. Lay the leaves on top of the soil with a bit of soil, just enough to cover the leaves. In a few weeks, plants will pop up and grow really fast.
