Venus Fly Trap Flowering

11 years ago

I bought two small VFTs from Home Depot in September.

Zone 6.

I keep them on a north facing window sill that seems to stay around 69F.

They are both getting pretty big, with stalks turning brown and new ones coming up. Just today I noticed that there's a 3 inch stalk growing which appears to be a flower. Then I remembered I should be winterizing them... and that they should not be flowering now.

No now, what do I do? I have a garage that will stay around 40 - 60 during the winter that has indirect light from windows at the top of the garage door.

Should I move them in there now? Should I wait?

I thought I read that store bought ones may be off cycle.

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Comments (8)

tommyr_gw Zone 6
11 years ago
Cut off the flower stalks. You can move them in there now.
DavidL.ca
11 years ago
Mine has a flower stalk shooting pretty high too. Part of me wants to see it flower, but most people seem to be against that and say it will kill the plant....

I am also not sure how I should winterizie it, do I cut off all the traps and put them in the fridge? I remember reading it somewhere..
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tommyr_gw Zone 6
11 years ago
A healthy Flytrap won't die if let to flower. For dormancy start giving it some cool temps and then pop it in the fridge in a zip lock bag after draining off the excess water from the pot. Take out in late Feb, / Early March.
DavidL.ca
11 years ago
Ok thanks :)
So when I put it in fridge the potting medium should be dry? I read that it might mold, is that true? Also is it okay for me to put both the plant and its pot (2-inch) in the zip bag and put it in fridge?
tommyr_gw Zone 6
11 years ago
NOT dry, moist. Yes, you can put pot and all in the bag. Also, you can hit it with a little SULPHUR based fungicide as well for any mold and / or to prevent mold. Check the plant about once a month.
DavidL.ca
11 years ago
Thank you, sir! Now I just have to figure out where to buy fungicide... would nurseries carry that?
tommyr_gw Zone 6
11 years ago
Yes, any garden center should carry it. READ THE LABEL and make sure it's SULPHUR based.
paul_
11 years ago
As Tommy mentioned, letting a vft flower will not kill the plant PROVIDED the plant is healthy. However, at this time of year the plant should be going dormant -- not blooming. So do cut off the flower stalk.

David, if you have a chilly garage, you may be able to keep the plant there. Otherwise, the fridge will do fine. Before bagging and throwing in the fridge, remove any traps that currently have prey in them. (The plant will not draw any nutrients from trapped prey while dormant so all that will happen to traps with prey is mold.) Other traps can be left alone. Personally, I found it helpful to poke a number of very small/pinprick sized holes in the bag. Every 3-4 weeks, remove the plant from the fridge and open the bag to make sure the media is still moist (not wet) and to check and treat for any mold that may have appeared. Then rebag and place back in the fridge.