FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi! I have had my fly trap almost 3 years and have not repotted it. It has been doing well until a few months ago. I read about not letting it flower, so this year I cut the flowers, but not all the way down. It would have had about 5 flowers. Now, on the stalks where the flowers were starting to grow, new traps are sprouting out. I want to repot and have just found this site on what medium to use, but how exactly do I repot....do I cut the stalks where the new traps are growing or leave them? Some are 5 to 7 inches above the plant itself. Help, please..

Hello and welcome to flytrapcare mom of 2 ninos!

That's great that you've had a flytrap for almost 3 years! You're doing something right to have it live that long.

If the flower stalks are still growing, I'd recommend snipping them off as close to the base of the plant as possible.

Repotting is fairly straightforward. Simply take the pot and massage the sides of it to release it's grip on the soil. Turn the pot upside down and put your fingers on the soil and gently shake the pot until the soil comes out. It should come out in one big "ball". Then once you have the soil ball in your hand free from the pot, break the soil away from the plant until you have it mostly free of soil. Then you can dip the plant in water to remove the rest of the soil. It sounds like you have multiple plants, so you might find that they fall apart when you wash them in water. If not, you can gently separate them if you wish. Or you can just leave them all in one big clump and repot them.

Fill the new pot (or the old one if you're reusing it) with your new soil mixture. Don't pack it down too hard. Keep it somewhat airy. Dig a hole with your finger or a stick and gently guide the plant into the hole. Then gently push the soil in around the side of the plant. That's about it!

Hope that helps! If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Thank Matt. Just to make sure I understand, even though the stalks where the flowers would have bloomed have new traps coming out I should cut the stalks at the base of the plant?

Just be VERY careful when you cut off the stalk, making sure not to hurt any of the traps in the process. When you finish, plant the stalk next to the parent plant and it will sprout plantlets at the base if you're lucky!

momof2ninos wrote:Thank Matt. Just to make sure I understand, even though the stalks where the flowers would have bloomed have new traps coming out I should cut the stalks at the base of the plant?

Yep, just snip the stalk as close as you can to the plant without cutting any of the traps.

I think you should post some pictures. To me it sounds like you didn't cut off the stalk close to the base and had new traps form from the top of the flower stalk itself- where you made the cut. Is that correct?

yeah, i got the impression she had NOT cut the stalks yet...a pic would be great, so we can clarify.

renesis wrote:I think you should post some pictures. To me it sounds like you didn't cut off the stalk close to the base and had new traps form from the top of the flower stalk itself- where you made the cut. Is that correct?

Ah, after re-reading her post, I think you might be right renesis. We should definitely see some photos!

Thanks everyone..sorry if the pics came through more than once...still trying to figure out the site....Let me know what you think I need to do.

wow...that is some interesting stuff going on there, lol. Is it just me, or are there a BUNCH of plants coming off that stalk?!?!?!

tell me about it, afh928....had no clue what to do with all that. Last time it flowered, there was one flower, it bloomed and died..done. Then I read about not letting it flower b/c of the energy required fromt the plant, so I cut it....didn't read about where to cut it. That's what I get for not doing my homework!

That's awesome! It looks like you're going to have two new plants soon! I wouldn't snip that stalk off until the little plants growing on the stalk start putting out roots or the stalk starts dying back. Then cut off the new plants and pot them up!

Matt is right - allow your aerial plants to mature a little more and wait until they start sending out some roots. They should grow fairly quickly as the new plants are getting nourishment from the parent plant. When you have some roots on your new plants cut them off of the flower stalk leaving about 1/2 cm of stalk attached and pot them up as you would normally. The result should be a mature plant in next to no time!
Good luck and thanks for sharing your photos.

Thanks everyone! I will let you know how it all turns out. Take Care.

WOW, those look like traps to mE!!!
let it flower it will be cool
oh yea one more thing http://www.shrinkpictures.com/