FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have something unusual going on with 10-12 flytraps that I've had for 3+ years. Last summer, they were growing great. This spring, they showed very little growth and looked rather "anemic". I unpotted several of them today and found that instead of producing traps from one growth point, they produced a bunch of offshoots at the base of the rhizome, like what leaf pulls would do, on the order of 8-15 offshoots per pot. I checked each plant, and the main growth point is still alive. I ended up dividing the plants and potting them individually; maybe they'll grow normally this year.

Has anyone else seen this behavior from their flytraps?

I think I know the answer to your question but people weren’t so open minded when I talked about the foundation of my theory in another thread so...

Copper2 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 3:33 pmI think I know the answer to your question but people weren’t so open minded when I talked about the foundation of my theory in another thread so...

If you're talking about the "growth point dies after producing a flower and a new growth point takes its place" theory, that doesn't apply here. If it's something else, I'd like to hear it.

It applies a lot more than you think. Cause a new growth point(s) take its place.

The affected plants never tried to bloom this year. I'm not kidding when I said "very little growth and looked rather anemic". Here are a couple of my Royal Reds as examples:

More-or-less normal plant Abnormal plant Unpotted Divided This one didn't go quite as crazy in the offshoots department as the others, but then again, it is a red cultivar.

Looks to me like the plant simply doesn't like the soil it is in. It appears to be old and decomposing LFS. A repot would almost certainly allow it to perk up.

In my experience, proper conditions (aka plenty of direct sunlight, the right kind of water and soil and a pot big enough for their roots to stretch out and grow) are the keys to abundant vegetative propagation. Oh, and another key thing. Leaving the plant in peace for long periods of time. A yearly or every other year refreshing of the soil is about it for that unless it's a dire emergency. As for food, the plant will catch all the prey it needs if left to it's own devices outside.

You don't live too far off from me, so I'm pretty safe in assuming you can leave your plants in a sunny place outside all year round. It's what I do. This allows my flytraps to "rest" over the winter and become refreshed and ready to go come spring. I leave my pots next to the house just to give them extra insurance not to freeze too much.

I use my tap water to water because luckily it's naturally low in minerals. Last I checked with my handy TDS meter, it was 39ppm. My plants seem to do well on it. I don't know what your tap water is like, but buying a TDS meter off of Amazon will help with that. They are only $10 or so, $15 for the more "high end" models.

Just keep by these simple growing guidelines and your plants will be dividing so fast you'll think they're part rabbit!

My plants are outside almost all year, get lots of sunshine, and are watered with rainwater. Also, I let them sit undisturbed for a long time.

I think Matt is on the right track. These plants are potted in a 3:1:1 mix of sphagnum peat moss, perlite, and coarse sand. I'm not sure when was the last time that the affected plants were repotted. It could simply be that the soil has gone "sour" and needs to be replaced. I was concerned that it might be something like fungus or nematodes attacking my plants. New soil is an easy remedy!

MikeB wrote:I think Matt is on the right track. These plants are potted in a 3:1:1 mix of sphagnum peat moss, perlite, and coarse sand. I'm not sure when was the last time that the affected plants were repotted. It could simply be that the soil has gone "sour" and needs to be replaced. I was concerned that it might be something like fungus or nematodes attacking my plants. New soil is an easy remedy!

They certainly look like the plants that I've let go too long in soil without a repot! When left in soil for too long without repotting, flytraps tend to get stressed and look like they do in your photos. A repot should perk them right up and, as you say, it is an easy remedy!!

Copper2 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 4:20 pm It applies a lot more than you think. Cause a new growth point(s) take its place.

I do believe you actually and have good examples. The ones labeled “same old growth point” might just be new ones as well? But look. This jaws was in flower and made 2 new growth points, one right at the base of the flower and another a bit further. Now I have a total of 3 growth points.

The main growth point DOES NOT die after flowering. I don't know why this is still a thing that needs to be discussed.

Anyways, the OP asked for ways to get their plants to propagate through division. I fail to see where this applies to that discussion.

Artchic528 wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 10:34 amThe main growth point DOES NOT die after flowering. I don't know why this is still a thing that needs to be discussed.

This is a non-issue for 2 reasons:

1. As I said before, the affected plants never made any attempt to flower.
2. I honestly don't care whether they continue using the same growth point or create a new one, as long as they keep growing. As far as I'm concerned, this discussion/argument amounts to nothing more than splitting hairs.

Artchic528 wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 10:34 amAnyways, the OP asked for ways to get their plants to propagate through division. I fail to see where this applies to that discussion.

Actually, I was concerned that the plants weren't producing new leaves. When I unpotted them, I discovered an unusually large number of offshoots. I was concerned that they were being attacked by a disease or parasite. I didn't realize that old soil could have such a dramatic impact on their growth.

Artchic528 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 8:01 pm
I use my tap water to water because luckily it's naturally low in minerals. Last I checked with my handy TDS meter, it was 39ppm. My plants seem to do well on it.

Hi Artchic:

Here in North GA, my TDS is 40-45 -- similar to yours.

How long have you been using tap water? I may switch over -- this distilled water routine is getting old -- I have 5-years-worth of plants!

ApgarTraps wrote:

Artchic528 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 8:01 pm
I use my tap water to water because luckily it's naturally low in minerals. Last I checked with my handy TDS meter, it was 39ppm. My plants seem to do well on it.

Hi Artchic:

Here in North GA, my TDS is 40-45 -- similar to yours.

How long have you been using tap water? I may switch over -- this distilled water routine is getting old -- I have 5-years-worth of plants!

I've been using tap water since pretty much the beginning for my current plants. That's been about 3-4 years now. I have them in a place outside that gets a whole lot of direct sun. I read somewhere that you should put them in a place that gets as much blindly bright direct sun as possible, so that's where I put them. Since they are outside, they get rained on regularly so that flushes out any residual minerals from the tap water.

So an occasional tap-watering (with my TDS 42 North Georgia public pipe discharge product) during drought sounds harmless, then.

Thanks for your reply -- this totally simplifies my routine, and dispels the "tap water = death" mantra.

btw... I am lucky enough to have a deck that gets AT LEAST 7 hrs of direct blinding sun, and my plants are absolutely thriving on that and bugs!