FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have bought a VFT that has a 8cm tall flower stalk. I repotted it into a bigger pot. It is outside. Its traps are not growing. I put a live fly into 1 trap but it did not close. The trigger hairs were definetly touched. I have only got it 2 days ago.

More info is needed here.

What did you use for soil? Was it grown outside where ever you got it? Does it look like it's getting burnt from the sun?

2 days isn't really enough time to make a call on growing. You just repotted it so some recovery time is expected. As for traps not closing, that's not necessarily an issue. They could just be old traps, or maybe where you got it from had people constantly triggering them and they are spent.

I would say assuming you used correct potting media, and that it's not getting sun burnt, give it more time.

If you recently repotted the Venus Flytrap, you might want to cut off the flower stalk in order to make it easier for the plant to recover from repotting. In addition, you might want to keep it inside with direct sun for only several hours a day, for 2 weeks or so, until it is comfortable in its new pot and the roots are efficient again.

Venus Flytraps often stop growing for several weeks after a flower stalk is produced.

Older traps might not close even if the trigger hairs are touched, because of age, damage to the trigger hairs, or because they have already closed as many times as they can during their natural lifespan.

If you bought it from a hardware store, then the plant is probably suffering from mineral burn. Hardware stores usually water all their plants with just ordinary tap water, which flytraps do not like. The minerals in the water can cause a "burn" to the roots of the plants, causing stunted growth and non responsive traps. If the plant is continuously watered with tap water, it will most likely die.

fly [12] wrote:It is outside

Was it growing outside when you bought the plant? If it was growing inside of a department store where the plant receives no light, then throwing it out in the sun will stress out the plant. The plants leaves may start turning black and growth could be stunted. If you just got it from a hardware store, I would recommend that you acclimate it to the sun by introducing just a little bit of sunlight each day. Personally, I give newly acquired plants 2 hours of direct sunlight, then keep them in the shade for the rest of the day. I repeat this every day, adding an hour of direct sunlight every few days, until I have reached the maximum amount of sunlight the plant can receive. You can read more about sunlight here http://www.flytrapcare.com/the-importan ... traps.html


More information on your plant would be nice

Things like what kind of soil do you use? What kind of water do you use? Where did you get the plant?




I would also recommend that you cut off the flower stalk, that way the plant can focus it's energy on itself rather than the stalk.

It is in spaghum moss, peat and perlite.
I use rainwater.
I got it at a garden centre.

Existing traps not closing on a newly purchased plant is very common due to reasons already mentioned.

It needs proper care and time. Shelf-bought flytraps don't perk up to full health a week after purchase, even if the new conditions are optimal.

If you want it to recover faster, cut off the flower stalk. It's wasting a lot of energy on it. Only let healthy flytraps flower.

The current flower stalk, given that the traps won't close, is only serving to stress the plant further due to its high energy requirements. That energy needs to be devoted to its leaves right now.

Would fertilising help the plant?

Fertilization is not recommended as it can cause a great deal of harm to venus fly traps - in many cases this can lead to death.

I think the best thing you could likely do is bring the plant inside and gradually introduce it to sunlight (as Veronis mentioned). It would be a little easier to tell you more about the health of your plant with a photograph but I, like the others, would also recommend removing the flower stalk. This would give the plant chance to recover from moving to a new home, being repotted and adjusting to sunlight. The choice is ultimately yours but it does sound like the plant is getting stressed.

I have cut the flower stalk and I am going to propagate it.

My profile picture is the VFT I am talking about.

fly [12] wrote:I have bought a VFT that has a 8cm tall flower stalk.

I am surprised no-one gave you the right answer. The quote is the key. When Venus Flytraps flower, they need to get pollinated. The traps shut off their pheromones, the red color pales, and the traps do not close. They won't bite the hand that breeds them, so to speak.

tellthetruth wrote:

fly [12] wrote:I have bought a VFT that has a 8cm tall flower stalk.

I am surprised no-one gave you the right answer. The quote is the key. When Venus Flytraps flower, they need to get pollinated. The traps shut off their pheromones, the red color pales, and the traps do not close. They won't bite the hand that breeds them, so to speak.

out of 100 or so VFT's at least 1/2 flowering age, none of them stop eating when flowering. the other advice about new plant, coming from garden center, shock, etc are the likely reasons IMHO.

tellthetruth wrote:

fly [12] wrote:I have bought a VFT that has a 8cm tall flower stalk.

I am surprised no-one gave you the right answer. The quote is the key. When Venus Flytraps flower, they need to get pollinated. The traps shut off their pheromones, the red color pales, and the traps do not close. They won't bite the hand that breeds them, so to speak.

This is a super old thread.

The advice given however is true, what your saying isn't true. VFTS have no issues eating when flowering, flowering or not makes no difference.

whoops LOL didn't realize this was a long time dead bumped thread

Both of you are incorrect and have not done your diligence. National Geographic and North Carolina University have shown that venus fly traps will not eat their pollinators - go do the research please and Google if necessary.