Question
flytrap
I purchased a flytrap at a supermarket in April, at which time it had 5 or 6 traps and a single growth point. I repotted into a 4" pot of 50/50 peat/perlite. It's grown on a west-facing windowsill with direct afternoon sun. In addition to the knats it catches, I feed it a spider or other large bug about once a week.
The plant now has 150+ traps with continued new growth (photo attached). Not a single trap has died since I got it, though the few that have done the most feeding are starting to blacken at the edges.
I understand that store-bought plants can exhibit vigorous growth for several months out of tissue culture, but is this typical, esp. for a windowsill plant? What would you expect of it going forward? Thanks!
AnswerHi Chris,
You're one of the lucky few who has a window that's bright enough to accommodate the lighting needs of a Venus flytrap! Your window happens to have the right microclimate.
Nine out of ten growers are not so lucky, and that includes myself. As an experiment, I've grown flytraps in my south and west windows. So far the flytraps have exhibited symptoms of light deficiency.
The only issue is whether your window has the right microclimate to sustain it through the winter. I don't know where you live, so I can't comment on it. Just keep in mind that if your winters are relatively warm (zone 9 -11), the window might be too warm. I have friends in Hawaii who can't grow a flytrap for more than a year. The winters are too warm, and the flytrap dies from exhaustion from lack of winter dormancy.
I know one grower in my area that was lucky enough to have a window like yours. She grew a beautiful flytap for three years. After that, it suddenly died, which I suspect had to do with the limited dormancy on her windowsill.
So in general, it's not something I advocate. Growing a flytrap in a windowsill can be done, but the vast majority of first-time growers don't have the right microclimate to sustain optimal growth.
As for tissue culture, you would actually see the opposite. Lots of vigorous growth with smaller traps. After a year or so, the hormones would wear off and you'd get normal growth. So the nursery that produced the plant may have held on to their stock for a while or produced it from seed.
Good growing!
Jacob Farin
