Question
My Venus flytraps have just opened their flowers and I am wondering if show start inducing dormancy. I live in Augusta, Georgia. Their traps have stopped working, and they are indoor plants with a grow light. They are also in a classical terrarium.


Answer
Hi Laurel,

You might like what I have to say, but we're actually staunch advocates of growing flytraps outdoors and not in terrariums.  You see, flytraps are native to North Carolina, not very far from you.  So we highly recommend that growers treat this plant as they would any other plant native to the United States.  Flytraps are temperate plants that are accustomed to the changes in the season, including snow!

Right now, it's too late to acclimate your flytrap to outdoor growing, so you need to keep it indoors until spring.  This also means that you'll need to skip winter dormancy.  (It's the gradual exposure to cold temperatures and lower light levels that helps a plant go dormant.  This is why we recommend growing flytraps outdoors.)

For now, cut off the flower stalk.  Your plant is already showing signs that it may not be strong enough to sustain both flowers and leaf growth.  When traps stop working, it is usually from one of two things: 1) lack of sufficient sunlight or 2) the plant is going dormant.  Given that your plant is in a terrarium and producing a flower stalk, it's unlikely it's going dormant. So I have to assume that your plant isn't getting sufficient lighting.

For this winter, I strongly recommend removing your plant from the terrarium and growing it in a sunny windowsill that receives at least four hours of direct sunlight.  Next spring, after the risk of frost has passed, acclimate your plant to outdoor growing.

For now, read our flytrap care sheet online:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

This will give you a general idea of how to proper care for flytraps.  In spring, after the risk of frost has passed, you can acclimate your plant to outdoor growing.

I also recommend that you visit these web pages as well:
http://www.cobraplant.com/humidity
http://www.cobraplant.com/autumn

Good growing!
Jacob Farin