How to (and why you should) let your Venus Flytrap go dormant.
It seems that everyone hates to put their Venus Flytrap into dormancy or they are afraid that it will kill them. It must be that you simply don't understand how important it is for them. Have you ever read or been told that your immune system is strengthened and your body heals itself when you sleep? Well, it's true. People who don't sleep well start to suffer from all sorts of health related problems. VFT, and all other plants that require dormancy, suffer a similar fate.
Unless you just recently bought your VFT and it is thriving AND growing, then you must give it dormancy in the Fall. The reason I say this is because many commercial growers force plants into dormancy during the summer so they will have fresh plants to sell in the Winter. There is nothing wrong with that. VFT that are grown inside don't care what time of year they experience dormancy, they just have to sleep for at least 3, and up to 5 months a year. They heal, they store energy in their bulbs and all of the nasty little browning, drooping, dieing leaves you've been seeing will be cured by a long sleep. In fact, any time of the year that a VFT gets sick and you've done everything you can think of for it, put it in dormancy for 3-5 months and it will be healed! (As long as the plants bulb is still firm it can be saved) Think of it as sending your plant to the hospital for treatment.
One other thing, not everyone gets emotionally attached to these amazing little plants so if you just want to grow your VFT until it dies and then replace it with another, that's your choice. Your plant will probably live a couple of years (if well cared for otherwise) and then it will die from stress. However, if you want your VFT to grow and get bigger year-after-year, divide into multiple plants, watch little side-shoots turn into new VFT that you can separate and replant...THEN, you must let your plant rest and recuperate in dormancy. Those are your two choices.
There are two methods you can use to put your plant into dormancy.
- The first method is the natural way, but not everyone can do it.
If you are growing your Venus Flytrap outside and you live in a very humid climate that is warm in the
Summer and gets cold in the Winter, dipping down close to freezing but not below except for perhaps very short periods (a day or two), then you can just let your
VFT stay outside year round. Provide the plant with water but not the boggy condition it was accustomed to in the heat of the summer. Put it in
a place where it can get sun but be shaded from afternoon sun. If you have a sun room or a garage that has these conditions then you can bring it
in and let it winter there. You can NOT bring it in to your warm, dry home for the Winter no mater how chilly you think it is next to the windows.
It will not experience a full dormancy and will not store energy.
- The second method and the method I prefer, is an artificial, or forced, dormancy. This is the easiest and probably the best if you have a few plants, since you don't have to
remember to care for them in the Winter months.
- Gently remove your plant from the planting medium, a fork works good for this, and shake the soil from the roots. Run water gently over the roots to remove excess soil.
- With a clean, sharp scissors, trim off any rotted or black roots.
- Trim off all but the smallest, healthiest looking leaves and traps and any unhealthy roots. I like to trim the ends of the roots to help prevent mildew (Example of prepared bulb at right). If you click on the picture you'll be able to see how this mature bulb has multiplied into several nodes. In the spring I'll carefully separate the nodes, getting a bit of root with each one. These will be individually potted and I'll probably get 3 or 4 new plants from this one bulb.
- Wrap the plant gently with sphagnum moss that has been soaked in distilled water until well hydrated and then squeezed to remove excess water.
If you can't find sphagnum moss then use several sheets of dampened paper towels. I like to use both. Everything needs to be damp, not soggy or the bulbs can mold and rot. Place the wrapped plants in a plastic bag and seal it well. Put
the bag with your plants into your refrigerator (not freezer!) in a place it won't be damaged. I put mine in a cardboard box and then into a crisper. The picture below, right
shows the bulb wrapped in moist sphagnum and then damp paper toweling and ready for the fridge (and looking very much like a vegetarian burrito).
- Check on the bag about once a month to make sure it hasn't dried out and no mold has formed. I've never had it happen but if you do see mold, clip off the moldy parts, dust with a mild fungicide and put the plants into fresh, moistened sphagnum or paper towels and back into the fridge.
- In the Spring, bring your plants out of cold storage (you may be surprised to find that they have grown a little while in the refrigerator!) and replant into a mixture of 60% peat moss / 40% perlite or clean, washed sand. Top dress with
sphagnum moss if you want (sphagnum is really not a requirement unless you are prone to forgetting to water your plants), place in a saucer with a never-ending supply of distilled water (or clean rain water) and in a couple of weeks, you'll see new growth-vibrant
lush, healthy, new growth.
- If you prefer to plant your flytrap in a terrarium, click on the "Carnivorous Help Topics" link above and then read "How to Plant a Terrarium".
- Gently remove your plant from the planting medium, a fork works good for this, and shake the soil from the roots. Run water gently over the roots to remove excess soil.
Books about Growing Carnivorous Plants