You can grow more of these interesting houseplants from seeds, cuttings, or divisions. Here’s how to do it at home.
Venus flytraps, or Dionaea muscipula, are known to be carnivorous because they catch and eat bugs in their leafy traps. And while theyre native to subtropical wetlands, they make fascinating houseplants, when cared for correctly.
Growing Venus flytraps can indeed be tricky. But for those who have already mastered the basics of houseplant care, they present a fun challenge. More than that, if you already have one of these plants, you can try to make more of them. That way, you can double or even triple your collection, for free.
Venus fly traps are one of the coolest carnivorous plants out there. Their unique trapping mechanism and carnivorous habits make them extremely popular houseplants and additions to any carnivorous plant collection.
If you already have a Venus fly trap, you may be wondering if you can get more plants without having to buy them. The good news is – yes, you can easily propagate your Venus fly trap at home through a few different methods!
In this detailed guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about propagating Venus fly traps. We’ll cover:
- Sexual propagation through seeds
- Vegetative propagation through divisions and leaf/flower pullings
- Tissue culture
Let’s get into the details on how to propagate more of these amazing carnivores!
Sexual Propagation by Seed
The first way to propagate Venus fly traps is through seeds This involves pollinating the flowers to produce seed pods
Here is the basic process
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Wait for your Venus fly trap to produce flowers. The flowers will emerge from the center of the plant on tall stalks.
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When the flowers open, use a cotton swab to collect pollen from the anthers (the tips of the little stalks inside the flower).
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Gently dab the pollen onto the stigma (the rounded center part of the flower). This pollinates the flower.
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After a few days, the flower will die off. At the base you should see a green seed pod starting to form if pollination was successful.
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When the seed pod turns brown and crispy, collect the small black seeds inside. Venus fly trap seeds are tiny – about 1mm long!
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Sow the seeds onto the surface of a sterile, moist peat-based medium. Keep warm and humid.
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Seeds will sprout in 2-4 weeks. Keep seedlings humid and in bright light as they grow.
It’s best to sow Venus fly trap seeds as soon as possible after collecting them. Their viability starts to decline after about 3 months.
While growing Venus fly traps from seed is rewarding, it’s a very slow process. It can take 3-5 years for seed-grown plants to reach maturity!
Vegetative Propagation for Faster Results
To get mature Venus fly trap plants faster, vegetative propagation is the way to go. This involves taking pieces of an existing plant and rooting them to grow new clones.
There are a few different vegetative propagation techniques:
Dividing Established Plants
Mature Venus fly traps will often produce multiple crowns or growth points from their rhizome. When you notice distinct crowns starting to form, you can divide the plant in spring:
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Carefully dig up the entire plant. Rinse off the soil.
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Look for a natural division point between two crowns. Cut the rhizome between them with a clean knife or razor.
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Replant each crown in its own pot. Keep moist and bright until established.
Dividing mature plants gives you instant Venus fly trap clones!
Leaf Pullings
You can also take leaf cuttings for propagation:
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Carefully uproot a healthy plant and expose the rhizome.
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Grasp a healthy outer leaf and gently pull downward until it detaches from the rhizome.
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Trim off the trap portion of the leaf.
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Stick the detached leaf base in moist soil. Roots and a new plant will emerge from the cut end.
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Keep warm and humid until growth appears.
Flower Stalk Cuttings
If you remove flower stalks, you can root the cut-off stalks too:
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When your Venus fly trap sends up a flower stalk, snip it off as close to the base as possible.
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Stick the freshly cut end into moist soil.
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Small plantlets will emerge from the sides of the stalk near the cut base.
Flower stalk cuttings are easy! Just be sure to remove flower stalks so the plant’s energy goes to growth and traps.
Tissue Culture
Finally, you can also propagate Venus fly traps through sterile tissue culture techniques. This involves:
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Surface sterilizing a tissue sample like a leaf, seed, or stem.
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Placing it onto a sterile, nutrient-rich agar medium in a petri dish or other sterile vessel.
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Allowing it to produce plantlets which are then transferred to soil.
Tissue culture allows rapid production of many identical clones. But it requires specialized sterile equipment and techniques best done in a lab.
Propagation Tips and Tricks
To maximize your propagation success with Venus fly traps:
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Take leaf/flower cuttings from only healthy, vigorous plants. Avoid flowering or stressed plants.
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Use a sterile, sharp knife or razor to minimize injury.
-Dip cut ends in rooting hormone to encourage root growth.
-Keep high humidity around new cuttings until established.
-Give bright, indirect light for 12-14 hours daily.
-Repot new plantlets once a good root system develops.
-Avoid fertilizers until plants are larger and well-established.
With good sterile practices and proper care, you should have a high propagation success rate. Just be patient – even fast vegetative propagation takes time for new plants to develop. But it’s worth it to get more of these amazing carnivores!
Propagating Ensures You’ll Never Run Out of Venus Fly Traps!
As you can see, Venus fly traps can be propagated through both sexual and vegetative means right at home. While growing from seed is slow, vegetative propagation yields faster results.
Divisions, leaf cuttings, and flower stalk cuttings are easy methods anyone can do. Just follow sterile practices and give your new propagules the proper care.
In no time you’ll have tons of identical Venus fly trap clones to expand your collection! Propagating these carnivores ensures you’ll always have plenty of plants to enjoy or share with fellow growers.
How much light do Venus flytraps need to propagate successfully?
Venus flytraps need bright light. The more light you can provide, the higher the chances of successful propagation, says houseplant expert Vladan Nikolic. However, direct sun should be avoided, as this can damage the young plants.
3 methods for propagating Venus flytraps
The experts share their top tips on how to make more of these interesting indoor plants.
The food that these plants eat gives them nutrients (credit: baphotte / iStock / Getty s Plus / Getty s