Kevin1861
Carnivorous Plant Addict
I’ve had tremendous success with propagating Venus flytrap (VFT) from the flower stalk and was asked to share the process with you.
Parent Plants
The plants I used for propagation purposes were typical VFT, nothing special. I bought them from a local store in 2021 to see if I could overwinter them in the fridge. I transplanted them from a peat moss substrate they were originally in and into a 50:50 mix of peat moss and perlite. They were outside on the deck as soon as the weather permitted. The photo below shows the plants prior to overwintering. Overwintering took place from mid-October to the end of January.
After potting up in late January, the plants were producing flower stalks by late February to early March. I let the stalks grow a couple of inches before I snipped them.
Propagation
You need clean peat moss and perlite. What I do is put some peat moss into a bucket or other container, and add tap water to make a loose peat moss slurry. Leave that overnight and then squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Repeat the washing process using distilled water, RO water, or rainwater. Let that sit for a few hours, mixing the slurry a few times with your hand or other clean thing, followed by hand wringing the peat moss. Next, you want to repeat the process for the perlite.
Mix equal amounts by volume of your washed peat moss and perlite together. Microwave a filled ZipLoc sandwich containers (3 cups or 709 ml size) on high for two minutes. our clean medium. Make sure the lid is somewhat loose to allow steam to escape. Once that’s done take it out of the micro and set it aside to cool to room temperature. I usually leave it overnight.
Standard pot prep and scissor/tweezer sterilization... I prefer using rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol). Fill the pots and press down to avoid excessive settling of the medium over time. Cut the flower stalks as close to the base as possible without damaging any of the leaves. Then cut each stalk into 1 or 2 inch (2.5 to 5 cm) pieces. Lay the pieces down on the sterilized medium and lightly cover the cut ends with the medium. Store in a warm and humid environment. I use a humidity dome and seed heating mat, tray watering to ensure that the bits of flower stalk do not dry out. I leave the mat on 24/7 and the led lights on a 16:8 light:dark cycle. The pots are kept a foot below the lights.
After a couple of months you should see some growth.
May 16, 2022.
June 3, 2022.
July 22, 2022.
September 13, 2022.
At this point I am treating the plantlets as I would any VFT seedling.
Hope you found this useful and that you give flower stalk propagation a shot.
Parent Plants
The plants I used for propagation purposes were typical VFT, nothing special. I bought them from a local store in 2021 to see if I could overwinter them in the fridge. I transplanted them from a peat moss substrate they were originally in and into a 50:50 mix of peat moss and perlite. They were outside on the deck as soon as the weather permitted. The photo below shows the plants prior to overwintering. Overwintering took place from mid-October to the end of January.
After potting up in late January, the plants were producing flower stalks by late February to early March. I let the stalks grow a couple of inches before I snipped them.
Propagation
You need clean peat moss and perlite. What I do is put some peat moss into a bucket or other container, and add tap water to make a loose peat moss slurry. Leave that overnight and then squeeze out as much of the water as possible. Repeat the washing process using distilled water, RO water, or rainwater. Let that sit for a few hours, mixing the slurry a few times with your hand or other clean thing, followed by hand wringing the peat moss. Next, you want to repeat the process for the perlite.
Mix equal amounts by volume of your washed peat moss and perlite together. Microwave a filled ZipLoc sandwich containers (3 cups or 709 ml size) on high for two minutes. our clean medium. Make sure the lid is somewhat loose to allow steam to escape. Once that’s done take it out of the micro and set it aside to cool to room temperature. I usually leave it overnight.
Standard pot prep and scissor/tweezer sterilization... I prefer using rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol). Fill the pots and press down to avoid excessive settling of the medium over time. Cut the flower stalks as close to the base as possible without damaging any of the leaves. Then cut each stalk into 1 or 2 inch (2.5 to 5 cm) pieces. Lay the pieces down on the sterilized medium and lightly cover the cut ends with the medium. Store in a warm and humid environment. I use a humidity dome and seed heating mat, tray watering to ensure that the bits of flower stalk do not dry out. I leave the mat on 24/7 and the led lights on a 16:8 light:dark cycle. The pots are kept a foot below the lights.
After a couple of months you should see some growth.
May 16, 2022.
June 3, 2022.
July 22, 2022.
September 13, 2022.
At this point I am treating the plantlets as I would any VFT seedling.
Hope you found this useful and that you give flower stalk propagation a shot.
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