When Venus flytraps flower, they are often left in a poor state for a considerable time afterwards (often up to a year). They usually do not grow as quickly during this time and are likely to look sickly, limp and are more susceptible to dying.
To avoid this, most growers remove the flower stalks before the flowering process takes place. The flower stalks look different from regular trap growth as they are not as flat as the trap stalks. If you are unsure if your stalk is from a trap or a flower, then you can let it grow out a centimetre or so and if it doesn’t look like a trap by then you can safely chop it off. Don’t let it grow any further though as your plant may suffer for it.
If you don’t pay much attention to your plant or haven’t read this till you’ve discovered a 20+ cm long stalk with a small bud at the end growing out of the center of your Venus flytrap, then you may as well just let it flower as it’s too late. Enjoy the beauty of the flower in all it’s glory as chopping it off now is unlikely to help. Your plants energy was wasted growing that stalk.
Photos on this page are courtesy of Torgrim Johansen
I’ve always been told that the Venus flytrap got it’s name due to the shear white beauty of it’s flowers, just like the goddess/planet Venus. The flytrap part is obviously from it’s twisted fly eating ways.
However
Barry Rice has an interesting article on the real reason for the name Venus flytrap.
Barry claims that the name is due to the “dirty minds of the kooky naturalists and nurserymen” and that “they saw in its amazing behavior and attractive form” … “something that reminded them of female genitalia of their own species.”
Jeepers, that’s a heck of a statement. But Barry can backup his claims …
Visit his website to learn more about where the name “Venus Flytrap” came from … Barry’s website.
The painting is “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli.
I have never seen this happen before myself. The phenomenon is referred to as false vivapary.
This is apparently not a completely understood topic and is believed to be caused by a hormonal mistake.1 If this happens to your plant, we recommend waiting till the stalk looks like it’s stopped growing, then clip it and root the new cuttings in the ground. With luck they’ll grow into nice big healthy plants.
Photo courtesy of Barry Rice who has an interesting article on this topic.
Yep, Venus flytraps have flowers too! They’re a rare thing to see and most growers chop them off before they get to bloom. When they are in full bloom however they are a spectacular site.
The reason people remove the flowers is because creating them costs the plant a lot of energy. Their growth cycle will normally slow markedly after flowering and this often continues for a year after flowering. If your plant is kept in extremely bright sun light, then flowering may not be a huge problem. However all Venus flytraps kept indoors will struggle to grow after flowering and may even die.
A post with instructions on how to recognise a flower stalk and the best ways to remove it will be posted at a later date.
