How Do Venus Fly Traps Reproduce?

Venus fly traps reproduce several ways, including seeds and rhizomes.

Venus fly traps (Dionaea muscipula) are unusual in that they get nutrients by eating living insects. When it comes to making new fly traps, they are fairly standard in reproduction methods. Normal plant propagation through flower pollination produces viable seeds. The mother plant also produces clones through rhizome growth and natural splitting. Other ways to reproduce a Venus fly trap include pulling a leaf and some rhizome tissue off of a healthy plant to start new growth, cutting off and planting a flower stalk and advanced tissue culture work in highly controlled growing environments.

Seeds

Venus fly trap flowers that have been successfully pollinated die a few days after blooming, leaving behind a small pod containing 20 to 30 seeds. Sow seeds on the surface of the growing medium. Keep the growing area moist, with high humidity and a temperature between 70 and 85 F. Provide up to 13 hours of sunlight or fluorescent light per day. Germination should occur in 15 to 30 days. If placed in direct sunlight, monitor the temperature to avoid overheating.

Natural Splitting

Mature Venus fly traps multiply naturally by producing more plants that are clones, identical to the parent. According to a Botanical Society of America article, a Venus fly trap does not have more than seven leaves. If what looks like a single Venus fly trap has more than seven leaves, the mother plant has already grown another plant separate from the original.

Leaf Pulls

Propagating Venus fly traps can also be done by pulling a leaf off of the plant, then planting the leaf. Remove the plant from its growing medium; this exposes the plant's rhizome. Pull down on healthy leaves from healthy plants, getting some of the white tissue close to the rhizome. Take off the trap. Replant the mother plant. Plant the leaf with the white portion buried in the growing medium and the green leaf portion on the surface. Treat the leaf the same as if growing a seed.

Flower Stalks

Many Venus fly traps produce a flower stalk each spring. Often these stems are cut off so the plant can put more resources towards growing additional traps. Cut off the stem and plant it in the Venus fly trap growing medium, about one-third of an inch deep. Make the cut as close to the base of the plant as possible. When successful, new plantlets will emerge from around the stalk.

Tissue Culture

To get large production runs of cultivars true to the original parent, growers should propagate Venus fly traps through tissue culture. This work is usually done in a laboratory setting. Small pieces of plant matter are placed in a solution of hormones and nutrients inside sterilized petri dishes. Light hours, temperature and other variables are controlled as closely as possible. Leaf formation occurs generally between week eight to 16. When strong leaf growth is present, the plants are taken out of the tissue culture, rinsed and established on regular Venus fly trap growing medium.

References

• FlyTrapCare: Propagation of Venus Fly Traps
• Botanical Society of America: The Mysterious Venus Fly Trap
• Just Venus Fly Traps: Venus Fly Trap Care