Venus Flytrap Winter Dormancy

I have been growing carnivorous plants for more years that I care to admit.  I have grown a lot of different species over the years, some were simple while others had more complex needs.  As with most people, the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) started it all for me.  

Venus Flytraps perform best with winter dormancy.  At first their dormancy was a scary mystery, now I understand dormancy a little better I know it is nothing to be worried about. 

Last year my son wanted a venus flytrap.  I gave him a small typical venus flytrap, and he looked after it really well.  The thing grew really large, got some great colouration, then when winter hit it went dormant and looked like it was dead.  All of this is fantastic and shows he was looking after his plant properly.

Contrary to what most people have been told, venus flytraps are not tropical plants.  They do well in areas that are frosty over winter.  I grow them outside, certainly never in a terrarium, and allow them to be hit with frosts and ice and hail and snow.  When days get short and cold my Venus flytraps experience partial or complete dormancy. 

My son's venus fly trap looks horrible over winter, and he worried that he had killed it.  I had to assure him that this was a great sign and that he was doing everything right.  We repotted the plant ready for spring, and I showed him the healthy fat white rhizome, and he felt a lot better about his plant.  I expect this to grow well and divide in spring.  It should make three or more plants for him.

Pictures of my son's dormant Venus flytrap are below.  Once repotted it still looked utterly dreadful, before being repotted it looked like the moss was going to over take it.  

To be clear, (apart from the moss) this is normal and healthy for a venus flytrap in my climate.

Dormant VFT repotted (ignore the tiny sundews) and ready for spring growth

The same vft before repotting - not much to look at

Different varieties of venus flytrap seem to cope with winter differently even if they are growing side by side.  This different in growth is due to their genetics.

The picture below shows how they some of my plants coped with dormancy this year.  Note that all have small traps and short leaves, just as they should over winter.  None of them are large magnificent plants over winter.  If they did look great over winter then something would be terribly wrong and they would likely rot and die in spring.

Various Venus Flytraps at the end of winter

Some of the venus flytraps pretty much disappeared, like Nanuq's plant, but the rhizome under ground is strong and healthy.  This is normal and healthy.

Others retained some above ground growth, but looked very shabby.  Leaves were shorter and sometimes the traps were weird and mis-shapen.  This is normal and healthy for these ones, and in spring I expect them to grow well.

These Venus Flytraps retained some growth over winter

Some of my larger, more upright venus flytraps go dormant in a different way.  Over summer they have large traps and upright growth.  Over winter they grow shorter leaves that stay close the the ground, and the traps produced over winter are much smaller.  

Again, this is normal and healthy.  That is how they do their dormancy.  If they kept growing large upright leaves over winter I would expect them to rot and die in spring.

Once the weather warms they will have upright growth and large traps again (and probably a flower stalk).  For now they are doing everything they should be doing.

'Big Vigorous' VFT has short leaves low to the ground over winter

 

Breaking dormancy, low winter leaves and tall summer leaves

Other vft varieties never have upright growth, 'Low Giant' is an example of this.  Over winter the rosette becomes more compact than normal as the petioles are shorter and the traps much smaller. 

This plant is also healthy and strong, exactly what I would expect to see over winter.  You may notice at the top of the picture some tiny plants, these came from a flower stalk cutting.

I need to repot and divide this plant soon.

Low Giant VFT over winter

Towards the end of winter/beginning of spring I usually try to repot my Venus Flytraps. 

Often they have divided a little and most have a large plant and one or two small offsets.  Some varieties are a bit more vigorous and will have up to half a dozen small divisions.  Others, such as Wally, can have a dozen or more divisions.  This has a lot to do with their genetics, and a bit to do with how well they were grown.

Sometimes when I am dividing plants that are emerging from dormancy I will also take a few leaf pullings.  I probably should wait until warmer weather for leaf pullings, but depending on the variety many will grow a baby plant or two even at this time of year.

Tiny VFT divisions - super cute but will grow fast

Vft divisions, and some leaf pullings

If you want to buy a venus flytrap it is sometimes difficult to find a good variety unless they are posted.  Luckily Venus flytraps do go extremely well through the post.  Apart from the ones I have grown from seed, I think all of my Venus flytraps were posted to me bare rooted.

I will have some 'typical' venus flytraps for sale and should have some named varieties for sale in late spring.  Many of my typical vfts are superior named varieties but I have lost their names, others are seed grown, and I think that all of them are pretty great.  Keep an eye on my for sale page in late spring/early summer if you are interested.