Many Venus Fly Trap growers get curious and puzzled when they see a long stem growing on their Venus Fly Trap. What is this long stem that is growing on a Venus Flytrap and what should you do with it? In this post, you will learn what a long stem on a Venus Fly Trap is, what it looks like, and what to do with this long stem.
If your Venus Fly Trap is growing a long stem, that means that it’s growing a flower stalk, however it might also be a false vivipary. A long green stem with a bud or few is will indicate a new flowering stalk.
What is long stem on a Venus Fly Trap and why is it growing it?
Your Venus Fly Trap will be flowering during a growing season (often through May-June in Northern Hemisphere). If your Venus Fly Trap is healthy and in good condition, it will start growing a long stem that will be often emerging from a center of plant.
This long green stalk will have one to a few buds that will later emerge into flowers. A long stalk will be thin or thick, and grow very tall unless you decide to cut it off. The reason why the flower stalk is tall is to avoid the plant triggering its own traps.
Venus Fly Trap produces white flowers, and one plant can produce around 1-12 flowers on average per season. Each flower will have 5 petals.
However, as previously mentioned, a long stem might also be a false vivipary. A false vivipary is an abnormal condition, when a plant produces a plantlet instead of a flowering stalk. In this case you can cut a plantlet and grow it normally for a new clone plant.
False vivipary is not a very widespread abnormality, so what you are seeing a on your Venus fly trap is most probably a flower stalk. A false vivipary can also be cut off at the base and put in soil to grow as a new plant.
Should you cut or leave a flower stalk (long stem) on a Venus Fly Trap?
It is often a better idea to cut off a new flower stalk (a long stem with buds) on your Venus Fly Trap. That’s especially true if you are a beginner or not very experienced at growing carnivorous plants. This is because, even if your Venus Fly Trap is in a good condition, flowering will take a lot of your plant’s energy.
Many Venus Fly Traps die after flowering, or become weak and don’t grow as well, after the dormant winter season. That is similar to trimming old traps on your Venus Fly Trap, to preserve energy and let the plant grow new ones.
If your Venus Fly Trap is not in a very good condition, the best thing would be to trim a long stem. However, you should do this until a flower stalk becomes too long.
If a flower stalk gets too long, it will be too late to cut it off, because it will have already used lots of plant’s energy. If you decide to trim a stem, do it before it reaches around 2-3 inches long (5-8 cm).
However, if you wish to plant a new Venus Fly Trap from that stalk, you can use a 2-3″ stalk to grow a completely new clone plant. To do that, you will need to insert a freshly cut stalk into a damp moss or soil, and allow it to spout over weeks and even months to come.
Can I keep the flower stalk on my Venus Fly Trap?
So once again, it’s in your plant’s interest to trim this stalk off. But if you decide to keep this stalk for flowers or if it becomes too long, you can keep it.
A good reason to keep the flower stalk is to later collect seeds (will need to pollinate). And not only will you be able to collect seeds, but also enjoy your Venus Fly Trap’s flowers.
However, please bear in mind that growing Venus Fly Traps from seed is not the easiest task. It will also will require many years for a plant to reach its medium to maximum size (around 4-5 years!). While growing, it might die of being too weak, or due to any unsuitable conditions.
What is more, letting your Venus Fly Trap flower does not mean that you will be able to collect seeds. Sometimes, pollination might not occur due to flower’s physical deformities, so you might not even get any seeds.
However, if your plant is not in the best condition, it’s better to trim the stalk at the base. Please be also aware, that letting your Venus Fly Trap flower means it won’t grow as fast as before.
After flowering, it will be much slower at growing and might start growing from multiple new growth points. That’s in case if it doesn’t die completely..
Thank you for reading this post! To read more useful guides on Venus flytraps and other carnivorous plants, please see this page.