In our article, we want to talk about an unusual flower called dionea. Most often it is called a venus flytrap. This is one of the most famous insectivorous plants. It grows along the eastern coast of Southern California and North Carolina.
General information
Venus flytrap (photo is given in the article) is a unique plant of the family sundew. Its unusual nature is that the plant is a predator. The culture has a catchy and aggressive appearance. And at the same time, the plant is equipped with a trap that serves as a trap for insects. It is worth noting that no other flower has such an adaptation.
The plant is very popular as a house inhabitant around the world. If you want to acquire a culture, you should know how to care for a venus flytrap. An exotic plant invariably attracts the attention of people, since it is radically different from all others.
Venus flytrap: description
As we have already mentioned, in nature it is found in the eastern United States. It grows in pine forests in peat bogs. The plant prefers a humid, temperate climate off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. I must say that the soil in this area is not very nutritious. Therefore, the plant in its own way adapted to the living conditions, having learned to hunt for all kinds of insects and get the necessary substances from them.
Venus flytrap is a low plant, which in natural conditions reaches twenty centimeters. Home specimens do not exceed 10-12 centimeters. The plant has from four to seven leaves growing from a small underground stem, which is not visible at first glance. Long foliage consists of several parts: the lower (green) is powered by sunlight, and the upper is responsible for providing live food. Outwardly, the leaflets resemble two slamming shutters, equipped with sharp teeth at the edges. Inside the valves there are three bristles and scarlet glands, producing a liquid that dissolves insects. A brief description of the venus flytrap allows you to immediately imagine the plant. Surely you have met such a culture in flower shops.
The appearance of the plant depends on the season: in the summer, the traps become quite large and acquire a bright burgundy color. Such a transformation is necessary to attract potential victims. Seeing the red color, insects think that the plant contains nectar, but fall into a trap.
In winter, the predator is in a state of calm, so the traps simply die. Outwardly, the impression is that the plant has died and withered.
Insect eating mechanism
Venus flytrap - an unusual plant. Its mechanism of eating insects is worthy of attention, but the sight is not very pleasant. To attract a potential victim, the flycatcher emits very fragrant nectar. As soon as the insect descends into the wings, it touches one of the three bristles. The mechanism does not work far immediately to avoid the trap being slammed shut, for example, if an extraneous particle gets into it. The valves are not tightly closed only after the second contact with the insect bristles. The third time, the trap closes tightly, leaving the victim no chance of salvation. After this, the digestive juice begins to stand out, due to which the insect is digested for two to three weeks.
An interesting fact is that the more intense the victim is trying to get out, the stronger the plant closes the valves. In early summer or late spring, the flycatcher blooms with beautiful snow-white flowers. One interesting fact about the venus flytrap will amaze you. The plant can live as long as twenty years, while feeling fine.
Care
The exotic plant attracts with its unusualness many gardeners. However, before acquiring a culture, you need to figure out how to care for a venus flytrap. The plant is very moody, and therefore will require a lot of attention from you.
Very often, a flycatcher can be found in offices and hypermarkets. It looks very attractive and exotic. Of course, each of us is interested in observing a real predator. A unique natural organism is worthy of attention. Many experienced flower growers are already faced with how to care for a venus flytrap, and they know how capricious it is. Creating suitable conditions for the plant is very difficult.
Conditions of detention
Culture needs good lighting. She loves bright places. If during the day the plant will be in good light for 4-5 hours, then its traps will be well developed and reach maximum size. Their color will become as bright as possible.
Under natural conditions, the flycatcher lives in the summer at a temperature of + 9 ... + 26 degrees, and in winter - at a temperature of +7 degrees.
Water the plant not from above, but only through a tray. To moisturize, it is necessary to use rain, melt or distilled water. Culture does not like the drying out of an earthen coma. In the summer heat, watering can be done in another way. For this, the pot is lowered for half an hour into a basin with prepared water.
Continuing the conversation on how to care for a venus flytrap, it should be noted that it requires a high level of humidity. Therefore, you will have to spray the crop regularly. In addition, a container of water must be installed next to the pot. At any time of the year, the plant must be protected from drafts, which it does not like. As you can see, growing a venus flytrap at home requires the creation of certain conditions.
Inexperienced flower growers very often plant a plant in universal soil. This is the most common mistake people make, which is fatal because it leads to the death of a flytrap. To plant a crop, a substrate is required, consisting of equal parts of perlite and peat. Before planting, the soil is thoroughly moistened.
Plant feeding
There is another interesting nuance in the content of the venus flytrap. How to care for a plant at home, we have already told. However, do not forget that from time to time it is necessary to feed it with insects. The need for organic nutrition in a crop appears only with a lack of nitrogen. It will be necessary to feed the plant with mosquitoes, flies, spiders. Sensitive villi of the predator feel the slightest movement and slam shut. The plant needs insect feeding about once a month.
It is worth remembering that large individuals cannot be used for feeding or experimenting with food crumbs. It is necessary to place an insect each time in different traps. After their disclosure, it is necessary to remove the remnants of food so that they do not rot.
In winter, there is no need to feed the plant with insects. The flycatcher ceases to hunt and digest food in stressful situations. Excess nitrogen has a detrimental effect. The bush begins to turn yellow and fade.
Wintering
A long resting period is another feature of the venus flytrap. How to care for the crop at home at this time? In winter, the plant is at rest for three to four months. At this time, dionea should be kept at low temperatures - no more than +10 degrees. From the end of September, it is necessary to stop feeding exotics.
According to the reviews of experienced gardeners, it can be judged that the flycatcher hibernates well in the refrigerator at temperatures ranging from 0 ... + 5 degrees. Previously, the plant is placed in a bag with holes for ventilation. By the way, an unheated balcony can be a great option for wintering. At temperatures below five degrees, a flycatcher in winter can do without additional lighting.
Breeding
Many will have a question how to grow a Venus flytrap at home. Propagated by dionea by children and peduncles. But the seeds are used very rarely due to the complexity of the growing process.
Venus flytrap well forms children, which can be separated during the next transplant. But often it’s not worth disturbing the culture; it prefers to grow up with a large “family”.
The roots of the plant are incredibly fragile, so it is necessary to separate the children with great care. A damaged root system inhibits the adaptation of exotics in a new pot. A clean and very sharp knife is used to separate the children. The resulting sections must be treated with a disinfectant. It can be coal powder or fungicide.
Peduncle propagation
How to plant a venus flytrap, if you use peduncles? For propagation in this way, one should not wait until the peduncle reaches its maximum height. It is cut off at the initial stage of growth. Its height should not exceed 4-5 centimeters. Then a small pot is filled with wet peat and the peduncle is deepened to a depth of one centimeter. From above, the plant is covered with a jar or a plastic glass.
It is necessary to be prepared for the fact that it will take a long time to root and form a shoot of a flycatcher. The greenhouse should be aired until the first sprouts appear. The soil must be moistened periodically without bringing the earthen lump to dry.
Sometimes flower stalks may dry up before the shoots appear. But in this case, the plant should not be thrown away. They continue to look after him as before. Young shoots may appear in two months.
Seed propagation
Venus flytrap - a capricious plant. It is very difficult to grow it from seeds, so this method is not used by gardeners. Fresh seed does not germinate. To do this, he must go through the process of stratification. First, the seeds are soaked for a long time, and then they are kept at a certain temperature.
A napkin for stratification can be impregnated with a solution of Topaz. Seeds are wrapped in a cloth and put in a bag, and then sent to the refrigerator. Freshly sown seed must be kept cold for a month and a half. Older seeds should be kept for up to two months.
Seeds must be checked weekly. If you notice mold, wash them in a Topaz solution. After stratification, they can be sown.
They are planted in peat treated with fungicide. Seeding deep is not worth it. It is enough to sprinkle a little peat on top of them. The box with crops on top is covered with film or glass, and then sent to a sunny place. For faster germination, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of + 25 ... + 27 degrees. For crops, it is necessary to organize daily airing. Accumulated condensate should be cleaned periodically. The first shoots usually appear after a few weeks. But sometimes the process of germination can drag on for up to a month.
Seedlings develop during the first five months, then their growth slows down. At this time, you can transplant young plants into new pots. During dormancy, they need the same care as adult flowers.
Types and varieties of culture
The genus of dionea is represented by one single species - the venus flytrap. But there are many varieties of culture. The plant variety “Danteit Trap” reaches a height of 10-12 cm and has 5-12 traps. Its flowers are painted green with a red stripe. And the inside of the traps has a red color to attract insects.
For plants of the Jain variety, a rich crimson hue of the valves is characteristic in good lighting. Among the most interesting varieties, it is worth highlighting: “akai riu”, “fan trap”, “crocodile”, “newt”.
Growing problems
Dionea is a very unusual and capricious plant, in the process of growing which even experienced flower growers may encounter problems:
- The blackening of individual traps indicates that too large insects were used for feeding, or the plant rots from excess moisture. In this case, remove the dark leaves and review the care.
- Yellowing leaves indicates the use of water with a high salt content. The plant must be transplanted into new peat and moistened with distilled solution.
- Yellowing and dying of leaves indicates an excess of fertilizer. In this case, a transplant into a new soil is required.
- If the plant does not form traps, it does not have enough light, so you should move the pot to a more sunny place.
- The appearance of brown spots on the ends of the foliage may indicate sunburn or improper fertilizer application. The plant must be shadowed, and the soil shed to remove excess substances.
Pests
A predatory plant is not often attacked by pests. But the appearance of insects on the flycatcher damages it very much. Therefore, gardeners recommend the use of preventive treatments with insecticides throughout the year. A simple preventative measure will avoid problems.
The most dangerous pests for the culture are mealybug and spider mite. With excessive moisture in the soil, fungal diseases can develop: gray rot, black soot fungus. In this case, it is necessary to treat the plant with fungicides several times. Sometimes a plant is required to be transplanted into new peat.
Instead of an afterword
Venus flytrap is the most unusual culture used in home floriculture. Despite the capriciousness of the plant, it attracts the attention of housewives with its exoticism. The unusual shape and color attract not only insects, but also people's views. If you are ready to provide the proper conditions for the exotics, feel free to go after him to the garden center.