Expert: Christopher Littrell - 3/21/2008

Question
Hi. I just bought a venus flytrap from  Sarracenia Northwest. It arrived in great condition. In the instructions I recieved with it it said to repot it every March, and it is late march right now, so i used a 1:1 perlite to peat soil that I also bought with the plant. I did this the same day that I bought the plant. Was this too soon? The plant is in dormancy right now, I think, but when i repotted it and took it out of the little 3 inch pot the traps all closed up. Is that bad? It is now outside, and it is about 40 degrees out. It looks OK, but the traps are all closed. Is it ok what should I do.

Answer
Hello Sean,

Venus Flytraps can really be repotted at almost any time with no problem. It is just easier to repot them before they come out of dormancy as they will have time to reestablish themselves as they wake up and continue growing the rest of the year after winter. In addition, repotting plants when they are dormant stresses them less as they are "asleep" and in any event, Sarracenia Northwest takes such a short time sending the plants that they are unlikely to be stressed or weak after shipping.

Traps often close when they are disturbed by repotting when touched by your fingers and when bits of dirt fall in them. This is not a big problem so long as it does not happen too often. It just takes energy from the plant to grow its traps closed and reopen them every time; but it is not going to hurt the plant if it happens by accident when it is repotted.

Look forward to seeing your plant wake up and start growing as the temperature and daylength increase. Make sure to keep its soil barely moist until the temperatures get up to the sixties or above and spring really gets here, then start watering it normally with a tray under the pot full of mineral free water.

Christopher