You are here:

Carnivorous Plants/Venus flytrap seeds

Advertisement

Expert: - 4/11/2009


Question
Last year I collected about 400 venus flytrap seeds.  I usually wait until the flower and most of the stalk have dried.  I sowed them about 1-2 weeks after collection. I get only about 10% of the seeds germinating, similar to what I have gotten in previous years.  Is there something I can do to get a higher germination rate?

Answer
Hello Henry,

You should be getting closer to 50-70 percent germination rates. Waiting until most of the flower scape had dried up is the proper thing to do as the seeds require maturing and drying before they can be removed and sown.

I would watch out for mold and use sulfur or neem oil based products to kill the mold if that is the problem.

Sowing the seeds is a simple matter of merely scattering them on the surface of granulated moss and keeping them moist at all times with a good misting in the morning. Seeds need water to break free of the seed coat. Temperatures of around 75-85 degrees would be best for germinating seedlings as well. If your ambient humidity is low, you might want to use a humidity dome to increase the local pot humidity so the seeds stay hydrated until germination, then slowly adapt them to lower humidity over several weeks by continuously punching a few holes in the humidity dome every three days until it no longer holds in humidity and can be removed.

What technique to you use to sow and hydrate your seeds?

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.