Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 5/26/2010

Question
About 3 weeks ago I planted about 40 venus fly trap seeds in Massachusetts. I have been growing them outside where they recieve early morning direct sun until about 10am then indirect after. I have the seeds planted in 1/2 peat moss 1/2 perlite and they are all sitting in a deep tray of rain water mixed with tap so they are always moist. I notcied when it first rained that some of the perlite floated to the top. This friday will be 3 weeks and I still haven't seen a seedling appear. Could the perlite on top cause the seedlings not to germinate or should I just wait longer? I just want to make sure I am doing everything right. Thanks

Answer
Hi Kenneth,

There are a couple issues.  The first issue is timing.  If you're germinating flytrap seeds outdoors, spring is the wrong season.  Flytrap seeds need a lot of warm temperatures, and spring is sometimes too cool.  The ideal temperature range is above 70°F, both day and night.  At warm temperatures, flytrap seeds will often germinate within 4 weeks.  At cooler temperatures, they can take up to 3 months.  So you'll need to be patient.

The second issue is your method.  From your description, I can't tell if you planted the seeds in the tray itself or if you have them in pots and had set the pots in trays.  Right now, I'm going to assume that you placed the soil mix in the tray and scattered the seeds over the soil.

While this method is useful, it's not a method meant for outdoor growing.  If it rains, the undrained tray will collect a lot of water and wash away the seeds.  The best method is using pots and setting the pots in trays.

For information about germinating flytrap seeds, read our care sheet on our main website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets