One of the most exotic houseplants is the Venus Flycatcher( Dionaea muscipula), which is also known as Dionea. This decorative flower is interesting because it is carnivorous - it feeds on living insects. The adult plant has an original appearance, but even with its small size it looks somewhat aggressive. Mukhoeda can be grown at home, but it should be remembered that he is fastidious, moody and requires a lot of attention.
What is the Venus flytrapper
Discovered in 1760, the flower was named after the Greek goddess of love - Dion. Dionaea muscipula is a small-sized herbaceous plant, a monotypic family of the Rosian family. The name of the species "muscipule" is translated as a "mousetrap" - probably the botanist who described the new specimen made a mistake. The English name Dionaea muscipula corresponds to the Russian - Venus flytrap - Venus flytrap.
Dionea looks like - photo
Description
An adult herbaceous insectivorous plant of the Rosian family has a rosette of 4-7 leaves 4-7 centimeters in length. The stem of the flycatcher is bulbous, not more than 15 cm long. Dionea blooms with white flowers that collect into the corymbose inflorescences on the long peduncle, but resemble a star in appearance. In nature, the predator flower grows on soils with a low nitrogen content, so the source of this element is mollusks and insects.
Fly-trap traps are formed after flowering, they consist of two slammed petals 8-15 cm long and have rare bristles along the edges. The outer part of the leaves is painted in a bright green color, the inner cavities have a reddish hue. Traps are formed at the end of the leaves in the rosette - by the summer they become longer and take a vertical position. Inside the valves of the traps there are glands that produce nectar to attract the victim.
In addition to the bristles on the edges of the collapsing petals, there are three triggers - when the insect gets on them, the trap begins to close, and the glands develop a digestive secret. The carnivorous flower digests food for 5-12 days, after which the petals are opened again. The duration of digestion depends on the temperature of the air, on the process of digestion, on the size of the victim and on the age of the trap itself. The trap dies after digesting two or three victims, but there have been cases when one leaf became the grave of seven insects.
Where the Venus flytrap lives
The homeland of the herbaceous flower is the peat bogs of South and North Carolina, Georgia, New Jersey, and it does not lose its ability to live even during cold weather or after falling snow: in winter the plant enters a phase of complete rest that ends,when there is a warming. Flower flywheels - the only specimen of its kind, but today lovers of exotic and thrilling cultural and cultural varieties at home.
What the
feeds An instance of a flycatcher, found in the marshes of North or South Carolina, feeds on insects. Dionae peat, growing in a natural environment, is close to the ground, so flying or creeping "food" itself falls into the trap. A plant that is bred at home, you will need to feed yourself. To do this, live flies or any arthropods, the size of which is half the size of the trap, will do.
How is the mechanism of closing the trap
The main distinguishing feature of the flower are the trap leaves. Inside each such trap there are small hairs that play the role of sensors. One-time exposure to the hair will not provoke the closure of the petals. This helps Dionee to avoid "idle" slamming, which can occur because of falling on the surface of traps of branches or raindrops.
The petals collapse immediately when the insect touches two or three different hairs. What exactly is the action of the mechanism of the trap, no one can say, but scientists read that the closure occurs due to the instantaneous transfer of water between the cells of the flower. After slamming the petals, Venus the flytrapper secretes digestive enzymes and dissolves the insect. After two weeks, the trap is again ready to search for prey. For the life cycle, each trap can digest up to 7 victims.
Veninina flytrapper - home care
Predator plant is very popular among florists, because it can be grown at home or in the garden. Many people are interested in how to take care of the flytrap at home, because the carnivorous flower is whimsical. For normal growth and development, Dionia needs to be provided with conditions similar to natural ones: maintain high air humidity, necessary temperature, timely watering and periodically feed it with caught insects.
How to choose the best place for growing
The best place for Venus flytraps is window sills oriented to the west or to the east - so the flower will be in good light for the required amount of time - about 4-5 hours / day. In hot summer weather, you should avoid getting on the plant scorching sun rays. If there is not enough light, make the flower an artificial light, using fluorescent lamps with a power of 40 W.Remember that you can not rotate the pot with Dione or change the position of the lamp, because it reacts negatively to it.
Optimal air temperature and humidity
During active life, the air temperature in the room where the sundew grows should be kept constant within 22-27 degrees. Venus transports a higher temperature, but it should not be above 35 degrees. Watch out for the level of humidity: the range can be 40-70%.In addition, keep in mind that the mucus can not grow normally with stagnant air - the room will need to be ventilated regularly, but there should be no drafts.
Watering Dionea
The roots of the mucus are not able to process earthy mineral salts, so you can not use either filtered water or tap water for irrigation. It can only be distilled, rain or purified by reverse osmosis. The substrate must be constantly wet, because traps can be lost due to lack of water. To maintain optimum soil moisture, it is better to keep the flower pot on a pallet filled with so much liquid that drainage holes on the bottom of the dish are immersed in it - the roots of Dionea will fill their need for water.
Feeding Venus Flycatcher
When growing a plant that catches flies, it is important to provide it with conditions close to the natural habitat: for this, you first of all need to monitor the acidity of the soil in the pot. The necessary concentration can be achieved by mixing equal parts of perlite and sphagnum moss. Dionia does not require additional fertilizing with organic mineral fertilizers, like other indoor flowers.
How to care for Venus flycatcher in the flowering period
Flowering plants in May or June: on the high peduncle the corymbose inflorescences begin to grow, consisting of small flowers of white color up to 1 cm in diameter. Flowering lasts several weeks. If you do not want to get Dionae seeds by autumn, then you need to cut flowers while they are still in the buds, since flowering depletes the flycatcher, because of what its traps can not fully develop.
Wintering and rest period
In autumn new leaves stop growing on the plant - it is preparing for hibernation. To help Dioney enter into winter peace, it is recommended to minimize watering and no longer to leave water in the pan. When the flycatcher falls into a hibernation, the pot must be rearranged to a dark place where the temperature does not exceed 7-10 degrees. You can put a flower on a glassed balcony or even put it in the refrigerator.
Until the spring, the predator plant does not require any food, no special lighting. The only thing that is required of you is to water the soil occasionally, but here you should not overdo it, because an excessive amount of moisture will lead to rotting of the roots. The flycatcher, fallen into hibernation, does not look attractive - having acquired a brown shade, its leaves die.
What to feed Venusin flytrap at home
You must know all the subtleties of power of the flytrap, since you decided to buy a venus for breeding at home. The plant can be fed with insects: flies, spiders and bees, but only alive, because the production of the digestive enzyme occurs only during the movement of the victim. In summer, an adult flower growing in a room needs to eat 2-3 sacrifices. Those flowers that grow on the street, you can not feed at all - they are able to catch insects themselves. Remember that too hard food or meat provokes rotting of the trap.
How the plant grows the flytrap
Flycatcher reproduces in many ways - cuttings, seeds or bulb division. Getting Dione seeds is the longest and most complex process. During growth, bulbs appear on the flower - they are cut and transplanted. Cuttings can also be cut and planted in the soil, after which it is necessary to cover the pot with the peduncles with a film. The mulberry reproduces while maintaining a certain temperature( not more than 25 degrees) and ensuring optimum humidity.
Growing Dionea from
seeds To obtain sundew seeds, it is necessary to self pollination its flowers using a cotton swab or a brush. If the process was carried out correctly, in a month there will be small boxes with seeds. They need to be sowed three months after pollination, otherwise the germination is lost. If the seeds are stored longer, then before planting, you need to make stratification - a month and a half hold in the refrigerator, wrapped in sphagnum and clogged in a bag of zipper.
When planting seeds scatter on the surface of the ground and spray using a spray with soft water. Do not forget to comply with the requirements for planting crops - put containers in a greenhouse under bright scattered sunlight or artificial light. Keep the room temperature around 24-29 degrees, make sure that the soil is always wet. Shoots you will see in 2-3 weeks. In another 2-3 weeks, when the seedlings of the Venus flytrap grow, you can place the flower in a pot, the diameter of which does not exceed 8-9 cm.
Reproduction by cuttings
From Dionea, it is necessary to carefully cut one sheet, process the cut using Kornevin. Arranging the cutting in an incline, drop it into a substrate of peat and quartz sand. After that, you can cover the container with a transparent cap and leave it at room temperature under a bright light until the cuttings appear in the cuttings - often in three months. Remember that rooting is not recommended, otherwise cuttings can be affected by fungi.
By dividing the
bush To duplicate a flycatcher in this way is much easier. It is best to do this during the transplantation of Dionia: a flower 1-2 years old is taken out of the pot, then the roots are freed from the soil and the daughter rosettes are separated from the adult plant with a sterile instrument. After that, the rosettes are planted in separate pots, they are removed in the penumbra before they do not settle down in a new substrate.
Diseases and pests
Who would have thought that a plant that could eat insects could suffer from them. There have been cases when aphids were planted on the surface of traps, which is why they deformed. Against small insects special insecticides are sold. Another predatory flower flytrap can be affected by a spider mite: to destroy the pest will help treatment with a solution of acaricide.
Dionea needs special care: where it grows it is necessary to maintain optimum humidity and temperature conditions. However, if the soil is too wet, the flower can suffer from black fungus - a black coating appears on the leaves and stems. Fight fungicides. If the conditions are not met, the flycatcher attacks the botrytis-gray mildew of mold. If you notice the appearance of such mold, immediately remove the affected parts, and the plant itself is treated with a solution of fungicide.
Bactericidal Dionia can also occur due to the fact that the trap can not cope with the digestion of the captured insect. In such cases, the closed petals turn black and rot, and the disease spreads rapidly throughout the plant. You need to immediately cut off the damaged trap, and then treat the flower with a solution of the fungicide.