Now that Spring is here, and healthy (and some unhealthy) Venus Flytraps are putting out their new flowers, this is a question we get all of the time, and one that has different answers, depending on the condition of your plant and the care that it has been receiving.
If it is the correct season for your plant to flower and your plant has been growing outside and you will continue to keep it outside and your plant is healthy, has color and doesn’t have widening leaves, then there is no reason that you shouldn’t let the flower continue to grow. Leave it alone until the flower has died and dried and has a clump of seeds growing on the tip. Wait until they are completely mature and shiny black.
If it is not the correct season, there may be something wrong with the plant and it is going into survival mode. Check to be sure you are giving it correct lighting, water and medium and that you aren’t seeing shrinking traps, widening leaves or pale coloring in traps that should be red. Remove the flower and try to work on getting it healthy enough to be able to grow the flower in a healthy way before Spring arrives.
Light is very important to the Venus Flytrap. Venus Flytraps are not houseplants and without using special full spectrum lighting, it’s not really a good idea to keep them inside. Light is what gives them energy to grow and if you are not allowing your traps to sit outside in full sun, they will not have as much energy as a plant that has been grown outside in full sun. In addition, modern windows reflect about 50% of the light that hits them and filters remove nearly all UVB, which means that even in a window, your plants are not getting the full spectrum of light that they need and would get if kept outside. Because of this, if you are not growing your plants outside, I would recommend removing the flower.
When removing a flower, you want to clip it off with a clean blade or pair of scissors. Maybe give them a quick swipe with some isopropyl alcohol and then cut it off about an inch or so higher than the soil line so that even if you get a good rain, the open wound will be above the highest point where the water would be, helping to prevent bacteria from entering the wound. In a few weeks, what is left will dry up completely and fall off.
As for the piece that you cut off, I would go ahead and plunk it right back into the pot, and while there are no guarantees, it might end up growing another VFT!
