The time has finally arrived for re-potting a slough of Dionaea -- something I now do annually, just as they emerge from dormancy; and it has certainly encouraged far more vigorous growth and increased size of my B52s and other cultivars over the years. Several of the plants are now in larger 15 cm (6") pots, as deep as they are wide -- and it was surprising how root-bound many of the plants had become just over the course of one season. Also, the widely-held view that Dionaea is very shallow-rooted is incorrect, as the photos below clearly illustrate.
I have read far too often about the strict care of these "very delicate" plants -- often from quite experienced growers, including Barry Rice -- who claim that re-potting Dionaea is just as likely to kill them as allowing them to flower, something that I have never faced. The plants seem to acclimate after only a few days and exhibit visible growth by the end of a week.
While these few plants are currently worse for wear (they were underwater for an hour this morning), they'll look great later this Spring and Summer -- and I have many more to do. In the first photo, the corm was a bit larger than a golf-ball:
Dionaea muscipula cv. "B52" -- 11 March 2010
I have read far too often about the strict care of these "very delicate" plants -- often from quite experienced growers, including Barry Rice -- who claim that re-potting Dionaea is just as likely to kill them as allowing them to flower, something that I have never faced. The plants seem to acclimate after only a few days and exhibit visible growth by the end of a week.
While these few plants are currently worse for wear (they were underwater for an hour this morning), they'll look great later this Spring and Summer -- and I have many more to do. In the first photo, the corm was a bit larger than a golf-ball:
Dionaea muscipula cv. "B52" -- 11 March 2010