Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon', the Venus flytrap that sees red
Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon'
- Exposure
- Sun
- Hardiness (USDA)
- 10b (1.7°C ≤ T° < 4.4°C)
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Family
- Droseraceae
- Genus
- Dionée Dionaea
- Species
- Venus flytrap Dionaea muscipula
Other name:Dionaea muscipula 'Akai Ryu'
Experimenting with carnivorous plants requires a taste for risk. The botanist who created Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' probably never watched The Return of the Killer Tomatoes. Luckily for us, his research didn't result in a man-eating variety, but in a fly-catching Dionaea cultivar with deep-red foliage.
How to recognize Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' or 'Akai Ryu'?
Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' (or 'Akai Ryu' in Japanese) is a carnivorous plant that doesn't exceed ten centimetres in height. From November to March, when it goes dormant, it folds in on itself and appears almost dead. As the days lengthen, it resumes growth and adopts an upright habit.
Rosette-shaped leaves grow from an underground stem. The lower part of the leaf blade is spatulate. It is surmounted by two lobes, joined by a thick vein. They form a jaw with edges hemmed with curved cilia. When the trap closes, they act like teeth to prevent prey from escaping.
Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' has a different color from the botanical variety and other cultivars, such as the Dionaea muscipula 'All Green'. Its leaves turn completely dark red when they receive enough light.
The flowers, on the other hand, remain white. They appear in spring and bloom in a cyme at the top of a long flowering spike.
Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' is dangerous only to the insects it captures in its traps. The nectar it secretes is imperceptible to humans. It poses no risk to pets, even when they nibble the foliage.
Our care tips
Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' is not a tropical plant. In its natural habitat, it can withstand hot summers and sub-zero winters. It can be grown outdoors, even at our latitudes. If it freezes in your region, you'll still need to protect your specimen from the cold.
Watering
Water your plant generously during the growing season.
The Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' like to have their feet in water. You need to water them by capillary action at all times.
Get a planter or an unperforated container larger than your plant's pot. Place your Venus flytrap 'Red Dragon' in its pot.
Pour two or three centimetres of rain, demineralized or osmosis water into the larger container. Never use tap or mineral water. You'll kill your plant.
Don't let the largest container run dry. Add water when the level drops.
Reduce watering during dormancy.
The soil must always be kept moist. Water it from above before it dries out.
You can use rainwater. If you don't have any, you can use osmosis water or demineralized water. Never use tap or mineral water. They contain mineral salts that are fatal to your Venus flytrap 'Red Dragon'.
After watering, remove any stagnant water from the saucer.
Repotting
In spring, transfer your Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' to a larger pot, so that it can continue to grow.
Get a plastic pot with drainage holes. Choose a light-colored one to prevent the roots from getting too hot in the summer.
Fill your container with a potting mix specifically designed for carnivorous plants. You can also make your own growing medium by mixing two-thirds light-colored peat moss, one-third drainage material (river sand, perlite, or vermiculite), and a little sphagnum moss. Moisten the substrate with rainwater and pack it down lightly.
Plant your Venus flytrap 'Red Dragon'. Place the pot on a saucer filled with rainwater.
Fertilization
Fertilizer is useless. Your Dionaea muscipula 'Red Dragon' feeds on the insects that fall into its traps.
Prune
Over time, the traps blacken and die. You can remove them with your hands or with clean, sharp scissors.
After flowering, cut off spent flower stalks at the base. You can do this by hand or with a clean, sharp tool such as secateurs or scissors.
Taking cuttings
Propagation by cuttings is carried out during the strong growth phase, generally in spring and early summer.
For annual repotting, divide your mother plant. Cut off a healthy part with at least one leaf and roots. Use a clean, sharp tool to facilitate healing and prevent disease.
Prepare a pierced plastic pot. Obtain potting soil for carnivorous plants or mix blond peat (2/3) and perlite (1/3). Fill your pot with the substrate, pack lightly and spray the surface with rainwater.
Make a pilot hole with a pick or pen, then plant your cutting, roots down.
Diseases / Threats
Information
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Exposure
- Sun
- Substrates
- Humus soilSandy soilPeat soil
- Planting method
- In pots
- Categories
- RhizomeHerbaceous
- Tags
- BeginnerSmall pot
- Origin
- North America
- Hardiness (USDA)
- 10b (1.7°C ≤ T° < 4.4°C)
- Leaf color
- Red
- Flower color
- White
Discover plants from the same family
Venus flytrap
Dionaea muscipula
Venus flytrap 'All Green'
Dionaea muscipula 'All Green'
Drosera multifida
Drosera bianata var. multifida
Find all our tips in the Monstera application
