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Plant Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)- a predator, it belongs to the sundew family (Droseraceae), the genus Dioneus. The plant got its name in honor of Venus, the goddess of love, and if translated literally, the name means "Venus' mousetrap." This is a relatively small plant (its height is no more than 20 cm), consists of 4-7 heart-shaped rosette leaves, painted in a beautiful yellowish-green color. At the tips of the leaves there are traps with teeth, which slam shut when touched by insects. The size of the leaves varies depending on the season: from 3 cm in winter to 7 in summer. The stem of the Venus flytrap is underground, bulb-shaped. IN room conditions it is very difficult to grow this plant, because even with all the rules, it does not live very long. In order for the Venus flytrap not to die, it must be fed either with live insects or very in small pieces meat.

The Venus flytrap is the only one of its kind. But cultivars of this plant have already been bred.

Landing

Step One: Buying a Bulb. by the most the easy way Growing a Venus Flytrap is an order from a bulb houseplant company. There are several types of flycatcher, which can vary in color and shape.

Another method that is used very rarely is to grow from seeds. But this may take about 5 years. Seeds can be ordered online. They need to be planted in deep pots with a nutrient medium. It is necessary to wrap the pots with plastic bags, and as soon as the seeds germinate, transplant them.

Step two: choose a container. The best option is a glass container, due to the fact that the Venus flytrap requires a considerable amount of moisture. If you live in a cold climate zone, then it is better to think about planting a plant in a terrarium. If the climate is warm, then a regular pot with holes for drainage will do.

Step three: preparing the earth mixture. As a rule, the Venus flytrap grows on infertile soil and, for the most part, receives nutrients from feeding on insects. Suitable soil for this plant is a mixture of one part sand and two parts sphagnum moss.

In ordinary soil, the Venus flytrap will not germinate due to the content of a considerable amount of nutrients. In no case do not feed the plant with fertilizers.

Step Four: Landing. The bulb must be planted upside down. To do this, you need to make a small indentation and place the bulb so that the top of the flycatcher is level with the soil. When growing from seed, seeds that have sprouted must be planted so that the green stem is exposed.

Location and lighting

Venus flytraps need well-lit areas where the sun won't heat up the plant. A wonderful place to place a flycatcher is a windowsill, where the morning rays of the sun fall in summer and daytime in winter. In the absence of a place with a similar description, the plant must be artificially illuminated. You can place the flycatcher in a greenhouse, terrarium or on a glazed loggia in a closed glass vessel. Some plant connoisseurs and lovers have been able to grow a Venus flytrap in their outdoor garden.

pot size

The size of the pot for the Venus flytrap will directly depend on the size of the plant. It should not be too large, relative to the size of the plant itself, but too small a pot will not do, because then the plant will not be able to develop. An overly tall pot will also not work, due to the fact that the Venus flytrap needs to be watered from the pan.

The soil

The Venus flytrap grows in North and South Carolina in swampy areas, it prefers acidic, poor and moist soil. At home, you can recreate such soil if you mix sphagnum and perlite (hydrated obsidian, which looks like small grains white sand). You can not use sea sand, because it has big amount salts. Perlite keeps moisture in the pots. A mixture of sphagnum moss (5/10), silicate sand (3/10) and perlite (2/10) may also be suitable. Thanks to silicate sand, the mixture becomes breathable. The use of universal soil mixtures, fertilizers and enriched industrial soils is strictly prohibited. All this burns the roots of the plant, and it dies.

Transfer

The best time to transplant this plant is the spring and early summer. The Venus flytrap in warm climatic periods is most well adapted to soil replacement and transplanting in general. Transplantation of the Venus flytrap should take place depending on the quality of the water with which the plant is watered. This is because the water contains salts. Accordingly, if the water is bad, it is better to transplant the plant annually. If the water quality is good, then approximately once every few years.

Venus flytrap has roots in the form of bulbs, so transplanting the plant will not take much work. It is necessary to very carefully take the plant over the bulb and place it in a pot. After that, the earth is poured from the sides and the bulb should be deepened so that the whitish parts and it itself are located in the ground. In order not to cause harm, you need to try not to touch the traps.

24 hours before transplantation, it is advisable to treat the flycatcher with a drug called Epin in a proportion of 200 ml of water 2-3 drops of the product. It awakens the protective qualities of the plant so that it can tolerate the transplant painlessly. During the transplantation, it is necessary to shed the soil with the Ribav-Extra agent. It helps to develop the plant bulb and root system and improves plant survival.

Fertilizers and top dressing

Mineral compounds are not suitable for Venus flytrap fertilizer. Also, you should not deliberately feed the plant with insects (2-3 pieces per season is enough). If there are no insects in the room, you need to find a small live insect. It must be remembered that slamming the traps at the Venus flytrap costs great amount energy. Frequent slamming can kill the plant.

Watering

It is necessary to carefully monitor the moisture content of the soil in which the plant is located. She must not dry out. Watering the Venus flytrap should be regular and moderate. The pot with the flycatcher should be kept on a tray with water so that the water closes the drainage holes in the pot. Water should be clean and should be changed frequently. Filtered, distilled or rainwater. In winter, leave the plant on a pallet for a long time do not do it. Avoid excess moisture. This is detrimental to the plant.

Temperature

The air temperature in the environment where the flycatcher lives in summer is from +9 to +26°C, and in winter - no higher than +7°C. It is necessary to provide the plant with the same conditions in which it grows in wildlife.

In winter, the flycatcher inevitably slows down its growth rate or completely disappears from the surface. This is not something to be afraid of. The plant did not die. As soon as spring comes, the flycatcher will begin to grow with renewed vigor. After wintering sleep, the plant must be re-tamed to the sun. This should be done gradually. In the summer, the flycatcher can be safely taken out into the street or placed on the balcony. Worth remembering temperature preference plants, make sure that it is not exceeded. It is also necessary to shade the flycatcher from direct sunlight that is detrimental to it. Another important fact is that the plant categorically does not accept frost.

Humidity

This plant needs high humidity, ranging from 50 to 70%. The flycatcher must be sprayed from time to time, placed in the immediate vicinity of it small containers filled with water or moistened tissues. During the summer period, this condition is extremely important.

No streams of dry and warm air should be directed to the flower, for example, from an air conditioner. This condition must be observed regardless of the season.

pruning

This plant does not require pruning.

Pests and diseases

Pests that can appear on the Venus flytrap can be spider mites and aphids. Aphids can settle in crooked or deformed newly formed plant traps. An aerosol containing any substance against aphids will help get rid of it. A fairly common misfortune is a spider mite. It can settle if the plant is kept in a warm and dry place. Treat the Venus flytrap with a tick killer.

An example of the most common diseases of the described plant are gray rot and black soot fungus. A black soot fungus is formed, as a rule, with a long stay of the plant in an excessively humid or wet environment. It is not difficult to overcome this disease. It is necessary to change the growing environment, in this case reduce humidity and apply an appropriate fungicide. Botrytis, or more simply gray rot, can form on a plant due to a fungal infection. This disease can be identified by the appearance of a gray cannon on the plant. To get rid of rot, it is necessary to eliminate the infected areas, and then treat the soil and the plant as a whole with a systemic fungicide.

Another scourge is bacterial damage. It is not a disease. This is more a manifestation of physiological costs. As a rule, this happens due to the fact that the undigested insect begins to slowly decompose and the process can spread to the trap, and later the whole plant dies. If such a case occurs, it is necessary to eliminate the affected trap in a timely manner.

Bloom

The flowering of the Venus flytrap occurs in the spring. Incredibly beautiful white flowers appear on its peduncles reaching about 20 cm in length.

reproduction

With the help of bulbs, cuttings or seeds, the Venus flytrap can reproduce. Over time, the plant appears, the so-called daughter bulbs. They must be carefully cut off from the mother and transplanted. Cut bulbs already have well-developed roots. To avoid rotting of the mother bulb, it must be treated with crushed coal.

When the flycatcher is propagated by seeds, at the very height of the flowering period, it is necessary to independently pollinate each flower that appears. After ripening, the seeds must be placed under the film for a period of 3-4 weeks and observe their germination. Seeds should be exposed to light for approximately 17 hours. When the first sprouts appear, it is necessary to carefully, trying not to damage, ventilate them.

At the last stage of life, the flycatcher gives a small amount of growth points. These growth points are the material for plant propagation using cuttings. To do this, cut off the stalk near the very base of the leaf. The next step is to transplant it into the soil specially prepared for this, cover it with a film and provide maximum lighting. When propagating by cuttings, an air humidity of 100% and a constant temperature within 25 ° C are required.

rest period

The Venus flytrap goes dormant during the winter and stops growing. But you should not worry, she is gaining strength for flowering and seed formation. The main thing during the dormant period is to eliminate dead traps and leaves.

Beneficial features

TO useful properties plants include the cleansing of a person’s living quarters from flies and mosquitoes, and, accordingly, from the infections that they carry.

Venus flytrap - plant predator. Translated from Latin, Dionaea muscipula translates as a mousetrap.

What to feed - what does it eat, what does it eat?

As mentioned above, the Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant, and it feeds accordingly.

In its natural habitat, not at home, this strange flower prefers to capture in its red trap flies, mollusks, spiders and various insects. As soon as such living creatures have the imprudence to land on the surface of its trap, it will slam shut, unless the food has time to get out before the closing moment.

Digestion of food in the Venus flytrap takes time up to 10-14 days. It happens through the secretion of juice - similar to the human gastric. As soon as the trap opens back, it will mean that it is ready to eat again.

Interestingly, Venus is quite capable of doing without food for quite a long period - about 1-2 months, but do not forget that in the first place it is a flower, and it needs bright daylight every day. Without it, the plant will begin to wither and die.

When it's worth giving it Special attention and take under the pot with the plant the most illuminated place on the windowsill.

The process of photosynthesis occurs when in daylight, the plant releases needed by people oxygen.

So don't forget: sun, natural light needed to maintain the vital activity of a flower, no less, if not more, than mosquitoes or flies.

It is also worth remembering that, like any other plant, venus receives useful macro and microelements from the soil, so you need to take care of this. It is accepted to plant in a mixture of peat and perlite so she will get the largest number useful substances.

Feeding the plant with fertilizers is highly undesirable - it is quite capable of killing this unusual flower literally in a matter of days. It is assumed that even at home, she herself must "hunt" to get her food.

Special note: it is desirable that the food you feed the Venus flytrap be alive - this is the only way the necessary digestive juices are released.

You can feed her spiders, mosquitoes, flies, bees.

Small note: the insect must be at least half the size of the trap itself. It is not recommended to give insects with a too hard shell, otherwise the trap will be damaged.

The video shows what the Venus flytrap eats:

Also can't feed a flower with earthworms, bloodworms and other living creatures used for fishing - they contain too much liquid, which can lead to decay, and later to death.

If you did not know that your pet "pet" cannot be fed with the above food, then wait until the trap opens and carefully remove the food from there. In no case do not try to open it yourself - you risk severe damage to the plant.

In the photos you can see what to feed the Venus flytrap:

How often do you need to feed?

Many people ask themselves the question - how often should I feed the Venus predator? There are several features of feeding.

• If your plant is very young or you have just acquired it, you should not start feeding immediately after you bring it home. You have to wait until the flower has 3-4 new sheets in the current conditions.
• A plant that has adapted to the conditions is worth feeding 2 times a month and necessarily live insects: the antennae react only to movement. Of course, you can try to feed the plant with inanimate food, but after a couple of days you will see that the venus has opened its trap without digesting the food.
• IN winter period the plant "falls asleep" and feed it strictly prohibited. The winter period begins around November and lasts until the beginning of spring, then venus comes to life again. During this period, it can only be watered, but only if the wintering takes place at an air temperature with a plus sign.

This unusual plant will not leave anyone indifferent, but it, like all living beings on this Earth, needs care.

Put in a little effort and the Venus Flytrap will become your kind of pet, which is interesting to watch and very curious to interact with.

In nature, there are predatory plants. Venus flytrap or dionea (Dionaea muscipula) is one of them. This herbaceous perennial of the sundew family has a rosette of 4-7 bright leaves with teeth along the edges and digestive glands. When touched, each leaf can close like an oyster shell. An insect or other creature attracted by a leaf that touches the hairs in its center is almost instantly trapped. Both halves will close and remain closed until the prey is digested. This process can take five to 10 days. If a leaf of dionea misses, or something inedible gets into it, it will reopen in half an hour. Each trap leaf can process up to seven insects during its life.

The flower behaves this way because its habitat in the wild is infertile soil, and insects become for it additional source nitrogen, phosphorus and other necessary substances.

The Venus flytrap lives only in the United States, in wetlands in North and South Carolina. However, with success and with some trouble, it can easily settle on the windowsill of your apartment. For information on how to grow a Venus flytrap and about the features of caring for it at home, read our material.

Did you know? It takes approximately 30 seconds for the flycatcher to recognize its prey.

Choosing a place for a flycatcher

Immediately make a reservation that the process of growing this plant will not be simple, since Dionea will need to provide natural conditions for her. So, the flycatcher needs to be watered with rainwater, make sure that the ground under the plant is constantly wet, take care of it, and also feed it periodically.
However, first things first. And we will start with recommendations for choosing a habitat for the flycatcher.

Temperature

Dionea is a heat-loving plant. At the same time, year-round being only at room temperature She won't be able to live long. The temperature regime must be maintained artificially.

The optimum temperature for its growth in autumn and spring will be + 22-28 ºС. The highest temperature limit for a plant in summer will be +35 ºС. In winter, for 3-4 months, the flycatcher is at rest, at this time it needs to provide a temperature of 0 to +10 ºС.

Since the plant is very sensitive to changes in temperature regime, most often it is planted in glass greenhouses, florariums. It is also easier to maintain the optimal air humidity for the plant - 70%.

Did you know? In its homeland, Dionea is under the threat of extinction, since its collection for illegal trade is widespread there. The Venus flytrap is listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Lighting

The exotic carnivore likes well-lit places, but not under direct sunbeams. It is better if the light to it will be diffused. For its cultivation, windows, balconies, loggias facing west or east are suitable. It may be the south side, but in this case it will be necessary to take care of shelter from direct rays. It is important that the light source is always on one side. You should not rotate the pot with the flycatcher - she does not like it. With insufficient natural light, it is possible to use artificial lighting. The flycatcher needs access to light for at least four hours a day to thrive. Artificial lighting during the growing season will need to be used for 12-14 hours a day.

Important! If suddenly the trap leaves of your flycatcher change color to a duller one, stretch out and become thinner, then most likely the plant is deprived of sunlight.

The choice of dishes for planting

The best place to plant a Venus flytrap would be an aquarium or other glass container. They will protect the plant from drafts and at the same time give access fresh air. The container in which the flower is planned to be planted should be at least 10-12 cm deep and have drainage holes. It is desirable to have a pallet in which to maintain required humidity you need to put moss.

Soil for Venus

In order for the Venus flytrap to please you at home for as long as possible, you must follow certain rules for lighting, watering and selecting soil for planting.

We have already written that in nature a predator plant grows on poor soils. Therefore, in an apartment, it will also be able to live in such soils, however, with good drainage. The best option would be a mixture of quartz sand and high-moor peat (1: 1) or a mixture of perlite and high-moor peat (1: 1). Perlite seven days before planting must be soaked in distilled water, changing it twice during this time.

You can also use the substrate in the following composition: peat, perlite and sand (4:2:1). It is recommended to change the soil every two to three years.

Important! When choosing peat, it should be noted that the natural acidity of the soil in which flycatchers grow is 3.5-4.5.

Planting, reproduction and transplantation of venus

Dionea, purchased in a store, is better to immediately transplant into a pre-prepared soil. To do this, the plant must be carefully removed from the pot along with a clod of earth. Next, the roots from this earth must be cleaned, you can rinse them in distilled water. After that, the flycatcher is planted in a container prepared for it with a substrate, having previously made a small hole. The stem of the Venus flytrap must be sprinkled with earth; when transplanting, it is not necessary to compact the soil.

In the future, carnivorous transplant better in spring, however, a transplant is also allowed in the autumn. The plant gets used to the new soil within five weeks.

Dionea reproduces in three ways:seeds, dividing bulbs and cuttings. Let's describe the features of each of them in more detail.

The method of dividing the bush

The older the plant becomes, the more daughter bulbs it will have. Bulbs can be carefully, without disturbing the roots, separated from the mother flower and planted in a new container, which is desirable to be placed in a greenhouse. It is better to use this method no more than once every three years.

With the help of cuttings

For cultivation, a cutting is taken without a trap. It must be planted at an angle in a container with wet peat at the bottom. white color. Place the container in a greenhouse, where to maintain one hundred percent humidity and lighting. Sprouts should appear within a month. Plants that can be used for planting will grow in two to three months.

seed way

The seed method is more complex than the vegetative method. To grow dionea from seeds, you need to buy seed material in specialized store, prepare the substrate (70% sphagnum moss and 30% sand) and greenhouse. The greenhouse is made from any container of small size. It is covered with a lid or film.

Seeds before planting in the ground should be treated with a solution of "Topaz" (add two or three drops to distilled water). Then they must be placed in the substrate, without sprinkling with earth. Moisten the soil with a spray bottle. Place the container in the sun or under artificial lighting. Optimum temperature for seed germination - + 24-29 ºС. The period for which seedlings should appear is 15-40 days. During this time, you need to maintain the required level of humidity.

After the appearance of the first two leaves, the cover will need to be removed periodically in order to harden the plants. A little later, after a month or two, the seedlings can dive into pots.

An even more time-consuming way would be to propagate the flycatcher using self-extracted seeds. Flowering should be expected from Dionea two years of age and older. It blooms with beautiful white flowers. In order to obtain seed material, the flowers will need to be pollinated by hand. A month after flowering, the flycatcher will give fruit in the form of a box. Seeds extracted from a dry box must be planted immediately (within two days) in the ground, because over time they lose their ability to germinate.

plant care

An adult dionea, or a Venus flytrap, requires special care. Firstly, the soil in the pot must be constantly moist, its drying out is unacceptable. However, in winter, waterlogging can lead to root rot, so watering should be moderate.

Watering a Venus Flytrap

Watering should be done with distilled or rain water. Tap water, even settled, is prohibited.

Water the flycatcher under the root or pour water into the pan. It is important to avoid liquid stagnation. The flower also requires regular spraying.

If you want to have a flower at home with the habits of a predator, then the Venus flytrap is what you need. Watching a flower close its traps is an exciting experience. Caring for a Venus flytrap at home is quite complicated, you need not only to feed the plant on time, but also to ensure suitable conditions during the growing season and winter dormancy.

Types and varieties of plants

Venus flytrap or Dionea belongs to a small community of plants capable of rapid movement. In her genus Dionea, she is the only representative of the species, although she has distant relatives in the person of Aldrovanda vesicular and sundews, from which, apparently, she descended.

The area of ​​natural distribution of the Venus flytrap is small: swamps in the southern part of the United States (Georgia, North and South Carolina, Florida). There she is on the verge of extinction. But in room culture, Dionea is quite widespread, but mainly abroad.

In nature, the Venus flytrap is a compact plant and 15cm is its largest height. From a short underground bulbous stem grows from 4 to 7 leaves, forming a rosette. Flowering occurs in spring. The peduncle is long so that pollinating insects arriving on white flowers do not accidentally fall into the trap.

When flowering ends, new traps form at the ends of the elongated leaves. In the natural form, their inner walls have a reddish tint. After introduction into culture by the method of hybridization and subsequent selection, hybrid forms were created, which are highly decorative. The number of hybrids of the plant has exceeded 25 - they differ in the color of the leaves, the shape and size of the teeth, and there may be differences in plants of the same variety.

The following hybrids are the most decorative:

1. red dragon. The color of the leaves and traps is red-burgundy. Requires maximum illumination, otherwise the color fades.
2. Low giant. Has the biggest traps.
3. Jaws. The traps are reddish on the inside and green on the outside. The shape of the teeth is triangular.
4. Long Red Fingers. The hybrid is prone to mutation, can form crossed and fused traps, their shape is cupped, and the color of the long teeth, which sometimes grow together, is red.
5. Bristletooth. The traps are red, the teeth are rare and short, it forms many children.
6. Fondue. It has a high ability to mutate, so plants within a variety can be very different from each other.

Venus flytrap: growing features

This exotic plant in nature, it lives in swamps, therefore it requires high humidity in a pot. There is practically no nitrogen in peat soil, and therefore the plant has adapted to eliminate its deficiency by eating animal food - small insects. In nature, there is no shortage of them, and in the room the florist should provide food for the Venus flytrap.

Home care

Caring for a Venus flytrap is very different from that of other indoor plants and all because of the specific conditions in which the flower used to live. He will not tolerate even the slightest violation in care and can respond to him with illness and even death.

Dionea flycatcher is the most famous plant - a "predator" that grows on the North American continent. Its other name is "Venus flytrap". This is a very unusual flower, considered a predator among plants, as it eats bees, flies and other insects.

Its leaves have teeth, 7 cm long and 3 cm high. They are used as a trap. This plant can be grown at home. We will consider the features of the Venus flytrap in this article.

Plant features

The Venus flytrap is a stunted plant with a rosette of heart-shaped leaves with teeth along the edges. These leaves slam shut as soon as an insect touches them.

natural feature digest living things due to a lack of nutrients that the root system needs.

Dionea blooms in May and lasts only 1.5–2 months. After that, instead of flowers, oval capsules appear, with a large number of small black seeds.

How does a flower flycatcher catch insects

This plant feeds most often on small insects, which themselves fly in or crawl into a trap consisting of two wings. Along their edges are two rows of teeth, along the inner row of which the glands are located.

They contribute to the production and release of a very pleasant nectar, which attracts insects into the trap. The inner surface of the trap has three trigger hairs. When the insect begins to absorb nectar, it may inadvertently touch them, and the trap starts to slam. This happens gradually.

At first, the flaps are slightly covered, so that the insect can still move in the trap. If the victim is very small, then it can be saved, since there is a small hole between the teeth of the plant.

If this happens, the triggers stop stimulating and the trap fully opens again. Such a response mechanism is necessary for the Venus flytrap, because in this case, the loss of time associated with false positive trap due to other interference, such as when raindrops fall into it.

But if the insect did not manage to get out, then the stimulation of triggers continues and the trap begins to close more and more tightly. At this time, the process of digestion starts - from the glands located inside the valves, produce digestive juice V in large numbers in which the insect drowns.

In the slammed state, the trap will remain for several days. After it opens, only the undigested chitinous shell of the victim is found in it.

One dionea trap is designed for three digestive processes, after which it dies off.

Growing and caring for the Venus flytrap

This plant grows well both in the wild and in the summer cottage.

If you grow it at home, then in this case it will be necessary follow certain rules caring for this flower.

Caring for a Venus flytrap includes:

• good lighting;
• proper watering;
• optimum temperature and humidity.

Let's consider these points in more detail.

flower flycatcher prefers good lighting, since in the wild it usually grows on the sunny side. In order for the plant to feel comfortable, it is necessary to provide it with bright light for at least 4 hours a day.

But at other times it should not be located in the shade. It is best to put a pot with dionea on the south window, and in summer it is advisable to take it out to the balcony.

Watering the plant. Dionea (Venus flytrap) care includes proper watering, for which only distilled water is used. It is recommended to moisten the soil moderately so that the earthen ball does not dry out and there is no excess moisture.

Temperature and Humidity

The Venus flytrap grows well at 70-90% humidity. To achieve this indicator, the plant should put in a terrarium or other glass vessel.

The flower loves not only humidity, but also coolness. At temperatures above +30 degrees, it completely stops its growth. The transferred stress then has a bad effect on him, and he is very reluctant to resume his further development.

In the natural habitat of the flycatcher, the temperature can stay at around +40 degrees for a long time. But the plant does not suffer from this, since its roots are in cool soil.

What to feed the plant

An important step in the care of the flycatcher is its feeding. For this, the following insects are used:

They should be small and soft. If the food is not fully digested by the plant, the trap may rot. It is forbidden to feed the flower with any kind of meat.

Rest period care

At the end of autumn, the flower begins to prepare for a dormant period and this can be seen by the cessation of leaf growth. At this time it is necessary reduce the amount of watering but the soil should still be moist.

The flycatcher is best placed in a cool and dark place where the temperature will be around +10 degrees.

Also, the plant needs to be regularly feed through the ground. For this, fertilizer is added to the water intended for irrigation once a week. It is important not to overfeed the flower, as this can kill it.

Diseases and pests

Dionea can be exposed to various diseases and pests:

Thus, following certain rules, it is amazing plant for a long time will delight with its unusual appearance.

It is undesirable to slam his traps for fun, as this not only wastes his energy, but also leaves him without food. If you do it too often, a trap may turn black and fall off, which will reduce the decorative effect of the entire flower.