Dionaea muscipula - B52

B52 Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula ‘B52’)

Overview

The ‘B52’ cultivar of Dionaea muscipula is a highly regarded carnivorous plant clone, selected for its exceptional size, vigor and aesthetic appeal. It was developed by Henning von Schmeling (via breeder Barry Meyers‑Rice) and is registered as an official cultivar. FlytrapCare.com+1

Key Features

• Trap size: Mature plants produce traps up to approximately 5.7 cm (≈2.25 inches) long—among the largest for any fly-trap cultivar. Carnivorous Plant Store+1

• Vigorous growth: Exhibits fast, robust clumping and division; known to out-grow many typical cultivars under good conditions. FlytrapCare.com+1

• Coloration & form: Leaves are green to yellow-green, while trap lobes and interiors develop deep red pigmentation when grown under strong light. The teeth (“cilia”) are well-defined and often long. Curious Plant+1

• Cultivar status: Listed in the accepted cultivar list of Venus flytraps. Wikipedia+1

Why It’s Popular

• The combination of large trap size, bright red mouths, and vigorous propagation ability make it highly sought after by carnivorous-plant enthusiasts. CarnivorousPlants.com+1

• Its performance (size, color) often exceeds that of many more common clones when grown under optimal conditions. FlytrapCare.com

Ideal Growing Conditions

• Light: High light intensity (ideally full sun or very bright artificial light) to maximize red coloration and trap size. Greg App

• Substrate & Water: Use a low-nutrient, acidic medium (e.g., sphagnum peat moss + perlite/sand) and water with distilled, rain-water or very low-mineral water (avoid tap water with high salts). growcarnivorousplants.com

• Humidity & environment: Moderate to high humidity helps, but typical indoor conditions suffice if light and water are optimal.

• Dormancy: As with all Dionaea cultivars, a cool winter dormancy period is beneficial (and generally required for long-term health).

• Feeding: Insects or prey can be provided, but avoid overfeeding or forcing traps; allow natural prey capture when possible.

Suitability & Use-Case

For your role as a plant tissue-culture professional and mass-production operator, the B52 clone offers several advantages:

• Its vigorous growth makes it amenable to scale-up in tissue culture or division.

• It’s visually impressive, which aids marketing value (for niche collectors).

• It can serve as a premium line in your catalogue of carnivorous plants (e.g., under your domain or brand).

Important Notes & Considerations

• While it is robust, the large-trap performance is condition-dependent. Without high light and proper substrate, trap size and coloration will be reduced.

• Ensure the cultivar authenticity when sourcing—there is high demand and risk of mis-labelling.

• Because this is a cultivar selected for particular traits, maintain good propagation practices to retain clone fidelity (especially if you intend to produce tissue culture mother lines).

• As you indicated a preference to avoid certain antimicrobials (e.g., PPM) for sterilisation in your tissue-culture work, ensure that your propagation chain for this cultivar adheres to your sterilisation protocols while preserving cultivar identity and vigor.