Raise Carnivorous Plants

Are your Venus Flytraps or other carnivorous plants need watering? Here's a quick guide to keep those little things happy and hungry (along with a lot of other carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants, sundews, and butterworts).

Steps

  1. Find a good place to put the plant. Although many carnivorous plants look very exotic and look like they come from a remote part of the rain forest, many are actually temperate perennials native to North America. Carnivorous plants are generally divided into two groups: hardy perennials that need to be grown outdoors, and tropical or sub-tropical plants that cannot tolerate frost and must be grown indoors during cold weather. It is imperative that you know which type you are dealing with, so you will know where to grow them. For hardy perennials, i.e., Venus Flytraps, Sarracenia pitcher plants, and temperate sundews, grow them outdoors year-round in a place where they will receive at least 4-6 hours of sunlight per day. For tropical plants such as Nepenthes and tropical sundews, grow them indoors in a window that receives at least two hours of direct morning sun, and bright ambient light for the rest of the day.
  2. Water them often. Place the potted plant in a shallow tray or dish and make sure that the dish always stays filled with mineral-free water, but avoid letting the water level rise above half-way of the pot. For Nepenthes, keep only a small amount of water in the tray, or avoid the tray altogether and keep the plant watered well. (Nepenthes' roots may rot if kept in standing water. A good method to make sure the plant is not sitting in water is to put a plant pot in a tray and put the pot with the plant in on top of that, then the water will go into the tray, thus not affecting the roots) Make sure that the water you use is either rainwater, distilled water, or water that has been through a reverse-osmosis filter. Minerals, salts, fertilizers, and chemicals will harm your plants. If you live in an area of soft water, you can use tap water, as long as your house is no older than about 10 years, as newer houses use more plastic pipes for sinks, stopping chemicals.
  3. If you have purchased a plant from a local hardware store or nursery in a small pot with a dome over it, you will need to take steps to help it adjust to lower humidity. If it is a hardy perennial, you will need to place it outside in bright shade for about a week with the dome partially removed. The second week, it is safe to take the dome all the way off and move it to a location that receives part sun. The third week, it will be ready to endure full sun and wind. Tropical carnivorous plants can be done the same way if it is warm outside (for nepenthes, above 5 degree Celsius for highlanders all year round, and above 18 degree Celsius for lowlanders all year round, and for tropical sundews over 5 degree Celsius all year round) if you are planning to grow them there. This process will also work for tropical plants you are going to grow indoors. Simply follow the same steps indoors.
  4. Re-pot your plants every year for optimal growth, or whenever their current pot becomes too small. Also, peat moss can begin to break down into potting soil after too many seasons and harm the plants. You should never use potting soil or fertilizer on them, as fertilizer and chemicals will kill them.
  5. Get a nutrient-free soil mix, consisting of 1 part peat moss and one part perlite. For some plants that require faster draining soil, such as Nepenthes, use 1 part peat moss and 2 parts perlite, or you can use pure sphagnum moss.
  6. Re-pot your carnivorous plants just as you would a normal plant: make sure to place it in the new pot to the same soil depth as in the old one. Generally, make sure the white or light colored growth is below the soil as it was before. Be careful not to set off more of the Venus Flytrap's traps than you have to, as each false alarm cost the plant energy. This can be reduced by re-potting just as it is coming out of dormancy. It is also a good idea to be careful not to get too much dirt stuck to the leaves of sundews, for appearance's sake. Be sure to water in well, and be careful not to wash the plant out of the soil.
  7. Respect their dormancy! Many carnivorous plants, because of their cold winters and higher activity levels than normal plants, must "hibernate", or go dormant, during the winter. Make sure that you leave your Venus Flytraps, Sarracenia pitcher plants and other temperate plants outside all winter. They produce important enzymes that allow them to grow properly and flower the following spring. Don't be tempted to bring them in if they begin to loose leaves, as it is natural for them to shed frost-bitten leaves. The only time you should worry about your plants is if the temperature drops below {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} for more than a week at a time, or if there is dry freezing wind overnight. If these cases arise, you need to move your plants into an unheated shed or garage until the temperature rises above 20 degrees, otherwise they could become dehydrated. Come spring, they should emerge from dormancy with vigor. If the soil in the pot expands, don't worry, it is just expanding due to ice.
    • Tropical carnivores do not require dormancy, and may be grown indoors all year. If you have been growing them outdoors during warm weather, bring them in before the temperature falls below 55ºF. Because of lower light conditions in winter, many tropical plants may slow down dramatically in growth. This is normal, and you should continue to keep water in their trays.

Tips

  • If your plant is dying, it may need filtered water instead of tap water or it may be time to repot
  • You may have limited success with hardening off plants bought in little greenhouse pots from local stores. It improves your odds if you can purchase a plant shorty after the store gets it from the nursery, while it is still very robust. However, it is best to buy from a nursery that grows their plants outdoors without domes over them.
  • Respected carnivorous plant nurseries are usually the best place to buy plants - they are grown by experts, cared for every day, and are used to the differences between their homes in the wild and in our homes and greenhouses.
  • Please visit the link below to learn all about carnivorous plants and custom care for each species.
  • Check the source of the plants. Do not buy plants that have been dug up from the wild - most of these plants are very rare (including Venus Flytraps) and there are heavy fines and/or prison sentences for owning or harvesting plants from the wild.
  • Do not worry if your plants lose leaves during the growing season. This is natural. Venus' Flytrap traps will wilt and be replaced by new ones after a couple of captured bugs, or after about two months if no insect is captured by that trap. Sometimes the traps open to 180 degrees, but they can't trap insects any more. They are still good for photosynthesis though. Sarracenia pitcher plants will capture so many insects in some pitchers that they will turn brown. These may be clipped off as the plant will replace them. Do not mistake this for sun damage. These plants can take full sun all day and thrive.
  • You'll know you've been successful as a carnivorous horticulturist if your plants are catching bugs by themselves, producing many leaves or traps, and are strong and stiff to the touch.
  • As you get more and more used to the easy plants like the Venus Flytrap and Sarracenia pitcher plants, move your way up the difficulty ladder to plants such as the fabulous Nepenthes, the West Australian pitcher plants, and the Cobra Lily.
  • If growing a pitcher plant, keep babies away as it can digest skin.
  • Despite the reputation of these plants as extremely difficult to grow, the temperate carnivorous plants are just as tough and live just as long as rose bushes. Myths about them requiring high humidity are a large contributor to failure with many of these plants, as well as the generally confusing or inaccurate information that comes with plants bought in mini-greenhouse pots at large retail and hardware stores.
  • If you live in an area where the temperature rises higher than 85 degree Fahrenheit, you may select a Cobra Lily as your first plant, as long as you put ice cubes on the surface of the soil, as they like cold roots. Always put them in light colored pots for maximum heat deflection. They are readily available at some gardening centers, but they are a very poor choice if you live where the temperature gets above 85 degrees unless you use the ice cube method.
  • The Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia Purpurea) and D. Capensis are probably the best beginner's plants. Sarracenia Purpurea lives in the wild from Florida to Canada, and therefore is adaptable to a range of growing conditions. D. Capensis grows in a place in Africa where the climate is much like that of a house. It also grows rather fast during the active season. D. capensis grows in a place in Africa where the climate is much like that of a house. Most other Sarracenia pitcher plants, sundews, and the popular Venus' Flytrap are almost as easy, and won't be a challenge if you can successfully grow a Purple Pitcher plant or D. Capensis (Cape sundew).
  • Despite the fact that carnivorous plants catch insects to give them nutrients, they will not starve if you do not feed them. They will actually surprise you with the number of bugs they catch by themselves, and even if they do not catch many, they still rely heavily on photosynthesis, much like other plants. Therefore, sunlight is really more important than bugs for these plants.

Warnings

  • Deliberately setting off a trap on a Venus' Flytrap multiple times will kill the individual trap and drain energy from the plant each time the trap is closed by false alarm.
  • Never let your carnivorous plants dry out completely. Unlike normal plants, these bog plants will not recover from dehydration. To avoid this, check your plants everyday to ensure there is at least some water in the tray.
  • Never use fertilizer on your carnivorous plants. They cannot tolerate nutrition in the soil.
  • Never use potting soil on or near your carnivorous plants.
  • Avoid using hard tap water for long periods, as minerals build in the soil and harm the plants. Mineral-free or rainwater is best.

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