How to Grow Carnivorous Plants

How to Grow

Carnivorous Plants

The plants are easy to grow and should live for years if a few basic steps are followed. They require bright light and a sunny position. Most do well in full sun. Many of them can be rotated so that they are in full shade indoors for a week, and one week outside in sun. Drosera Adelae is an exception, as it requires shade and no strong sun. Soft, purified or rain water is best if possible. Unless stated otherwise, keep the soil very moist at all times. Do not fertilize.

The sundews (Drosera), Venus Fly Traps and Sarracenia are best watered by standing their pot in a tray of water. Venus Fly Traps, Sarracenias and some Drosera go dormant during winter. It is best to keep the soil less moist during these times, but care is needed not to let it dry out. If the pot has the wick feature, you can have less water in the tray during dormancy so that the level of the water is below the base of the pot. Always ensure that the wicks are hanging in some water. A cool winter is best for plants that go into winter dormancy. However, in tropical coastal areas during winter, the plants can be placed in a bag inside a refrigerator, so long as the temperature remains above freezing. It may be best to remove the bulbs and roots from the soil and wrap them in damp paper towel, in a plastic bag placed in the refrigerator.

A good potting mix for sundews (Drosera), Venus Fly Traps and Sarracenia is 2 parts sphagnum based peat moss and 1 part Perlite or washed coarse river sand. Many sundews grow well from seed that you can collect and sow by sprinkling on the surface of very damp peat moss. It is important that you do this for annual or tuberous sundews like Drosera Indica, Burmannii and Peltata as unlike the more common perennial ones, they do mature and die in a few months. You could also sow some seed back into the pot that the parent plant is growing in. Do not bury the seed.

For Venus Fly Traps, remove the flowers as soon as possible and avoid setting off the traps.

Tropical Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes) should be watered from the top, and not stood in water. They require an open, but water retaining mix such as half long fibred sphagnum moss and half coconut fiber (coir). They grow well in a greenhouse in high humidity and away from frost. Warm winters are best.

Note. Please keep your pot with the mix, because even if your plant dies I will give you a free bare rooted plant to plant back in your self watering pot.

I also provide pots, trays, wicks, potting mix and can even repot your plants.