ICPS Member
Welcome to the part of my website devoted to growing and care of carnivorous plants. My fascination with carnivorous plants occurred when I was young. The story, most likely the same as other peoples first encounter with carnivorous plants, was to buy a Venus Flytrap and watched it hopelessly die. Maybe tried 1 or 2 times more and give up. Now a days with the internet and a quick research on their care, most people should have great success with keeping Venus Flytraps and other carnivorous plants alive. I wish the internet was around before I killed the few I tried when I was young.
Most carnivorous plants grow in nutrient deficient soil which are typically very wet. The water moving through the ground washes any nutrients away. The way that carnivorous plants have gotten around this dilemma is they lure, catch, kill, and digest insects and other animals for the nutrients they need.
A few simple rules for growing and caring for most carnivorous plants:
1) Water with distilled, reverse osmosis, or rain water - Never use tap water. The chemicals put in the water after time will most likely kill your carnivorous plants.
2) Use plastic or glazed pots. Ceramic or clay pots over time leach salts and other chemicals into the soil which can kill your carnivorous plants.
3) Keep them wet. Place a plastic tray under your pots and keep about 1/2" of water in the tray. I let all my water evaporate out of the tray before I water the plants again.
4) When repotting never use potting soil. Use mixtures of Perlite, Sphagnum Peat Moss, Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss, and sand (Swimming pool filter sand). All must be fertilizer free.
For anyone thinking of growing carnivorous plants I would recommend reading The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato.
If you are a newbie or only growing carnivorous plants a short while, I would highly recommend this ebook.
Below are links to more information and pictures on carnivorous plants that I grow.
Byblis - Rainbow Plant updated 5/13/05
Cephalotus follicularis - Australian Pitcher Plant updated 3/18/06
Darlingtonia californica - Cobra Lily updated 7/24/05
Dionaea muscipula - Venus Flytrap updated 3/25/05
Drosera - Sundews updated 4/28/06
Drosophyllum lusitanicum - Dewy Pine updated 2/4/06
Genlisea - Corkscrew Plant updated 2/4/06
Heliamphora - Sun Pitcher updated 8/10/05
Nepenthes - Tropical Pitcher Plant updated 5/2/06
Pinguicula - Butterworts updated 3/24/06
Sarracenia - American Pitcher Plant updated 4/28/06
Utricularia - Bladderworts updated 4/16/06
Minibog updated 10/2/05
My Grow / Want / Trade / For Sale List updated 5/6/06
Carnivorous Plant Apparel (Shirts, mugs, mouse pads)
The rest of my website:
We are forming a South East Pennsylvania Carnivorous Plant Society. The website and link to the forum can be found here.
Links:
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Information
Carnivorous
Plant FAQ
Dangerous
Plants
Forums
TerraForums
CPUK
South
East PA Carnivorous Plant
Fellow CPer's Sites
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