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TomatoNut95
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Carnivorous plant tips?

Hello all! I was thinking of getting a Venus Fly Trap or some type of carnivorous plant. I know where I can get a Venus Fly Trap live plant in-store, but they're often dead, dying or expensive. Any other type of carnivorous plant comes by seeds in little kits for kids. My questions are these: are carnivorous plants hard to take care of? Are they hard to start from seed? What are their fertilization requirements? How often do I feed them insects?

imafan26
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Venus fly traps were hard for me to grow. They need warmth and high humidity. You cannot really fertilize them very much, it would kill them. They lived the longest in a terrarium. I did not worry about feeding them any insects.

Pitcher plants were easier to care for. They just needed some shade and to be kept moist. They would catch insects in the pitcher. It still requires a warm moist environment with high humidity.

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applestar
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I’ve only started to dabble in keeping carnivorous plants.

There are several hurdles for me here —

- Venus flytraps are found in the Carolinas and requires matching climate - INCLUDING a period of near freezing winter hibernation period ... hovering just above freezing is ideal with tolerance for brief dips no lower than about 28° F. THIS it turns out is difficult condition to replicate for me.

- there is/are native upright pitcher plant and sundew species in the pine barrens. I could keep them here if I can maintain a low nutrient bog-like condition, but it’s difficult to maintain (nutrient-starved conditions) in a normal garden. I admit I might have lost my last clump of the pitcher plant that was in my downspout rain garden this year due to neglect. I haven’t been able to find a source for the sundews — supplies are limited due to protected status.

- My house is too dry (a/c, heat) for hanging pitchers and of course they would need to be kept indoors in the cold/freezing months. And then the summertime high temperatures here actually get too high for the cooler summer/high altitude species to keep outside. I understand hobbyists keep them in swamp cooled shade cloth covered greenhouses. But here, the summer humidity is too high for swamp cooler to be effective.

- Oh yes, they don’t tolerate chlorinated tap water. I collect rainwater and/or put out bucket of water to de-chlorinate and freeze and gather rare snowfall that accumulates during the winter, which I thaw/melt and give to the Venus flytrap I keep in the unheated garage under the “V8 Nursery” light. I have to watch out for the dead of the winter freeze that can get as low as minus single digits outside and can plunge the garage temp down to mid-20’s.

So there you go — tips I know are what they don’t like.

... that said, my (3rd year?) water bottle self watering pot of Venus flytrap is still hanging on and alive. (Not thriving tho)

I did try growing Venus flytraps from seeds and had limited success up to sprouting and growing tiny traps ... but couldn’t keep them alive. There’s a thread here somewhere of the process, and I think I mentioned my source of seeds. I wouldn’t trust those kits — you don’t know how long they were in storage ... unless they are the kind with mail in order card/website code for obtaining fresh viable seeds.

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TomatoNut95
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Thanks guys! Ok, so Venus fly trap sounds too picky, it'd end up dying within 24 hours if I brought one home. I'll see what other carnivorous plant kiddie kits are offered at Hobby Lobby. I'll see if I can find a pitcher plant kit. (I'd rather get an already up and living plant, but they'e not found around here(except the vft), so only option is seed kits.)
Oh yeah, I know rainwater is better suited for houseplants than that chlorinated tap water.

imafan26
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I bought the pitcher plants in hanging baskets planted in sphagnum moss. I managed to neglect one successfully for a few years and it got over 6 ft tall with pitchers that were almost a foot long. I killed it when I tried to propagate it from cuttings. I had it growing on the side of my house. It was actually growing into the ti leaves. I have bromeliads and hare's foot ferns under the ti. The ti plants get so tall they reach the eaves of my house so it is mostly in the shade except when I have to cut the ti leaves down. It is usually when I chop the vanilla and the pitcher plant at the same time (usually unintended) since they were entwined in the ti.

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TomatoNut95
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Oh.....wow!!!!! A six foot pitcher plant!! That is amazing! I don't suppose you might have a picture of it!

Lol, I wish I could successfully neglect my plants! And did you say vanilla? You've got vanilla orchids??? You're making me wish I could move to Hawaii!



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