Welcome to the part of my web site devoted to growing and care of insect eating plants. My fascination with these beautiful and fascinating 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 Venus Flytraps I tried when I was young.
Most carnivorous plants grow in nutrient deficient soil which is 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 quick tips 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 tap 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. Let all the water evaporate out of the tray before watering the plants again. I myself do not use the tray method and water my plant more frequently instead. This allows me to view my plants more often.
4) Carnivorous plants are sun loves and do not mind being in direct sunlight for hours during the day.
5) 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. Be sure to read the bag! Fertilizer in the soil burns carnivorous plant roots and kills the plants quickly.
Carnivorous Plant Web Ring Previous Site Next Site International Carnivorous Plant Society Counter added 4/19/2009
Copyright © 2005-2008 elgecko. All rights reserved.
