How to Care for Carnivorous Plants

When buying a carnivorous plant make sure that it includes information about its species and recommendations on how to take care of it. This way you can provide it with the proper sunlight, water and food to keep it growing healthy and looking great. In general most carnivorous plants require lots of sunlight, so make sure that you have a place within your home that has plenty of natural light. If you are planning to plant it outside make sure that it gets plenty of southern and western exposure will minimal shade.

Venus Flytraps, Sundews, and North American Pitcher plants, for example, all require typically 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day during their growing season. If they receive less than this amount of sunlight they will become stressed and most likely die. There are only a few carnivorous plants that can live without direct sunlight and they include Butterworts, Asian Pitchers, and some Sundew variants. All of these types of plants prefer indirect sunlight.

If you plan to grow your carnivorous plants indoors and question the amount of natural lighting that you can provide to them, supplement their lighting needs with florescent lighting. Typically a 25 to 50 watt florescent light bulb works great. If you plan to grow your carnivorous plants indoors without any natural light, then plan to run the florescent light bulb 12 or so hours a day. The bulb should be positioned 8 to 12 inches over the top of the plant. Alternatively you can use compact florescent light bulbs to save on cost. Do not use incandescent light bulbs as they give off to much heat, not to mention they are more expensive to operate.

In regards to watering carnivorous plants, most are indigenous to bogs. As a result, they are use to having a very wet soil. For best success water your carnivorous plants so that the bottom of the plant container sits in a small pool or container of water. Also, use pure or distilled water. Chlorinated water can stress or kill a carnivorous plant. It’s important, however, to follow the directions for your particular carnivorous plant for watering. Some carnivorous plants, such as Asian pitcher plants prefer less water and should be watered only a couple of times a week. To maximize the beauty and growth of your carnivorous plants repot them every year at the end of their growing season, which is typically in March.

By repotting your plants you give them room to grow and aerate their root systems, both of which are key for ensuring healthy and beautiful looking plants. Also, prune off any dead or dying leaves to prevent the risk of fungus growth and to ensure adequate sunlight to the base of the plants.

When repotting the plants use a 50/50 mixture of peat moss and perlite. Perlite provides drainage and the peat moss provides acidity and helps to retain moisture. Do not add fertilizer to the soil. Carnivorous plants get all of their nutrition from the insects they catch in their leaves.