Growing CPs

Lets talk about basics of growing carnivorous plants succesfully.

* We have a YouTube channel, where we talk about Carnivorous plants too *
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Lets go step by step:  General growing instructions

1. Use RAINWATER only. Distilled water is also great, snowmelt too.

Let them stand in water, their roots don't rot. The vast majority of CPs are bog plants.

Never use tapwater, water from a stream water. Stale or boiled water are great for tomato seedlings, but liqud death for CPs.

2. The substrate must be acidic. This means peat. Usually in some sort of mix with sand. Whenever sand is mentioned, it means silica sand with granulation about the size of rice grains. Or just get perlite.

Calcium sand is deadly to most CPs. Only Pings can handle it.

3. Do NOT feed. Especially not cheese, sausage, meat, pizza and other weird stuff. They catch enough insects by themselves, even in a flat. Besides: they are plants, their main source of 'food' is photosynthesis, like most other plants. Carnivory is just a way to get the nutrients that are absent in the soils of their respective natural environments.

There are some exceptions tho. Some species can't catch enough in our climate or they must be kept in terraria for whatever reason, or they're seedlings that need an extra boost. Those you should feed.

Fish food applied in tiny quantities on the traps is great. Neps can be watered with dilluted orchid fertilizer. Baby Sarras can be fed worm castings dissolved in water. A big Sarra or a Nep can easily digest a mouse or a bird your cat brings you. And there are some fertilizer brands that are specially developed for CPs. But as said: if you don't know what you're doing: do NOT feed them!

4. They like the sun, they need lots of light. Full light for best color and best growth. Again, there are exceptions. One big exception are the Queensland sisters Drosera, they grow in shade. Specifically they tolerate green shade, the one under trees. Why? Why not?

Growing instructions by group

1. Sarracenia

Light: full sun

Water: in Summer the pot must stand in water to 1/3 its depth at all times. In winter the same if growing at room tamperature and just keep the soil moist if allowing winter rest at cool temperature.

Soil: peat:perlite(or sand) around 3:1

We also sell Sarra soil mix, packed in 1L bags

Pot: any, but deeper pots are better for taller plants.

Temperature: All species benefit from cold, however dormancy is not mandatory. All of them survive down to -10C for at least short periods. Flava, leucophylla and all purpurea except burkii, and their hybrids are fully winter hardy. In the warmer Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pannonic climates of Europe, more species are winter hardy. We're in the mountains, we're at this time testing many plants.

In summer it gets over +50C in our greenhouse, so I doubt your place can be too hot. We're growing our Sarras in the greenhouse because:
- we need well developed plants for the Spring fairs
- to protect plants from the elements, so the plants you recieve look great

Sarras are one of the few plants that don't care if you grow them in a terrarium or in an outdoor bog garden. Make sure they have enough light and be carefull with plants hailing from the most southeren populations, if you plant to overwinter them outside. Clip off old leaves to make way for new leaf growth and flower buds. All Sarracenia flower in spring, single huge flowers appear just before or together with leaves. Oreophylla, flava, leucophylla and some of their hybrids grow phyllodia (non-carnivorous leaves) in late summer. 



2. Subtropical Drosera

Light: full sun

Water: The pot must stand in water to 1/3 its depth at all times.

Soil: peat, some perite/sand is beneficial. Some species prefer to grow on live peat moss (Sphagnum) - for example D. madagascarensis

We also sell Drosera soil mix, packed in 1L bags

Pot: any. Some species have deep roots and do much better in very deep pots - for example D. hamiltonii.

Temperature: No dormancy, but growth slows down. Winter T can go down to +3C or so. In summer it gets over +50C in our greenhouse, so I doubt your place can be too hot. Some species may go dormant in summer due to the heat though. D. binata f. multifida may go dormant.

3. Temperate Drosera

The same as subtropical Drosera, except they go dormant by forming a hibernaculum (winter bud). Somewhat tricky to overwinter outside, as they must be must be big enough in autumn. Also they must not dry up during winter, which has a habit of happening in snow-less winters. We overwinter at least part of our plants in the greenhouse.

Important to note is also that temperate Drosera, that are overwintered in a greenhouse, even barely above freezing, will still stick to their inherent growing season lenght; the earlier they will start growing, the faster they will flower, set seed and develop a hibernaculum and go dormant. D. filiformis can go dormant this way by the middle of July. 

We also sell Drosera soil mix, packed in 1L bags.

4. Venus flytrap

Light: full sun

Water: The pot must stand in water to 1/5 its depth at all times during growing season.

Soil: peat:perlite(or sand) around 3:1

We also sell VFT soil mix, packed in 1L bags

Pot: deep; the ones for growing roses are great, approx. 3 times as deep as wide. This thing is native to the same habitat as Sarracenia, but where Sarracenia grow at watertable level, venus flytrap grows approx 50 cm higher. Its roots reach the water and its growing point is deep in the soil to help survive bushfires. Yup, VFT it resistant to fires.

Temperature: In summer it gets over +50C in our greenhouse, so I doubt your place can be too hot.

But now lets talk about the tricky bit: winter and dormancy

VFT must go dormant at least every second winter (but every winter is even better). It is not winter hardy in Central Europe. In it's native habitat winter temperatures can go from a low of 0°C at night to a daytime high of 24°C.

If all other growing conditions are met AND the plant is forced/allowed into dormancy, than it can outlive you. Here's what to do: in autumn, lets say in October, put the pot with the plant in a plastic bag. Do not repot or unpot. Make sure the bag doesn't stick to the plant. Put the bag with the plant in the fridge untill spring, until about March. The bag is there to keep the substrate moist and your fridge clean.
How do we overwinter VFTs? Our greenhouse is heated and the heating is controlled by a themostat. The T of compartment with VFTs is not allowed to fall below 3°C. Daytime T goes above 20°C on sunny days.

If it's not forced into dormancy, the VFT will start growing and flowering as soon the days start getting longer. As there is not enough light it will just waste away. So, at least keep removing flower stems untill early summer and keep the plant in a bright but cool space.
The plant will not live long.

If you plan to overwinter your plant "in a garage", "inside the closet", "in the cellar","in the attic" etc, you might as well give it away or throw it away. All of these are either too dark, too warm or both.

5. Mexican Pinguicula

Light: full sun

Water: In summer the pot or rock must stand in enough water and wick it throughout the substrate. In winter do not water at all - AT ALL!

Soil: They don't mind or may even need calcium in their growing media, so never keep them in the same tray as other genuses.

Main thing is that the substrate wicks water. How to test? Put dry substrate in a pot, or the rock you want to use, in a small amount of water overnight. If all the substrate to the top gets wet, it's wicking water.

If grown in a pot, they should be grown in a mineral based mix. There are many recipes, I grow them in a mix of silica sand, silica pebbles, perlite and a bit of peat.

We also sell substrate for Pings, packed in 250 g bags.

Pot: Can be grown in pots OR on rocks that wick water OR even Ytong bricks. Seriously.

Temperature: Winter T can go down to +3C or so in our greenhouse . In summer it gets over +50C, so I doubt your place can be too hot. All Mexican Pings must have a bone dry winter, they appreciate lower T as well. Many species grow succulent non-carnivorous leaves (P. cyclosecta) or even retreat to an underground bulb (P. medusina)in winter. In summer these develop thinner, carnivorous leaves. Some species, like P. agnata, look the same year-round.