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www.insectivorousplants.co.uk
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GROWING
INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS
Below you will find that I have used
CPs short for Insectivorous ( Carnivorous) Plants.
Temperature
The best way to grow any plant,
is to give it the same growing conditions that are found
its native habitat.
This the same with carnivorous plants, so
a good start is to find out where the plant comes from
and find out the
temperature it grows with all year round.
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Water
Rain water is best for CPs. Some growers
use a chemical (Aluminium sulphate) to acidify water,
other use
machines to make distilled water.
Whichever method you choose, you
should check the pH to ensure slight acidity.
Most tap water here in
the UK is treated with chorine or other germicides,
which over time
build up in the soil and can eventually kill the plant.
In particular,
tap water can contain high amounts of calcium which
kills most CPs - you will see this effect as limescale
in your kettle.
Having said this you can boil the water twice and leave
it open to air for 24 hours in emergencies,
but I would re-pot the
plant after a year with new soil. High humidity during
the growing season is beneficial to the plants,
but in a greenhouse in winter it
must be dropped as fungus will kill your plants.
Sarracenia and other plants I grow in the
greenhouse stand in water between 14th February and
31st October, but
at other times the trays are dry and the soil is just
kept damp. |
Light
Most CPs come from open bogs, which are
in full sun. If
you grow your plant in your home you may need to build a
lighting unit to give them the
same level of light they would get
outside. Bright windowsills are a cheaper alternative!
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Planting Media
The following media can all be used, in
varying concoctions, for CP growth:
Living or dead Sphagnum
moss, Sphagnum moss peat, silver sand,
horticultural washed sand,
horticultural grade perlite,
vermiculite, osmundum fibre, and silica sand.
Limestone sand is used for the
few CPs that like alkaline soils.
I have found that if you put live
sphagnum moss around your plants, it is a good indicator
on soil condition.
If it goes brown its too dry, and if
slime mold starts to kill the moss its too wet.
Live Sphagnumnot only
is a good media for sowing some CP seeds, it is an
attractive top dressing for pots.
The most commonly used soil mix for CPs is 1:1 peat:
sand, and this mixture will support most plants.
Think of it as the CP
General Purpose compost!
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Propagation
Like most plants, carnivorous plants can
grown by seed, cuttings (roots, leaves, stems and
flowers) and divisions.
Some CP seed is very easy to grow, e.g.
Drosera capensis can reach flowering size in a
little over a season.
In contrast, Sarracenia will
take about five to seven years to reach maturity from
seed. The society
has great seed bank for members, so why don't you join
and have a go?
Cuttings are usually a quicker way of getting a mature
plant. Plants
obtained by root cuttings that I have found to be
successful are
Drosera binta forms, D. capensis
forms, D. slackii and most other think-rooted
Sundews.
Cephalotus follicularis and Darlingtonia
californica propagate well from leaf cuttings.
Link to How to grow
from seed
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| Pest and Diseases
Most diseases are obtained via a
pest, a plant kept too damp in winter,
or by not cutting away
dead growth and generally neglecting to keep the plant
'clean'.Some
pests live under the soil, so it is important to check
for this. You can
find information on this subject in many books.
(Incidentally, if you are a
member of the society you may wish to loan a book from
the information officer)
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| Dormancy (
more detail here )
Some plants slow down the rate of growth,
some others stop growing and others die down completely
to a resting bulb
or rhizome during the winter months.
Some plants produce a winter
leaf . If you are
growing plants indoors that require dormancy, you must
reduce both the light levels and temperature.
Most species which
require dormancy will be happy with temperatures down to
0°C (32°F). |
| Growing Insectivorous Plants indoors
As above carnivororus plants mostly
grow in bogs that are open to full sun.
This means that you may need to add
extra light for your plants.
There are many carnivorous plant
books that will give you information on this
subject.
If you are lucky to have a South or
South West facing window then you may grow most
carnivorous plants on the windowsill.
Remember it does get cooler behind a
curtain at night, and some plants will need winter
rest (cooler temperature all winter)
Some people use terrariums, which are
essentially aquaria without the fish, as indoor
greenhouses.
A terrarium will often have
artificial heat and lighting enabling a greater
range of plants to be grown,
such as lowland Nepenthes
and Heliamphora.
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| Growing Insectivorous Plants
outdoors (
more detail here )
Carnivorous plant are basic in their
needs with water, light, soils, temperature and
insects.
(Plants will trap the prey they need,
so do not feed your outdoor-grown CPs with
fertiliser as this may kill them.)
Outside in the UK you may grow many
plants eg. all Sarracenias, Drosera
anglica,* D. intermedia,* D.
rotundifolia *
(* natural to the UK ), three types
of D.filiformis, D. binata
(which will come back from the roots after winter),
Darlingtonia californica
"cobra lily", Dionaea muscipula "Venus Fly
Trap"
(although these do grow slower than
they would in the greenhouse or on windowsills),
Pinguicula grandiflora,
P. vulgaris, as well as a few Utricularia.
These plants can be grown in pots, or
you could make a bog garden.
In colder parts of the UK, it may be
necessary to protect some of the plants from the
winter by
moving them to a garage or shed, or
by mulching.
If you can have a greenhouse then you
can grow many more types of carnivorous plants.
For example:
a Cold Greenhouse / Cold frame
will allow you to grow a few more CPs than
unprotected areas outside
a Cool Greenhouse (heated to keep at
least 5 °C (41°F) in winter) some of the less
frost-tolerant plants can be grown.
a Hot Greenhouse (heated at all times
of the year) will allow you to grow most CPs,
including Nepenthes.
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©Alan Haines
2003/04/05/06/07/08 |
The Site owner is not responsible for the content of external websites. |
