My other hobby: Carnivorous Plants! DUW

[gsarchie]

Those all look fantastic! I love carnivorous plants - learning about them was one of my favorite parts of my ecology classes.

I majored in Ecology, what about yourself?

Beautiful plants!! I love plants myself, though none of mine are carnivorous. I've got cacti from seed, aloe from cuttings, a plumeria that I grew from seed that is now almost 3 years old and lots and lots of amaryllis to name a few. I also love to garden. Did you grow them from seed?

[Mike41793]

I dont have room for them now but would love to get a few someday. Theyre very cool!

[gruneaugen86]

I majored in Ecology, what about yourself?

I majored in Aquatic Ecology. I loved it, but my job prospects are so terrible. I'm currently working at a job that has nothing to do with ecology Silly me, that's what I get for picking out a major and starting college just as the economy starts tanking...

[gsarchie]

I majored in Aquatic Ecology. I loved it, but my job prospects are so terrible. I'm currently working at a job that has nothing to do with ecology Silly me, that's what I get for picking out a major and starting college just as the economy starts tanking...

I had a senior seminar in aquatic ecology my last year at Kansas and because I was in KS my classes mostly focused on grassland/prairie ecology. Didn't have to worry about a job after doing ROTC but while I love the Army I definitely envy my friends that now work in the field, so I can empathize with you as far as that goes.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Those are are very cool.

[foxoftherose]

Those look awesome. My gf really likes carnivorous plants but sucks at keeping them alive. What species have you found easiest to work with, and what are some tips to keeping them alive.

These plants are actually very easy to grow.
I think that the ideal plant to start with, for an inside grower, would have to be either the Lance Leafed Sundew (Drosera adelae) or the Cape Sundew (Drosera capensis). Most carnivorous plants need extremely high levels of light, but these two species tend to thrive on sunny windowsills, in my experience. The ideal temperatures for these two plants are between 75 and 85, and they appreciate humidity around 50% or higher. Trust me, once you get either of these species established, you will have more sundews than you know what to do with

Depending on your hardiness zone, there are many plants that you can grow outside. The American pitcher plants are all hardy between zones 5-9, since they require a winter dormancy. I feel comfortable recommending the Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) in even colder climates, providing that you mulch it. These plants, along with the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), require full sunlight for at least 6 to 8 hours per day. They need to be drenched at least once a week, more in particularly arid climates.

There are three big rules to growing carnivorous plants.
Rule 1 is to use a nutrient free soil. This means no gardening soil, no potting soil, and no soil that you dig up from your yard. Instead, use ingredients such as peat moss, pool filter sand, and perlite. Pure long fiber sphagnum moss is also a good soil ingredient. For American pitcher plants, Venus Flytrap, and the sundews I recommended, you should use a ratio of 1:1 peat moss to perlite, or peat moss to sand. For Asian pitcher plants (Nepenthes), a mixture incorporating long fiber sphagnum moss is recommended.
Rule 2 is to provide lots of light. For outdoor plant, this means full sun for most of the day. For indoor plants, this means either a sunny windowsill, or artificial fluorescent lights.
Rule 3 is to use the purest water that you can get your hands on. Aim for less than 100-150 PPM. Use either rainwater, reverse osmosis water, or distilled water. If you live in an area where the tap water is very pure and without many added chemicals, you may use tap water. Avoid bottled drinking water, and water that has been put through a filter, because these sources contain excess minerals.
Finally, and this is just one of my personal issues, please try to reuse any peat that you have. Peat isn't being mined at a sustainable rate, and this collection destroys a lot of valuable wetland habitat.
MrLang, they don't actually require insects in order to thrive, they just appreciate them.
None of these were grown from seed, but many of my plants have been propagated by cuttings and root pullings.

[Valentine Pirate]

I was recently looking into making a carnivorous plant terrarium recently! Very cool plants. Thank you for sharing pics and info

[dr del]

**Sigh**

I used to grow these back at my folks house but, since moving to flats in Edinburgh, I have had zero luck in getting the conditions right.

I used to get seed from the venus flytraps and grow them from that - now I have a tiny, tiny pitcher plant which has been slowly dying by inches for the last 2 years since I got it to sprout.


dr del

[foxoftherose]

Here are a few more pictures that I dug up:

By foxoftherose at 2012-08-26
Nepenthes x ventrata

By foxoftherose at 2012-08-26
Sarracenia "Scarlett Belle"

By foxoftherose at 2012-08-26
Nepenthes burkei

[Pampho85]

Wow, those plants are stunning! I've had to do a few reports on some species, and they were really quite interesting! Are you able to 'breed' them so to speak?