General Growing and Care

Here are some tips and guidelines for growing carnivorous plants indoors using artificial lighting.

The Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, grows naturally in the pocosins of the Cape Fear River basin in the coastal plains between North and South Carolina. It grows among the grasses in the open sun, where the moist soil is typically a sand/peat mix, often sandier than peaty.

Utricularia graminifolia is amphibious, growing along the water margins both in and out of the water. It prefers nutrient poor, soft, acidic waters with pH 5.0-6.5, and typically grows in dappled, low light.

Temperate Butterworts, Pinguicula, typically grow in damp peaty soils, and benefit from the dappled light provided by accompanying grasses and vegetation. Northern species form winter buds, called hibernacula, which resemble tight little flower heads.

Most sundews thrive in a standard Carnivorous Plant soil mix, I prefer a recipe heavier on the peat. Some prefer sandier soil and others prefer live Sphagnum Moss. Use mineral-free water and for most sundews, keep the soil very wet.

Most American Pitcher Plants, or Serracenia, grow naturally in the bogs, pocosins and fens of the coastal plains of eastern N. America, from New Foundland to Florida, with greater numbers in the southeast. They typically grow among the sedges in the open sun, where the moist soil is typically a sand/peat mix, usually dominated by sand.

Nepenthes (Tropical Pitchers Plants) can be challenging Carnivorous Plants to grow because of their need for consistently bright, humid and warm conditions. This often requires a greenhouse for sustained culture. Tropical Pitcher Plants prefer good air circulation and a light, well-drained, porous soil.

Sun Pitchers are challenging CPs to grow because of their need for bright and cool conditions. This is a difficult combination for many growers. Sun Pitchers prefer good air circulation and a light, well-drained, porous soil.

Genlisea are tropical carnivorous plants, that are similar to terrestrial bladderworts, and grow in typical Carnivorous Plant conditions of sunny, very wet, peaty soil, or sandy seeps, all of which are nutrient poor. Genlisea are grown in a peat slurry and are likely to be growing in a natural harmless association with a terrestrial bladderwort.

Darlingtonia grows in serpentine gravel soils along cold, fast running mountain streams of coastal southern Oregon and northern California, from mountain elevations to sea level (zones 6-9).

The Western Australian Pitcher Plant, Cephalotus follicularis, grows naturally in the peat of spring-fed swamps of southwestern Australia near Albany.  It grows along the grassy edges of the coastal heathlands, where the moist soil is typically a sand/peat mix, often sandier than peaty.

Carnivorous Bromeliads are native to the Guiana Highlands, and are curious carnivorous plants.