FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

A week ago, I showed my 6 year old son a video of a venus fly trap. He seemed interested and I ended up picking up a carnivorous plant kit from my local Lowes. It included three varieties of plants. All were dormant root masses, and I planted them according to the instructions. Looks like we have some time to wait.

Originally, we thought it would be cool to make a terrarium with various carnivorous plants and sphagnum mosses. I've since read that my plan, a large fishbowl/vase, may not work so well due to the nutrients building up among other things. I have still seen some nice bell jar setups which may be a way to do what I want without having a sealed bottom. I figure if there is a creative way to display them, I'll come up with it. Does anyone have any standard suggestions?

Also, if I were to order plants online; will they be small due to the season? Will they all be dormant? Does anyone sell some sort of variety pack of carnivorous plants? I'd love fly traps, pitchers and Sundews to start. What varieties should I buy to start? Full plants better then seeds or dormant root cuttings?

I'm also wondering about the need or benefit of growing my own sphagnum. Does it help or hurt the plant development to have live sphagnum?

I'm open to any tips, links or just plain old "don't do thats!".

I'd keep it simple to start with, while you learn what works for you in your environment. For instance, I'd put off using anything but "standard" pots or trying to grow my own sphagnum for awhile. I'd also start off with inexpensive plants while you're climbing the learning curve - you're likely to lose some. As far as specific recommendations, I'd certainly go for a typical (ie unnamed) VFT, probably a Cape sundew (Drosera capensis) and maybe a Purple Pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea).

I know it's hard to hold yourself back but I've seen any number of people here starting off by buying a $30 or $40 VFT and losing it by making beginner's mistakes.

Anyhow, for what it's worth...

I would suggest growing outdoors instead of a terrarium, if possible. If you have to grow indoors, I would still get rid of the terrarium as VFTs can acclimate to low humidity easily and terrariums add a risk of fungus growth due to limited airflow.

If you want to get a neat looking plant without shelling out a ton of dough, the "Seed Grown" flytraps in the FTS usually have interesting characteristics. They are technically "typicals" but they can have some very interesting variation. Since it is still spring, any naturally grown plants you'll find will be a little smaller due to dormancy.

Growing VFTs from seed is a multiple year process, but you can grow many Drosera from seed quickly and easily. D. capensis is a great grower, as mentioned earlier.

Thanks for the advice! It looks like I'm getting a few typical VFT's and a couple Droseras thanks to a forum member.

Now I have to look into the pitchers. Looking at Ebay pics Sarracenia Purpurea looks awesome. As do a few Cephalotus varieties.

Also, my three Lowes plants appear to be growing. There's some new green on all three, and their developing something on their tips. I still don't know which is the VFT and which is the pitcher.

I suggest growing the VFT's, sarracenia and sundews for a while before jumping into the Cephalotus market, cephs are great but a whole different beast and also quite expensive to use as a starter plant.
What part of the country are you in? The best place to grow temperate species is outdoors, inside will be very hard to meet the lighting requirements. You are deffinately on the right path!

Branmuffin wrote:I suggest growing the VFT's, sarracenia and sundews for a while before jumping into the Cephalotus market, cephs are great but a whole different beast and also quite expensive to use as a starter plant.
What part of the country are you in? The best place to grow temperate species is outdoors, inside will be very hard to meet the lighting requirements. You are deffinately on the right path!

Oh boy. I just bought a Cephalotus along with two varieties of Sarracenia. The Ceph was about $40, but both of my kids and my wife loved the look of it. I guess I'll have to learn quick.

I'm in northeast PA. I do have experience with keeping ponds and reef tanks. I also have a lot of the gear that goes along with it, ie lighting/RO unit, but would/am considering a new LED fixture due to the high wattage and heat my reef lighting puts out. Since I've already committed to about a dozen or so plants, I guess I'll figure out quickly what I need to do. I do have space available inside and outside in any sun level.

As long as you decided to jump in with both feet - have you looked at Pinguiculas (AKA Butterworts)? Especially Mexican Pings? Most of 'em are pretty easy, stay small, change shape in the winter and put out bright flowers. And you can easily get new plants from leaf pulls (placing a separated leaf in medium).

Google "Pinguicula cyclosecta", "Pinguicula moranensis" or "Pinguicula agnata" for a sampling. Or take a look at a cold/temperate species like "Pinguicula vulgaris" which could probably grow outdoors in PA all year.

Footbag wrote:

Branmuffin wrote:I suggest growing the VFT's, sarracenia and sundews for a while before jumping into the Cephalotus market, cephs are great but a whole different beast and also quite expensive to use as a starter plant.
What part of the country are you in? The best place to grow temperate species is outdoors, inside will be very hard to meet the lighting requirements. You are deffinately on the right path!

Oh boy. I just bought a Cephalotus along with two varieties of Sarracenia. The Ceph was about $40, but both of my kids and my wife loved the look of it. I guess I'll have to learn quick.

I'm in northeast PA. I do have experience with keeping ponds and reef tanks. I also have a lot of the gear that goes along with it, ie lighting/RO unit, but would/am considering a new LED fixture due to the high wattage and heat my reef lighting puts out. Since I've already committed to about a dozen or so plants, I guess I'll figure out quickly what I need to do. I do have space available inside and outside in any sun level.

Cephs are great, I have a few and they are awesome but they are not forgiving. A VFT or Sarracenia will allow you to make mistakes and as long as you correct yourself they will recover. If you put a Ceph in conditions it does not approve, it will not forgive you. Not trying to scare you off, just do your research and you will be fine!

Thanks guys!

One question. Between VFTs, Cephs, Sarracenias and Nepenthes...

Would all of them benefit from sitting in a tray of water? I've heard people say certain ones shouldn't sit in water, but I see videos of nearly every species sitting in water. Basically I see trays of water with potted plants inside the trays. But, I also hear people saying VFTs don't need this. The healthiest I see online are in water, though.

Footbag wrote:Thanks guys!

One question. Between VFTs, Cephs, Sarracenias and Nepenthes...

Would all of them benefit from sitting in a tray of water? I've heard people say certain ones shouldn't sit in water, but I see videos of nearly every species sitting in water. Basically I see trays of water with potted plants inside the trays. But, I also hear people saying VFTs don't need this. The healthiest I see online are in water, though.

It all depends on your conditions. I am growing indoors under LED and I have VFTs, a new Cephalotus (eek!), and some Nepenthes on the way. I do not keep my VFTs in a water tray, and will not use one for the pitcher plants either.

If you are growing outdoors in full sun, VFTs and Sarrs can do fine with a water tray. I need to do more learning, but from what I have read, folks advise against putting Nepenthes and Cephalotus in water trays. Cephalotus are notorious for "sudden instant Cephalotus death," which is primarily due to root rot/overwatering. Unfortunately, it is difficult to identify stress on Cephalotus until it is too late, hence the condition's name.

Depending on which species you pick, you may have to maintain a certain humidity level for your Nepenthes, but the "beginner" varieties like ventricosa and sanguinea are supposedly more tolerant of lower humidity. I have also read that they enjoy the media staying fairly moist throughout, but not continually in a water tray.

Hope this helps! I am just now getting into Cephalotus and Nepenthes growing, so take any advice on those with a big grain of salt.