darlingtonia californica
Carnivorous plants are a type of plant that attracts the most attention: unlike other plants, they feed on the bodies of insects in order to survive, and it is that in the soil where they grow there are so few nutrients, that if not if they did it this way they would quickly become weak and perish.
When they are grown, this is something that must be taken into account, since we cannot pay them. If we did, its roots would burn because they are not prepared to absorb such amount of nutrients. To avoid trouble, let us know what do carnivorous plants need to grow.
Light and Shade
sarracenia rubra
All plants need light to grow, but there are some that need to be exposed directly and others indirectly. In the case of carnivores, we meet some genres who are really sun loverssuch as the Sarracenia or the Dionaea, but there are others like Drosera, Drosophyllum or the Genlisea, which must be protected from the star king.
Water
Whether distilled or, even better, rain, water is essential to life. We have to water our carnivores very oftenespecially in summer, preventing the substrate from drying out. During the warmer months of the year it is highly recommended to put a plate under them and fill it up; the rest of the year we will go scolding two or three times a week.
Substratum
The substrate for carnivorous plants It must be composed of blond peat mixed with perlite in equal parts. You cannot use black peat or growing medium for plants, let’s say conventional, due to its pH (too high) or the amount of nutrients it contains. We will use it to fill plastic pots.
Warm weather
sarracenia rubra
The vast majority of species do not tolerate frost, with some exceptions such as Drosophyllum, Darlingtonia, or Sarracenia, so it is very important that they are grown outdoors only if the climate is mild. Of course, we have to take into account that the same plants that do withstand the cold are also plants that need hibernate at a temperature of up to -2ºC.
With these tips, we can have some beautiful carnivorous plants .
