How do I grow carnivorous plants?

---

Pings ship in small deli cups wrapped in paper towel.  Open the lid, remove the top layer of paper towel, and grently remove your new plant. Pings have very small roots so don't be alarmed when you receive your first plant.

Potted plants will have a second pot taped over the plant to protect it during shipping. Carefully remove the tape and cover pot. The plant is taped into it's pot to make sure it doesn't fall out during shipping. Carefully remove this tape and your plant is ready to grow!

Fill the pot of your choice with mix and lightly wet it. Using your finger or tweezers make an hole in the mix for the roots to go in. Gently coax the roots into the mix until they are just under the surface. Use the remaining mix to fill in around the pot.  In general, the roots should be just below the surface of the mix and the stem or base of the plant just above.  Pings and nepenthes don't need packed in tight. Sarracenia and drosera can be packed in fairly tightly.

Distilled, RO (reverse osmosis), rain water is best. Filtered water is better than tap. Use the cleanest water you can find with the lowest levels of dissolved minerals. A TDS meter can be purchased to test your water.  Do not use tap water if you have a water softener.  Gallon jugs of distilled water can be purchased at any grocery store.

Pinguicula - Prefer damp soil but don’t like to be sitting in water for long periods. Top water around the edge of the pot or bottom water occasionally. The mix should be totally dry in between watering.  

Sundews, sarracenia, flytraps and darlingtonia - Like to be wet and not dry out. Use a tray or saucer and fill up up 2".  If your plants are outside then keep the tray full all the time.  Plants inside can be watered once the saucer/tray is empty.

Nepenthes - Keep soil damp to the touch, watering from the top, but do not leave plants in standing water long term.

Pinguicula - Butterworts love lots of direct and indirect sunlight. As much as you can give them! They will survive in very low light conditions but will be less colorful.  If your ping is making very upright leaves that are all green then it can take more light.

Sundews, sarracenia, flytraps and darlingtonia -  love lots of direct sunlight!  Sundews like a few hours of direct sun at minimum. Grow lights can be very helpful.  Sarracenia and flytraps like lots of light so outside in full sun is best.  Darlingtonia do best with morning sun and afternoon shade in very warm climates.

Nepenthes - Tropical pitcher plants love lots of indirect or diffused sunlight. A sunny windowsill with an hour or two of direct sun is perfect.  Too much light will cause red or brown burn spots on the leaves.

Pinguicula - perlite/vermiculite/peat in a 2/2/1 ratio works well. For rot prone species like cyclosecta and lauena we recommend a perlite/vermiculite/sand mix. Repot whenever they fall out of their pot of they divide themselves. Pings like it dry so terracotta pots are fine.

Sundews and sarracenia - peat/perlite 50/50 ratio. Make sure not to buy the Miracle Grow brand Peat. It contains fertilizer that will kill your plants.  Perlite dust is very abrasive so wear a  N95 particle mask when handling it. Repot every 2-3 years in late winter or early spring before they emergefrom dormancy, and use plastic or glazed ceramic pots with drain holes.

Flytraps and darlingtonia - peat/sand 75/25 ratio. Quartz fireplace sand works well but any large grain sand will do. Repot every 2-3 years in late winter or early spring before they emergefrom dormancy, and use plastic or glazed ceramic pots with drain holes.

Nepenthes - Coconut chips, coconut peat, perlite 2/1/1 ratio. Make sure to soak and rinse all of the coconut media to ensure there aren't any remaining salts.  Chunky perlite is preferred but not required.  The higher the humidity your plants will be growing in then more coconut chips you can add. If your environment is more dry then add more coconut peat to help moisture retention. Long fiber sphagnum moss and perlite will work as well. Repot every 2-3 years and

use pots with drain holes. Avoid unglazed terracotta as it will dry out the plants too quickly.

Pinguicula and sundews - Feed them 1-2 small insects or a pinch of tropical flake fish food per month to boost growth.

Sarracenia, flytraps and darlingtonia - Feeding them is unnecessary. They get plenty of food on their own being outside in the sun and catching bugs.

Nepenthes - Toss any insects you catch inside the pitchers! As long as the insect is covered by the fluidinside the pitcher, it will get eaten. If you don't want to play with bugs, one Osmocote 16-16-16 fertilizer pellet in each pitcher will provide all the nutrition they require.

Pinguicula and sundews - They don't hibernate! Sundews and butterworts on a windowsill may slow down in the winter, but will perk up in the spring when the days get longer. A plant light will keep them growing strong throughout the winter. If they get too cold they may die back, and butterworts may make a semi-dormant rosette of tiny leaves. They'll wake back up once it's

warmer and the days are longer.

Sarracenia, flytraps and darlingtonia - They go dormant in the winter! They are fine with lower light and freezing temperatures (down to 25 F overnight) during winter. If it gets below 20 degrees cover them or put under shelter to protect from hard frosts and wind. Trim off any black pitchers or leaves after a frost to help prevent fungus and mold. They should stay moist but not be soggy over the winter.

Nepenthes - They don't hibernate! Tropical pitcher plants on a windowsill may slow down in the winter, but will perk up in the spring when the days get longer. A plant light will keep them growing strong throughout the winter.

Yes, we can help! Submit a contact form with your issue and we'll help as best we can. Pictures are very helpful.  Usually, we can provide some simple tips that can help your plants recover.

The majority of the plants we sell are grown in our greenhouse where the average humidity is 75%.  There will be an acclimation period where your new plants get used to their new environments.  Homes in Idaho typically have an ambient humidity of 20-30%. Your plants will harden off over a few weeks and will regain their sticky dew.

Lack of light and the ambient humidity being too low are the most common causes of a nepenthes not making traps.  If your plant is new then it will take a month or so for it to acclimate to the lower humidity of it's new environment.  Nepenthes like bright indirect light and can handle a few hours of direct sun.