Meat-Eater Monday: Growing Carnivorous Plants by Seed

It is Monday again! This week I'm going to talk about the struggles of growing carnivorous plants by seed.

Reproducing carnivorous plants is easiest by letting them grow and dividing the rhizomes. However, producing fascinating hybrids requires you to grow them by seed.

Most plants are easy to grow from seed. Carnivorous plants are difficult -- at least that is my experience.

After over 8 years growing carnivores, I've yet to successfully bring a plant from seedling to adult. However, I have high hopes for the seedlings I planted last year.

Part of the trouble with baby carnivores is that they take 3-5 years to fully mature and are extremely finicky until then. Mine have always fallen prey to drought, flooding, mold, or too much sunlight too soon.

Hardy sundews and American pitcher plant seeds need a few months of a cold winter climate for stratification. This can be done in the fridge or naturally outside.

Venus flytrap seeds can be sown immediately after harvesting.

Unfortunately, seedlings grow painstakingly slowly. But, I suppose the best way to show this is through pictures.

First off, the seeds are incredibly small.

Venus flytrap seeds

Top: Venus flytrap seeds Bottom: American pitcher plant seeds

 Last fall, I sowed my American pitcher plant seeds and stuffed them under a blanket of straw with all my other plants for the winter cold.

A 4-6 weeks after the weather finally warmed up, tiny sprouts started popping up. The first two leaves are not carnivorous.

 Just to show you how slowly these things grow, below is a picture of the seedlings this fall. After a full season, they are still tiny pitchers. Each plant only has 2-4 pitcher leaves on them, and they are about half an inch tall.

As an experiment (and because I can't live without some carnivorous plants in my dorm room) I'm keeping half of this years seedlings in my dorm room for the winter so they can get a jump start.

A quarter is shown for scale

 I believe the seedlings below are 1-3 years old. There are a few yearling sundew seedlings volunteering in the pot.

Quarter is shown for scale.

 The plants below are four years old. I'm not entirely sure they were from seed, but I suspect they sprouted from accidentally dropped seed. This spring I need to re-pot them into their own "adult" pots.

 Below is a close-up of my volunteer baby sundew. Almost all of my sundews are accidents.

So, this blog post ended up being more of a show and tell. But then, like I said, I haven't had much success with growing carnivorous plants from seed, so there are better websites than this blog to teach you how to do it.

Basically, you care for seedlings as you would an adult. They are just far more sensitive to mistakes and changing environments.

Growing carnivorous plants from seed is NOT recommended for beginners.

Meat-Eater Monday: Flowers

Many people think the attractive leaves of many carnivorous plants are flowers.

This is a leaf NOT a flower.

In reality, carnivorous plants have leaves like any other plant -- they are just modified to attract, trap, and eat insects. To reproduce they flowers in the spring, which look more or less like normal flowers.

Venus flytraps and sundews have the most normal looking flowers.

Venus flytrap flowers

American pitcher plant flowers are far more complicated. They all look about the same but can be different colors, peach colored, butter yellow, to red and any range in between.

Is it hard to tell what you're even looking at?

Hopefully, this label picture will help a little. (There are better-labeled photos is you google Sarracenia flower labels)

So basically, the flower hangs upside down. There are five petals hanging down in the dips of the style. There are five stigmas which collect the pollen. The pollen falls down onto the umbrella-like style.

This flower encourages cross-pollination because bees must climb through over the stigma, which collects the pollen from a different flower. The bee then picks up the pollen from this flower and exits by ducking out under the petal.

Becuase of this tendency, American pitcher plant hybrids run rampant in the wild.

Hybrids are fun because they aren't sterile. They can be crossed over and over again, and you can create amazing complex hybrids.

Every year, I try to cover my flowers with cheese cloth so I can pollinate the flowers individually with a Q-tip. This allows me to cross a plant with the pollen from a flower that bloomed earlier in the spring.

I try to keep a close record of the crosses I make, so I have some idea of the ancestry of my plants.

The petals only say on for about 10 days. The flower is able to be pollinated for about a week before the petals fall off and the flower starts tipping upward. It is as if once the flower sheds the weight of the petals, it can look back up to the sky.

A flower after the petals fall off.

Throughout the summer, the seed pod swells until the entire flower drys and turns brown and the seed pod cracks open. The seeds can be harvested in the fall.

seed pod mid-summer

As a general rule, unless you want to try your hand at growing carnivorous plants from seed (it is terribly difficult) it is best to cut off the flowers before they bloom. This will preserve your plant's energy and help it grow bigger, stronger leaves. Producing a flower takes a lot of energy, and unless your plant is healthy and growing in full sunshine outside, it may harm your plant. If it is too stressed, producing a flower might even kill it.

If your plant hasn't had a dormancy or if you divided the rhizome, cut off any flowers it tries to produce.  There is always next year. Let your plant recover its strength.

There is no greater joy than seeing your big, beautiful plant in full bloom and creating your own hybrids can be fun.

Meat-Eater Monday: Rescuing Venus Flytraps

Rescuing Venus Flytraps (This also works for American pitcher plants and sundews)

Unfortunately, I was too busy last week to write a blog post, but Meat-Eater Mondays are back, today!

All but one of my Venus flytraps have been "rescued" from stores and terrariums and are successfully growing outside. This is how I save them.

Many places from the gift shops at zoos and science museums to Walmart and Lowes, sell Venus flytraps. (And occasionally sundews and American pitcher plants.) The plants are primarily marketed toward little kids. parents finally give in and buy the poor little plant. They follow the directions on the plant's box which are often WRONG and eventually the little plant dies.

Stories like these are what give carnivorous plants the reputation that they are hard to grow and that they always die. I'm going to share how I keep my "rescues" from dying.

(NOTE: These are the steps you would follow if you rescue your plant in the spring or early summer.)

Rescuing a plant takes time and patience. You don't want to shock it by moving it straight from a dark, humid terrarium to the blazing, summer sun so I follow these steps.

Carnivorous plants being sold in stores are often tiny, young plants shoved into plastic terrariums. The humidity is so suffocating in there you can hardly see the thin, spindly green leaves stretching long and thin in search of air and sunlight.

Once I purchase the plant (and successfully/unsuccessfully convince myself NOT to buy all the poor plants destined for the landfill) I open the terrarium just a crack. I continue to keep the plant indoors and by a sunny windowsill.

During the next week, I slowly open the terrarium more and more every few days, until the plant is totally adjusted to regular humidity. At this point, I remove the plant completely and repot it into a larger pot with the appropriate soil mix. I then set the plant in a water tray.

After a day or two more of adjusting, I begin to move my plant outside. Here is a really very flexible day to day breakdown. The more time it is given to adjust the more healthy your plant will be, but some shock, loss of growth, and dying leaves will certainly going to occur no matter how careful you are.

For 2-6 days: I place my plant in a shaded area -- no direct sunlight
For 6-10 days: I place my plant in the sun for a few hours in the early morning, then return it to the shade for the scorching afternoon
For 10-30 days: I slowly increase the amount of hours my plant spends in the direct sunlight until it is in full sunlight for the entire day. This step can take as long as you want, but I would put the very minimum at 10 days.

When going through this process, do not be surprised if your plant ceases to grow and some -- maybe even all of its leaves turn black and die. Any leaf that is 100% black can be cut off.

Do not give up on your plant. If you followed these steps and are giving your plant plenty of sun (once it is used to it) your plant will likely recover. However, it may take your plant a few months to recover and start growing again. Just because all the leaves are dead, it doesn't mean your plant is dead.

Ensure that your plant is grown outside during the fall and exposed to frost so that it will go dormant and "rest" for the winter.

Giving your rescued plant a dormancy period is vital to their long term survival since it has probably never had a dormancy before.  Carnivorous plants can only live so many years without a dormancy period before they die so it is vital to give a dormancy to your rescued plant if they have time to acclimate to the weather.

For example: last year I got a carnivorous plant in November. It was too late and too cold to use this process, so I gradually adjusted it to normal humidity, repotted it, and let it live on my windowsill all winter. It eventually thrived and moved out to live with the rest of my plants in the summer. This winter it will go dormant with the rest of them and enjoy a well-earned rest.

A few things to note:

1. When your plant is going through this adjustment stage, do not worry about feeding it. Its leaves will have enough trouble adjusting to new temperatures, humidity, and sunlight. It will not have the energy to eat. Feeding it at this point would likely do more harm than good.

2. NEVER feed your plant human meat. It only attracts bacteria and will likely kill the entire leaf. Carnivorous plants are only meant to eat insects.

I hope this has been informative. I'd encourage you if you are at all interested in growing some strange and wonderful plants to keep your eye out the next time you are at a store. Tens of thousands perhaps even millions of Venus flytraps are thrown into the garbage every year because of incorrect care.

Venus flytraps are nearly extinct in the wild, and it breaks my heart to see such cool plants go to waste, slowly suffocating in cramped terrariums in eternal summer only to be poked and prodded by curious fingers until they eventually die.

I cannot rescue them all, but by informing you, perhaps you'll have pity on one or two poor Venus flytraps and save them yourself.

Meat-Eater Monday

Growing Carnivorous Plants Part 2: Feeding, Planting, and Summer and Winter Care



As discussed last week, carnivorous plants' most basic needs are sun, soil, and water, but for successful long-term care, other aspects must be examined.

1) Feeding your plant.

The whole point of having a carnivorous plant is for it to eat your bugs, right?

Think again.

Yes, carnivorous plants will eat bugs -- and plenty of them if grown outside as they should be -- however, you cannot expect to suddenly not have flies buzzing around your house anymore. Different types of carnivorous plants eat different types of bugs. Venus Flytraps will catch anything especially daddy-long-legs, spiders, and flies.  American pitcher plants may catch hundreds of flying insects especially wasps. Sundews can only hold onto smaller victims such as gnats and ants.

However, in order to trap and eat bugs, carnivorous plants must first attract them. So you may find that more bugs are around because of your pant than the number they can catch.

After all, it is rather unfair to expect one or two (or even 50+) plants to catch all of the millions of bugs around your home.

2) Summer Care

Most cold hardy carnivorous plants grow in bogs along the south-eastern coast of America -- they can handle the heat. Most growers in America (up the east coast, midwest, etc) should have no trouble when growing their plants outside in the summer.

However, in drier, more desert climates, I've heard that the plants tend to struggle a bit more. Any potted plant is more susceptible to those in the ground. To help your carnivorous plant to survive in a hot, dry summer, ensure that it has plenty of water ALWAYS. On very hot days, I've top watered my plants with cold water (remember distilled, or reverse osmosis only) or placed a distilled water ice cube near the base of the plant and let it gradually melt. It is important to keep the roots cool.

To help stabilize the temperature of the plant, always plant them in a big pot -- the bigger the better.

If it still seems too hot for your plant, you could bring it inside to a sunny windowsill during the afternoons. Try to leave it outside for the morning and evening if possible to allow it to soak up plenty of sun.

3) Winter Care

The same rules for summer care apply to winter care. The bigger the pot, the better. Cold hardy carnivorous plants are used to winter -- in fact, it is vital to them. However, care needs to be taken for their more exposed roots since the plants are in pots.

DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.

Carnivorous plants go "dormant" in the winter. This is a well-deserved rest period. Carnivorous plants will live for decades, ONLY if this step is observed every year. When the days shorten and it gets chilly, carnivorous plants stop growing. They do not catch bugs, and many leaves will turn brown and/or fall off.

If you live in an area where it rarely freezes for more than a few days and only snows a little, you shouldn't have to worry about your plants except on the coldest days.

However, if it gets really cold where you live (several 10+ day stretches of 20 degrees Fahrenheit or less). You'll have to take special care. All my plants have survived for years in very frigid winters so I'll outline here the steps I use to keep them safe.

NOTE: The following instructions are ONLY for areas where it gets extremely cold. If you live in a place with mild winters, your plants will not need this, and it will only harm them. Just let your plants go dormant as normal.

1. In the fall, I leave them unprotected until at least 8 frosts have passed (at least 4 of those being hard and cold)  The leaves will be brown and flopping over and you will see no new growth. Most Sundews will have died back, loosing all their leaves and some species will form a tiny winter "bud"

2. I cut off all the leaves. ALL of them. I hate this part. All of the leaves on your American pitcher plants and sundews need cut off even if they look beautiful. Be ruthless. It will pay off next year. (Tip: you can make bouquets of the pretty ones, but they tend to smell pretty bad...)

(Warning: Do NOT cut off the leaves from your purple pitcher plants or parrot pitchers. These plants are so slow growing that cutting off the leaves will stunt their growth -- trust me. I've done it. Only cut off the black leaves on your Venus flytraps.)

The reason it is helpful to cut off all the leaves after your plants are dormant in the fall is to help your plants preserve water. By cutting them off, you'll help keep your plants from wasting energy and getting dehydrated.

3. Place your plants in an unheated garage or against your house. (This step if optional. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I don't.)

4. Cover your plants with weed cloth or fabric of some kind.

5. Bury your plants using straw, hay, wood chips, or mulch.

6. Check periodically for mold.

7. When the weather starts warming up in early spring uncover your plants, place them in clean water and let them grow.

4) Planting

In the spring, it is a good idea to re-pot your plants. This renews the acidic environment carnivorous plants enjoy and prevents the build up of fatal nutrients. I get best results when I do this in early spring before they start growing. All you do is mix up your peat moss and perlite(or sand) with distilled water until it drips water when you squeeze it. Place the mix in a pot and dig a hole to place your plant in it. Remove your plant from the old soil and gently remove the old soil until the roots are clear and mostly free from the old soil. Carnivorous plant roots tend to be rather short and sparse so be careful.

Place your plant in a bigger pot if it outgrew its previous one. American pitcher plants have rhizomes, which are kinda like massive roots stretching along the ground half on top and half in the soil. If big enough, this rhizome can be broken into pieces -- just be sure there are roots on each piece. These pieces can be planted in their own pots to get you identical but smaller plants.

If you chose to divide your rhizome like that make sure you do it very early in the year before your plant starts growing and cut off any flowers your plant produces.

Meat-Eater Mondays

  

Growing Carnivorous Plants Part 1: Sunlight, Soil, and Water


Carnivorous plants are like any other plants in how they grow. They need sunlight, water, and soil. However, you can't throw them in just any soil and water and expect them to grow well. 
If grown properly, carnivorous plants can be very easy to grow.  

To understand how to grow carnivorous plants properly you must consider where they live. I had the opportunity to visit Jackson Bog several years ago where carnivorous plants live in the wild.

 As a general rule, carnivorous plants live in muddy sphagnum moss bogs and fens. These areas are often so acidic and deprived of nitrogen, normal plants cannot grow there. Therefore, strong sunlight warms carnivorous plant leaves all day long. 

Cold hardy carnivorous plants do not live in humid jungles but can occur all over the world including the United States. Therefore these plants can survive winter. 

Due to their need of lots of sunlight, carnivorous plants are best grown outside.

1) Sunlight
Sunlight is the most important part of growing carnivorous plants. Because they must produce nectar to attract bugs, expend lots of energy trapping bugs, and must produce enough digestive acids to eat their prey, carnivorous plants need a TON of sunlight to meet the energy need their life demands. How much is a ton exactly? 8+ hours of FULL sunlight every day, preferably a full summer day of sunlight. There are exceptions, but most cold hardy plants will appreciate a generous amount of bright, unfiltered sunlight. 

2) Soil
Carnivorous plants grow in sphagnum peat moss. However, peat moss is often sold in forms that add fertilizers and nutrients that will kill your plants. The safest way to buy peat moss is in a bale, ensuring that the label clearly says sphagnum and that it is 100% pure.  Natural bogs have drain water constantly, therefore, the peat moss needs to be mixed with clean washed playground sand or perlite. This mixture should be about half and half. 

3) Water
Since their natural habit is a bog, Carnivorous plants need a constant source of water. The easiest way to ensure your plant has enough water is to plant it in a plastic pot with drainage holes in the bottom and place it in a slightly larger saucer or dish. (If you don't care about looks, Tupperware works great for this.) Keep that dish constantly filled with water

However, in most places you won't be able to water your plant straight from the tap.  Since carnivorous plants are used to living in an area where there are few if any nutrients, their water must be free of any nutrients or chemicals. Straight tap water that has too many chemicals and nutrients will kill your plants eventually.  This problem can be solved by using rainwater, distilled water, or reverse osmosis water. 

However, if faced with the problem of a thirsty plant and if you don't have any of the proper water to give it, use tap water for a short period until you can get more water. It is better to keep your plant wet than to let it dry out.

This is a brief introduction to growing carnivorous plants people argue over the best way to grow them and there is certainly merit in other growing methods, but I have found this method the simplest and it had great results. My plants have been thriving for over a decade by being grown like this. 

Here is a picture of my plants earlier this spring in their outdoor setup. 

Meat-Eater Monday

No. I'm not discussing steaks -- or cannibalism for that matter.

This blog may have seemed normal, and it will continue to be -- except on Mondays, at least for this summer. Mondays will be devoted to the discussion of carnivorous plants -- meat eaters (or more precisely, insect eaters.)

I really don't remember why I became fascinated with carnivorous plants. Or what made me want one.

All I know is once I got a Venus flytrap and a purple pitcher plant my fate was sealed. I was captured as surely as the flies in my plants.

However, it took me about a year to learn how to grow these strange plants properly.  I started off without having a clue as to how to grow my meat eating plants, but thanks to the Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato and Sarracenia Northwest, I've successfully been growing carnivorous plants for nearly a decade and now have 40+ in my backyard. 

For today's post, I'm going to give an introduction to the world of carnivorous plants.

Carnivorous plants are simply plants with very specialized, modified leaves which attract, trap, and digest bugs.  There are thousands of species, but I will only be discussing the 3 "cold hardy" (able to survive winters) species which I have experience with.

1.) The North American Pitcher Plant

This is my favorite type of carnivorous plant. Their leaves trap bugs by luring them to the lip of a tube and the foolish bugs, greedy for nectar tumble in. They are unable to get out because of the slick sides of the pitcher. These pitcher plants come in many colors and sizes. They range from 6 inches to 4ft tall and can be any color green to pink. Although there are only 8 species, they can be crossed again and again to produce stunning hybrids exemplifying the best characteristics of all parents.

2.) The Venus Fly Trap

The Venus flytraps are the most famous of carnivorous plants and the most interesting to watch. It traps its prey by 3 trigger hairs on each side of its leaf. When an insect brushes up against them several times, the trap snaps shut in a split second!

3.) Sundews

If you were looking for a plant that murders insects, it would NOT be this one. It's leaves with tiny tentacles tipped with a glistening droplet glue, which is easily mistaken for dew. These innocent little plants look life nothing more than blades of grass covered in dew and glittering in the sunlight. However, if you look closely, the black exoskeletons of its gnat victims mark out a graveyard on its leaves.

I hope you've enjoyed this little intro. All pictures are of my own plants.