Website links
Cultivation Tips Page
On the left column, you will see a list of links to the different genera of carnivorous plants. Each page contains a description of the plant, where it grows, and how to successfully cultivate it.
On this page, I have included a list of commonly used jargon in the carnivorous plant world, as well as a brief explanation of scientific classification, and the genus names.
I have also included a section termed 'General Cultivation' which gives some information about the typical pests, how to treat them, the different soils used, and so forth.
Carnivorous Plant Jargon
Perhaps you've already seen it; cp, vft, tc, and so forth. What does it all mean? Here I have provided a list of commonly used jargon in the carnivorous plant world.
cp Carnivorous plant.
vft Venus flytrap.
tc Tissue culture. A method of propagating plants in very sterile, controlled conditions. Often used for mass production of plant material.
Nep Short for Nepenthes
Sarr Short for Sarracenia
Ping Short for Pinguicula
ssp. Scientific nomenclature for sub-species.
var. Scientific nomenclature for variant.
f. Scientific nomenclature for form.
Scientific Nomenclature
You will notice that when growing carnivorous plants, the vast majority of people refer to their scientific names. The scientific name is generally made up of two parts, the genus and species and is always italicized and always in Latin. We'll take Drosera capensis(common name is cape sundew) for an example. The first part, Droserais the genus name and is always capitalized. The genus refers to the broad group of sundews which all share some common characterisitics. The second part, capensisis the species and is always in small letters. The species gives a better description of what the plant is and often refers to the plants natural location or its morphology. In our example, capensisrefers to the fact that it's naturally found growing near Capetown, South Africa. You may also see further breakdown of plants beyond species into subspecies, variants, and forms to further describe themselves. Not all plants have subspecies, etc., but all plant do have a genus and species name.
So, now you're asking 'Why bother? Wouldn't it be simpler to call it a cape sundew?'. There are several problems with doing this.
1. Not everyone around the world knows what a cape sundew is. However, since the scientific name is universal, everyone knows (or can find out by researching in the library) what Drosera capensisis.
2. There may be more than one common name for a single species. For example, Darlingtonia californica is known commonly as the cobra lily, cobra plant, western pitcher plant, or just pitcher plant. Given that other genera are known commonly as pitcher plants, this results in confusion when discussing them.
3. Not all genera of carnivorous plants have common names. In this case, you have no choice but to use their scientific names.
While it may seem overwhelming at first, the scientific names become natural after a while. Many people are intimidated by the spellings and pronunciation of the names. If you come close, most people will know what you are referring to, so relax!
One final note on scientific names, and that is they are static. What I mean by this is that the names cannot be pluralized (eg: I have one Droseraor I have many Drosera, not I have many Droseras). This is to avoid confusion (people may think you are talking about a different genus).
Explanation of Genus Names
This section contains explanations of the meaning behind the genus names, as well as some of the common names used for each genus.
Dionaea Named after the Greek goddess Diana as it was thought to be a beautiful plant. Common names include venus flytrap, fly-catch sensitive, tipitiwitchet, and fly catcher.
Sarracenia Named in honour of the Quebec botanist Dr. Sarrazin who conducted early work with these plants and provided material for other botanists. Common names include American pitcher plant, and pitcher plant.
Darlingtonia Named by John Torrey after his friend, Dr. W. Darlingtonia. Common names include cobra lily, cobra plant, western pitcher plant, and pitcher plant.
Heliamphora Made up of the Greek words helosmeaning marsh, and amphorameaning pitcher. Common names include sun pitchers, marsh pitcher plants, and pitcher plants.
Cephalotus Refers to the structure of the leaves and flowers. Common names include Albany pitcher plant, Western Australian pitcher plant, and pitcher plant.
Byblis Named after the mythological character who was turned into a fountain after weeping the loss of her brother's love. No common names.
Pinguicula In Latin, this means 'little greasy one'. Common name is butterwort.
Utricularia In Latin, this means 'little bag' and refers to the traps. Common name is bladderwort.
Genlisea Refers to the plant and flower structure. Commonly called the corkscrew plant.
Nepenthes Refers to the drug 'Nepenthe' used in Homer's The Odysseyto alleviate sorrow. It was thought that upon viewing these plants after long, strenuous hikes through the jungle, it would bring a sense of astonishement and pleasure. Common names include tropical pitcher plants and pitcher plants.
Drosera Comes from the Greek word for dewy, the mucilage on the plants looking like small dew drops. Common names is sundew.
Aldrovanda Refer's to the 'wheel like' structure of the plant. Common name is water-wheel plant.
Drosophyllum Means dewy leaved (phyllode=leaf). Common names are dewy pine and fly catcher.
Triphyophyllum Indicates that the plant produces three (tri) different leaf forms over the course of its life. No common name.
General Cultivation
This section gives some general cultivation hints, and explains in a bit more detail the different types of soils, pests, etc. encountered when growing cp's.
In general, most cp's prefer their water to be as mineral free as possible. You should not water your plants with tapwater if you live in an area with hardwater. These are generally areas where precipitation levels through the year are relatively low. Softening the water does not help, since this only exchanges one mineral for another. If your water is soft (without treatment), you can use it after allowing it to sit for at least 24 hours so that the chlorine will dissipate out.
Of course, there are other alternatives to tap water. Gathered rain water (provided it's not heavily laden with mineral from your roof) is an excellent source. You can also buy water distillers and deionizers to remove the minerals from your water. If you live near a college or university, take a container and ask if you can't fill it up with distilled water from the labs.
Pots used for carnivorous plants should, in general, be either plastic or glazed clay pots. With one exception, you will never want to use clay pots, as these have the tendancy to build up minerals in them (giving them that whitish look over time). Pots should be new, as old used pots often encourage the growth of competitive mosses from leftover nutrients.
The different soil components used for carnivorous plants replicate the natural habitat in some form. Most are readily available from your local gardening store. Of course, it's always better to buy larger quantities, as this will save you money. The different soils used with cp's are:
Peat moss This should be free of chemicals and wetting agents. Canadian peat moss is the best brand to use.
Sphagnum moss Useful for growing some carnivorous plants. I have seen many mosses sold as sphagnum moss, but are another species, often a forest floor moss, and are quite unsuitable (even poisonous) to cp's. A general field taxonomy guide will show what sphagnum moss looks like. If you are still unsure, purchase some from a reputable cp dealer so that you know what to look for in the nursery.
Perlite A white, very light substrate good as an additive. I have not found any problems with any of the brands of perlite sold in the stores.
Vermiculite This is expanded mica, and looks like reflective peices of dark cardboard. Holds a great deal of water. However, it can contain salts, and when using it for cp's, should be thoroughly rinsed and soaked.
Horticultural Sand The nursery's are generally good about selling salt free river sand. Never use collected ocean sand. Other alternatives for large, cheap sources include sandblasting sand, and sand meant for childrens sandboxes. The more expensive silica sand has not proven its worth to me yet.
Orchid Bark Thanks to the popularity of orchids, this, and many of the other substrates used for cp's are becoming more commonly available. Orchid bark should be about 1 inch in diameter, or smaller, depending on how large the plant is that you want to use it with. This bark is generally collected from pine and fir trees.
There are, of course, other substances used for growing cp's, especially with Nepenthes. These can include styrofoam, coconut fibre, and rockwool. Experiment and decide what works for you.
Despite their carnivorous nature, cp's are bothered by a variety of pests. These can include mealybugs, thrips, scale, spider mites, aphids, and larger varieties such as slugs, squirrels, racoons, and deer. For the smaller critters, commercial pesticides can be used, if you've given up trying to pick off the bugs manually. Diazanon is my personal favourite. Try to get it in a wettable powder, since the oil in the liquid form removes the mucilage of sundews and sets them back in growth for a while.
For the larger pests, wettable sulfur will sometimes discourage them. This should be sprinkled around the plants, not in the pots! However, you may have to resort to other means such as electric fences, or removal of the pest (through live trapping or other means).
Slugs can be gotten rid of by either encouraging toads to live near your cp's, or by putting out a bowl of beer (non-alcoholic is fine), which they crawl into and drown. Don't throw them out though! They make a fine lunch for larger Sarracenia. I don't suggest feeding this indoors, as the smell can be quite powerful!
This year (2000) I had a problem with a relatively new cp pest, the strawberry weevil. Damage was apparent on a Sarracenia rubra plant I had out in the greenhouse. New leaves were having round holes chewed from the edges of the new pitchers. The main problem with this pest is that often once it is discovered that you have them, it's too late for the plant. The adults have laid eggs which hatch into larvae that feeds and destroys the rhizome. It's almost exclusive to the North American pitcher plants with large rhizomes.
To control this pest, go out at night with a flashlight. The adults will have emerged from the soil at this time, and can be easily picked off (they don't move very fast). If you think the problem is more severe, you may have to unpot the plant, destroy all the old soil, and cut off affected parts of the rhizome. To prevent them, stand your pots in large trays of water. Strawberry weevils can't fly, only crawl, and will drown in the water. For more info and pics on this new pest, visit Kevin's weevil page.
There are a few flying and crawling beasts which are not pests, and should be encouraged to live amongst your cp's. One of the best, but feared by many, is the spider. Spiders will consume many of the pests that plague our plants, and in general are quite content to live in peace with humans.
Another beneficial insect is the ladybug. Most of you are probably familiar with their voracious appetite for aphids, a true scourge of cp's. Unfortunately, the ladybugs can be attracted to the cp's and end up as lunch.
One insect that is misunderstood is the lowly fungus gnat. These are those tiny black insects that you find flying around and moist soil. All I can say is, don't worry, they're rarely harmful to cp's. The adults make a perfect food for sundews, and the larvae are readily gulped up by terrestrial utrics. Nature takes care of herself.
The last insect I'll mention is that worker of workers, the honey bee. If you do not pollinate your Sarraceniabut find that they produce seed by the fall, it's probably because of this helpful worker. They ensure the continued existence of hundred of species of wild plants, and should never be captured to be fed to a hungry cp, no matter how much it begs!
Finally, cp'ers should pay attention to one disease in particular, that is the dreaded fungus Botrytis which appears as a fluffy white substance on dead material. It is commonly found with cp's as the high humidity environment suits it well. To prevent it, trim off all dead material, keep air flow moving, and keep light levels high. If you do get a serious outbreak, treat with a fungicide such as Benomyl or Captan. Both are available from nurserys, although I prefer Benomyl as it comes as a powder which can be mixed up with distilled water.