Beginner's Questions

[Lincoln]

Hey,

I am new to carnivorous plants, and I have a few questions.
1. Is it a good idea to put multiple different carnivorous plants in a single pot(e.g Sundews, Venus Fly Traps, Pitcher Plants)?
2. What are good beginner plants of the three types I just mentioned?
3. Any tips for beginners?

If anyone could answer any of these questions I would be much obliged.

-Lincoln

 

[bluemax]

Welcome to Terra Forums, Lincoln

1. This is doable providing you choose plants that like the same soil types and conditions. It is actually a larger question than it might seem.

2. For flytraps I would suggest typical forms. As with the Sarracenia (American pitcher plants) you will be dealing with temperate dormancy for these so they are maybe not the absolute easiest but they are both doable, especially if you have a climate where they can be grown out of doors. For sundews I recommend Drosera capensis and D. spatulata to start with. These can often be grown in a bright window or out of doors during the summer months and have no dormancy period.

3. I would suggest you look here: http://www.carnivorousplants.org/grow/guides There is lots of information to help get you started.

 

[Grey Moss]

Bluemax pretty much covered it. It is important to make sure you keep plants with the same climate requirements together. I've seen too many people plant stuff like nepenthes and venus flytraps together. If you want to make a community pot make sure temperates live with temperates and tropicals stay together.

One big tip I have for all beginners is too start slowly. It'll be hard to avoid jumping in too hard but try to only add new plants after the ones you already have are growing well. This will prevent you from getting too much stuff and possibly getting plants you can't grow well. But the good news is that once you can grow the basic stuff like cape sundews and nepenthes ventricosa you should be able to grow a large number of those genera well.

 

[DJ57]

If you have an outside space that gets at least 6 hours of full sun during the growing season you can place Sarracenia, flytraps, and temperate sundews such as Drosera intermedia, Drosera filiformis var filiformis, and Drosera rotundifolia together in a large pot. These are all temperate species. Keep in mind the sarracenia will expand in growth when deciding size of pot and number of sarracenia you add to it. If you live in zone 8 or warmer, this temperate pot should remain outside year-round. In colder climates the plants will need protection from sustained freezing temperatures such as mulching or moving the pot into a shed, garage, or basement depending on where you live. All temperate CP’s will go dormant outside in winter and actually require that dormancy to survive long term.

 

[Lincoln]

Thanks for the replies,

I live in Colorado, so when should I start growing?

 

[spdskr]

Thanks for the replies,

I live in Colorado, so when should I start growing?

When the night time temps consistently stay above freezing, so in another 30-45 days along the Front Range cities or western slope. Later if you are in the mountains. For reference, I live at 6,000' and my sarrs are starting to produce bloom buds, but these plants spend the winter in the garage. They will not start "growing" for another month or so. Typically, their blooms open in May, at which time they start producing new leaves. My vfts and dews get active at about the same time.

You could get started now, but would need to move the plants indoors every night, and wouldn't see noticeable growth for some time.