We live in a very hot area, will the plants survive?
It’s a common myth in the Philippines that people believe pitcher plants are mountain plants. But actually pitcher plants were common on Philippine shores just a few hundred years ago. They just dislike the nutrients that come along with human settlements and also suffer from over-collection and thus disappear. While there are pitcher plants that only live in the mountains, many of our plants originate from hot tropical lowland locations. There are actually some (N. ampullaria, N. bicalcarata, N. gracilis, N. rafflesiana, N. mirabilis …) plants that will grower faster for you than for us, as we are 700 masl. Generally, when we import and propagate plants we are focusing on plants that love warm temperatures, as most of our buyers are in cities like Manila and Cebu. Some of the “highland” and temperate plants are recommended only for experienced growers, but you will find indications on the website. It’s written from a lowland perspective.
Plants from temperate countries like VFT or some sundews are actually also quite heat proof as temperatures in Europe or USA easily climb to 40 C in summer, which is a bit more than in Manila and such. Here the concern would be to try to keep the night temperatures low (growing outdoors without roof and without concrete nearby being desired). Of course it is always possible to kill a plant – this depends in the end on the grower.
How often do I need to water the plants?
Can not be answered, as it depends where your plants are placed and even their pot size has a huge impact on their watering frequency. In full sun and small pots it might be needed every two hours and indoors maybe once a week. You will have to learn to see when the soil needs water. Most of our plants are water loving, while most of them enjoy drying out for a few hours (definitely not days) rather than staying permanently wet. As you can sense you can lessen the watering frequency by choosing a bigger pot or a more dense soil, but some plants don’t like that (lazier approach), too.
I don’t have rain water. What are the alternatives?
First of all, we are in a country, with one of the highest rain fall rates in the world, so there should be a way to get rain to your plants, while it might be not as comfy as charging an Iphone :). We advise to use a large storage drum or even tank, that can fill quickly during a good rain fall (no, with a few Coke bottles, you won’t get far into dry season). Rain water can be used not only for plants, but also for the car wash, CR, washing machine and more, investing in a tank usually pays back quickly. If you just live in an apartment without rain-access, you might know someone where you can collect rain-water, and fill some bottles from their drum, or you can also try collecting the run-off water of air-conditioners. If this is not an option, it get’s a bit more expensive: You can buy distilled water (Wilkons brand etc) or even look into a reverse osmosis (RO) unit, which is very costly to buy and run. If you have an emergency you can use (2+ day old) tap or well water, but on the long run it will harm the plants, as the unfavorable minerals will accumulate in your media. Best of course is, if your plants are fully exposed to the rain (exclude Butterwort and some Sundews here), as pitcher plants are known to be more deadly to insects during rain, due to the vibration and added lubrication.
My Nepenthes is loosing one or more pitchers. Is it dying?
After transplanting, sometimes even if you just move the pot within your patio, Nepenthes can get a dry stress and loose pitchers. Latest by then you might want to consider the closed plastic bags technique. Don’t worry, though it is pretty normal and the first or 2nd new grown leaf at your place should have a healthy nice pitcher.
I am a beginner. Which of your Venus Flytraps is the easiest?
Venus Flytrap is only one species: Dionaea muscipula – therefore they are all the same despite some optical differences and don’t require different cultivation measures. Having said that we and some of our customers believe that the red flytraps grow slower and thus are harder to keep happy. Please also consider starting with Nepenthes pitcher plants first, they are way easier to grow and much bigger.
Will Venus Flytrap bite my fingers off? Are they poisonous? Will the pitcher plant digest my finger if I put it in the pitcher?
People, you have been watching too many cartoons! These are plants! Humans harm and eat plants, but not the other way around! While these plants might strike back at some insects, they won’t harm you or your pets (unless you are collecting insects 🙂 ). Or maybe if you keep your finger for 3 weeks in a pitcher plant, maybe you finger gets also a little softer 🙂 I am actually amazed, how often this topic is raised…
My Venus Flytrap has black traps. Is it dying?
No, it is pretty normal for Dionaea to have black leaves. You can cut them off if you want. A leaf lives only about 2 months for this plant, but in the same time new ones are emerging. If you got the hang of it they should emerge at least at the same rate as the old leaves are dying (recommended) 🙂
My Venus Flytrap arrived and all traps are closed. Why is that?
The traps have been triggered during transportation and might react to water stress. They will open again after a week or so. Latest the newly grown leaves will perform as expected.
How many leaves (traps) does a VFT have?
This is a somewhat strange but common question. Strange, because how would I know how many leaves the individual VFT taken out of hundreds, that I will send to a specific customer in two weeks will have? Even if I would check it, would it still have the same amount of leaves next week?? Anyway, a flytrap should have at least 4 leaves to be allowed for dispatch.
What and how often do I have to feed my plant?
No, you don’t need to feed your plant. The plant is fine without feeding and smart enough to capture its own prey. Food for a carnivorous plant is like vitamins for a human. It’s not definitely needed, but makes it stronger and healthier. If you still want to feed, don’t use very large insects as they can make the trap mold. Insects should be alive though. Also ants are not recommended as they defend themselves with an acid that can be damaging to the leaf tissue. Don’t feed meat, cheese, eggs or other things that don’t belong into plants 🙂
I want the easiest carnivorous plant. What do you recommend?
Nepenthes are the easiest plants, as they are native to the tropics. Within this group you can start with the cheap hybrids. N. hirsuta x spathulata, N. Gentle, N. Miranda, N. Trichocarpa being for us the fastest and thus easiest. N. Dyeriana might be even faster for you (heat loving) and has very spectacular pitchers. If you want the fastest plant then you might want to look into N. Ventrata. N. Hookeriana, N. mirabilis MT, N. maxima and N. ampullaria are also lovely and very sturdy.
Sarracenia are also quite easy to grow, but here you need to watch out for pests – easy ones are S. Leucosomething, S. rubra and S. alata. Sundews can be more delicate, but D. spathulata, D. intermedia and D. filiformis are very forgiving.
Do I need to do dormancy?
This applies mostly for Sarracenia and Dionaea, while most others are tropicals. We are growing some of our Sarracenias since 10+ years without dormancy and can say that they are fine. Even the most cold loving Sarracenia purpurea is happy as can be, but is has to be noted that our night temperatures are a few degree below the typical temperatures in the Philippines. Anyway we have super-mild winter here in the Philippines, plus the following dry season can also keep plants dormant. Just Google around and build your own opinion.
Some Sarracenia don’t like the tropical climate, but we did the testing for you and sell only those that are ok with it.
For VFT we have 5 year old plants that are happy and big without dormancy, they just rarely flower. But you don’t want VFT flowers either, they are boring and drain the energy of the plant. Don’t be to eager for seeds, they require lots of patience and error-free care to turn into full size plants. We find it way too hard and slow to grow from seeds.
So, if a plant needs a dormancy, I can not grow it?
Sure, you can! Just put it in the refrigerator for 3 months. Procedure is, get it out from the soil, wash it, cut at least for Sarracenia all pitchers off (or at least make them short enough for the fridge, clean the roots, drown the whole Rhizome in a fungicide solution (we are using Dimethane, which you find in any Agrisupply) and then transfer it in a tupperware. As a luxury you can make a bedding in the tupperware from live Sphagnum that you can order on our website. Put a date on the tupperware and place it in the warmest area of your refrigerator, which is usually the upper door. Be nice to your family members, that they tolerate that weird container and advise them not to throw it away (been there done that…) 🙂
The cold dormancy might be rewarded by getting bigger VFT and Sarracenia. As we grow thousands of CP, we don’t have that option (sure kill by the family members 🙂 )
How do I grow plant XY? What soil do I use?
Just visit our website and check the cultivation guides and FAQ. If there is anything special about the species, it will be mentioned in its description. Don’t forget that the Internet is full of information. If you google ‘VFT cultivation’ you will ten thousands of hits… Try also www.flytrapcare.com or www.nepenthesaroundthehouse.com or visit the www.carnivorousplants.org – those should keep you busy for a while. If you are tired from reading, try Youtube, lots on there, too!
Why are some of your plants so small?
First of all the size is usually indicated in the website, as in S=5-8cm, M=8-15cm, L=15-25cm or XL. When we import plants they are usually at S or even smaller and are not cheap either. Carnivorous plants are generally relatively slow growing, sometimes it takes us a year to grow them from S to M. Often they sell out prior to reaching large size and we have to re-import or reproduce. For shipping it is of course also convenient (which means cheaper for you) to have smaller plants. Often our sizes are outdated and the plant you are receiving is already larger, but we have to play safe (or say nothing) with our size indications.
My house is insect infested. Are your plants my solution?
Frankly spoken, I prefer people who grow these plants being fascinated by their beauty and sophisticated ways how to prey, capture and digest insects. If your main purpose is to get an insect free house, you might want to stick to Baygon or move to Alaska or such :). Insect eating plants do catch a bit of insects, but they don’t eradicate them (only humans are smart enough to eradicate their food sources (think dynamite/cyanide fishing)). Further on you won’t make these plants happy by growing them indoors – they might even die when attempting. Having said that, there are people who bring their sundews or butterworths inside at night and even assist them with a desk light and can watch them catching huge amounts of flying insects including mosquitoes. We have some poultry owners, who are very satisfied with Sarracenia taking care of their fly populations in their homes – although they would need huge amounts of plants to make an impact on their whole farm. Nepenthes are always filling up with dead ants and even roaches if the pitcher size allows. And Venus Flytraps sometimes seem to have their traps permanently closed, as the open traps will be closed quickly by the next victim.
I have a carnivorous plant that is not mentioned on your website – can I trade with you?
As we are strictly complying with DENRs policies, we can only acquire plants with full documentation, import papers, phytosanitary etc. That’s why you don’t see our collection growing rapidly, as it is a bureaucratic ordeal to get more plants. This applies btw. to all Filipinos, you should always have fully documented plants, as most of the carnivorous plants are endangered and thus protected species. DENR is especially keen on Nepenthes, as many of these are native to the Philippines and need the utmost protection, which is good and very necessary. If you get those without papers and display them in public (yes, Facebook/Insta is public, too) you might be in legal trouble quicker than you think.
All our plants are shipped with DENR and PQS permits and OR. Keep these documents safe, once you receive your plants. If they are missing (sometimes they get removed at the airport!), notify us immediately and not 3 years later, once DENR is knocking on your door (has happened on several occasions!).