Top 5 Secrets to Keeping Your Carnivorous Plants Alive, Healthy and Beautiful

SECRET #1: Know thy plant. This may seem like a no-brainer, but one that first-time growers overlook. There are many types of carnivorous plants occurring on every continent in the world, except Antarctica. If you were to go on a world-wide expedition looking for as many types of carnivorous plants you can possibly find, you will discover carnivorous plants growing in Japan, China, Australia, India, South Africa, Spain, France, Ireland, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and the United States. If you were to explore the United States alone, you will find carnivorous plants in nearly all of the 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska. So, the first secret in keeping your carnivorous plants alive, healthy and beautiful is to know what type of carnivorous plant you have. With thousands of species of carnivorous plants in the world, each type requires their own care. Hopefully, your plant came with a tag that identifies its species. If not, visit Sar racenia Northwest for a list of carnivorous plants that are commonly grown in cultivation. http://www.cobraplant.com/grow-carnivorous-plants.html SECRET #2: Brighten their days with full sun. Once you know what type of carnivorous plants you have, just duplicate their natural surroundings. This means giving your plants the type of sun exposure and water they might experience in the wild. Lets start with sun. It often surprises many people to find out that the vast majority of carnivorous plants enjoy full sun. You see, carnivorous plants grow in bogs, which are open fields of wetlands. Most people confuse bogs with marshes. Marshes typically are closer to the ocean and contain slightly salted water. Marshes are also overgrown with trees, making them shady. Bogs, on the other hand, contain fresh water, usually bubbling up from an underground spring, and can be found on mountaintops and other places far away from the ocean. If you see a bog in nature, you will notice that there are no trees in it. So, all plants growing in a bog are exposed to full sun. This is true for Venus Flytraps, North American Pitcher Plants and nearly all Sundews. As a result, these plants do best growing in 6-8 hours of direct sunlight during their growing season. Four hours of direct sunlight are definitely the absolute minimum. Anything less than that will cause your plants to struggle for survival. The only types of carnivorous plants that are not exposed to full sun in the wild are Asian Pitcher Plants, Butterworts and some species of Sundews. These plants prefer bright indirect light. Now you know what types of carnivorous plants you have, give it the proper sunlight. With US native plants, grow them outside during the growing season (spring through fall). With Asian Pitcher Plants and Butterworts, grow them in a window that receives bright indirect light. If you do not have enough natural light, use 20-40W fluorescent light tubes or fluorescent compact bulbs that are equivalent to 100W. Keep the light source about 8 inches above the plant, and keep it on for 12-14 hours per day. Avoid using incandescent bulbs because it produces too much heat and the wrong type of light. Secret #3: Soak their feet. After giving your carnivorous plants the right amount of light (full sun, partial sun or indirect light), now you need to make sure it gets the right amount of water. Nearly all carnivorous plants grow in bogs, which are constantly wet. So, if you want to duplicate what they experience out in nature, you need to provide constantly wet soil. Some people prefer to simply water their plants every day. Personally, I find this to be a real drag, especially when I have so many other things to do, like watch a good DVD or scratch my dog