Carnivorous plants are not as hard to take care of as most people think. Sundews are literally an invasive species in New Zealand, and Venus flytraps are from South Carolina. The reason they seem hard to take care of is because many companies that sell carnivorous plants provide incorrect care instructions or pot them in the wrong type of soil. Most likely as a planned obsolescence scheme to get people to buy more. Learn the proper care instructions, and they’re extremely hardy.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much that I can share with you on that front.
But it reminds me of searching for protocols when doing a science experiment - everyone says something different. What I learned is to look at multiple sites and then take the “average” of all of them. Tends to work pretty well
Hi! I feel strangely well-placed to respond here - my horticulturalist wife used to tend a garden of carnivorous plants professionally.
I asked her advice and she said,
"Avoid blogger sites. Some are good, but most have no clue and just regurgitate what they read on some other blog. If you want the super in-depth info, use Google scholar and search for the plant name plus whatever you need to know. Soil ph, propagation technique, etc.
For more approachable info though, search normally for ‘<plant name> university extension’. University extension work is when a university is doing public outreach stuff - publishing information in easy to read and apply ways. "
So… Searching for “Venus flytrap university extension”, I found this page which gives a very straightforward breakdown on how to care for your own personal Audrey-jr.
Carnivorous plants are not as hard to take care of as most people think. Sundews are literally an invasive species in New Zealand, and Venus flytraps are from South Carolina. The reason they seem hard to take care of is because many companies that sell carnivorous plants provide incorrect care instructions or pot them in the wrong type of soil. Most likely as a planned obsolescence scheme to get people to buy more. Learn the proper care instructions, and they’re extremely hardy.
Do you have a favorite site for plant soil/care guidance?
I’m not particularly interested in carnivorous plants, but plants in general, and I often see sites with conflicting info.
Unfortunately, I don’t have much that I can share with you on that front.
But it reminds me of searching for protocols when doing a science experiment - everyone says something different. What I learned is to look at multiple sites and then take the “average” of all of them. Tends to work pretty well
Hi! I feel strangely well-placed to respond here - my horticulturalist wife used to tend a garden of carnivorous plants professionally.
I asked her advice and she said,
"Avoid blogger sites. Some are good, but most have no clue and just regurgitate what they read on some other blog. If you want the super in-depth info, use Google scholar and search for the plant name plus whatever you need to know. Soil ph, propagation technique, etc. For more approachable info though, search normally for ‘<plant name> university extension’. University extension work is when a university is doing public outreach stuff - publishing information in easy to read and apply ways. "
So… Searching for “Venus flytrap university extension”, I found this page which gives a very straightforward breakdown on how to care for your own personal Audrey-jr.
Thanks 👍
The Carolinas are an amazing place for carnivorous plants. Over 30 species of them including Venus fly traps are native to the area.