Don’t feed the plants!

Top tips for looking after your carnivorous plants:

Food

  • As the title says - don’t feed the plants! Don’t be tempted to drop any dead insects into the tubers. The plants are very adept at attracting their own food

  • There is no need to use plant feed in the growing medium. These plants thrive with very few nutrients.

Drink

  • Keep them watered! Your plants will need to be sat in a shallow tray or pot of water.

  • Use rainwater. Tap water will kill them very quickly.

  • If you don’t have a supply of rainwater then try collecting water from a pond, stream or even from a de-humidifier.

  • The plant roots must never dry out, so even in the winter the growing medium must be kept damp.

Sleep

Carnivorous plants go dormant in the winter, here are some tips on what to do to bring them back next Summer:

  • Depending on the conditions, the plants will retain some “leaves”, if any are obviously dead, then cut them off close to the base as possible.

  • Keep the growing medium damp (make sure to use rain water again)!

  • Sarracenia will survive a British winter outside, but if possible move them to a greenhouse.

Everything else

  • Place in full sunlight.

  • The tubers are in fact, modified leaves. If leaves appear that haven’t turned into tubers - cut them off at the base as they have no useful purpose.

  • Sarracenia have very impressive flowers between March and May. The different plant strains have their own characteristics and colours. Some will flower before growing new leaves, while some will produce new leaves first.

  • Cutting flower stems as soon as they appear will promote leaf growth - but they’re a lovely looking flower so why not leave them on!