Soil (coming soon)
More Guides Coming Soon!
I wrote a few "guides" to describe my experiences, with the hope that they may help someone else who is trying to figure out how to grow these plants. By no means am I an expert (I'm a kid!) - my suggestions are based on what has worked for me and what I've read in books or online. There are several reference sites out there with lots of information that I don't plan on repeating here, unless I found it especially helpful for growing my own plants. A lot of my posts will describe trials and experiments to see if they work, since so much of growing successfully is trial and error.
Carnivorous Plant Basics
Carnivorous plants are truly unique compared to other plants, and there are some key requirements to understand in order to properly care for them.
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The first and most important rule is that you need to use distilled water, rainwater, or reverse osmosis water (dehumidifier water is ok). Why? Because the minerals and salts in tap water are too "hard" and can kill these special plants.
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The second rule is that the soil needs to be wet (although there are a few species that like to be drier). The roots in the plant need this moisture.
This is not a rule, but is pretty much a requirement if you are serious about learning about carnivorous plants. Get a copy of the book, "The Savage Garden," by Peter D'Amato. I have read mine cover-to-cover several times and refer to it often. In fact, I actually have two copies - one that I use frequently, and one I am trying to preserve in new condition. This book is great for both beginners and more advanced growers. If you're lucky enough to be able to visit California Carnivores in person, you can pick up an autographed copy there and meet Peter D'Amato (left) and Damon Collingsworth (right) in person. Damon took most of the photos in the book. They are both really nice and helpful, and always share growing tips with me. I wish we lived closer to their nursery.
In terms of fertilizer, carnivorous plants are sensitive and only some brands of fertilizer should be used. The most common are freeze-dried bloodworms, Maxsea, and Osmocote. Be sure to use in small doses because they can burn the leaves. Some species do not like fertilizer at all.
Seedling Transfer
Seedling transfer of most carnivorous plants is not as difficult as I thought it would be. It is important to have the right soil (and making the right soil mix takes a lot of time - I'll write a guide for that soon), extra pots, and a lot of patience (which I'm working on). These are Sarracenia "Hurricane Creek White" seedlings grown from seeds that I collected and planted.
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There's nothing fancy about transferring seedlings. The basic goal is to give each seedling more room to grow. I initially thought I would transfer 6 seedlings to each new pot, but then realized I would need way too many new pots, so ended up planting 9 - 16 seedlings in each new pot.
I gathered 32 nursery pots (2.5" square extra deep) and a 1020 tray. I put sphagnum in the bottom of each pot and then filled the rest with washed peat. I used tweezers to poke some holes in the soil where I planned to place the new plants, and then gently picked up a seedling, making sure to protect the root (hover below), and placed it in each hole.
3 cups
Blueberries
root
3 cups
Blueberries
root
I repeated this many, many more times (over 300) and here's what I had at the end:
