Carnivorous plants?

JoeR said:
Anyone have experience with nepenthes? Not sure If it’s better inside or out. We have dehumidifiers in the house now so I bet they won’t like it inside too much. I could get a terrarium set up though I suppose. I think this one is nepenthes alata? Is under a bench like this a good spot? I’m struggling to find a place for it with low light but high humidity. I’m already in love though.
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When I ran the greenhouse in college I amassed a large collection of nepenthes acquired as cuttings from other large greenhouse collections in the Wash. DC area. I found they really needed the humidity and warmth of a green house environment. I am pretty sure they would do well outside in the Sand Hills but come winter it will be a challenge to keep them alive. They probably won’t make it through the winter their either as they are tropicals and will need to be moved inside—good luck.
 
Cofga said:
When I ran the greenhouse in college I amassed a large collection of nepenthes acquired as cuttings from other large greenhouse collections in the Wash. DC area. I found they really needed the humidity and warmth of a green house environment. I am pretty sure they would do well outside in the Sand Hills but come winter it will be a challenge to keep them alive. They probably won’t make it through the winter their either as they are tropicals and will need to be moved inside—good luck.
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Thanks for the input. I’m thinking I’ll keep it outside under the bench as long as possible and around November or so I’ll move it inside with my tropical bonsai. Something I can’t quite figure out though is should they be watered with tap water or purified RODI water like Venus flytraps?
 
JoeR said:
Thanks for the input. I’m thinking I’ll keep it outside under the bench as long as possible and around November or so I’ll move it inside with my tropical bonsai. Something I can’t quite figure out though is should they be watered with tap water or purified RODI water like Venus flytraps?
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I believe all carnivorous plants need RO or distilled water because they naturally grow in areas with very little nutrients. I've also heard that nepenthes can be difficult to keep in a terrarium environment eventually because they get too big. Unless you have the space for a large one.
 
JoeR said:
Anyone have experience with nepenthes? Not sure If it’s better inside or out. We have dehumidifiers in the house now so I bet they won’t like it inside too much. I could get a terrarium set up though I suppose. I think this one is nepenthes alata? Is under a bench like this a good spot? I’m struggling to find a place for it with low light but high humidity. I’m already in love though.
Click to expand...

I've actually read that nepenthes enjoy a couple hours of full sunlight daily as long as they are kept wet. I know this is the case with my Venus flytraps, which I keep on my porch with 6-7 hours of full sunlight every day. I keep their pots in a bin with a couple inches of water, which provides boggy conditions. Because you live in North Carolina, I think it's definitely a good idea to keep your nepenthes outside, rather than indoors. Carnivorous plants in general need to go dormant and require cold weather for part of the year. Good luck!
 
wsteinhoff said:
I believe all carnivorous plants need RO or distilled water because they naturally grow in areas with very little nutrients. I've also heard that nepenthes can be difficult to keep in a terrarium environment eventually because they get too big. Unless you have the space for a large one.
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Agreed: tap water can have minerals and nutrients in it. Carnivorous plants will die if exposed to nutrients in the soil or water. This is why it is common to pot carnivorous plants in peat moss and perlite, rather than regular potting soil.
 
pbrown00 said:
I've actually read that nepenthes enjoy a couple hours of full sunlight daily as long as they are kept wet. I know this is the case with my Venus flytraps, which I keep on my porch with 6-7 hours of full sunlight every day. I keep their pots in a bin with a couple inches of water, which provides boggy conditions. Because you live in North Carolina, I think it's definitely a good idea to keep your nepenthes outside, rather than indoors. Carnivorous plants in general need to go dormant and require cold weather for part of the year. Good luck!
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Nepenthes are tropical jungle plants and do not go dormant like temperate zone plants. Depending on the species nepenthese may undergo a dry season type dormany like many trees do here in the late summer. Pitcher plants, sundews, and Venus flytraps are temperate zone species and that is why they go dormant. I pack about 6” of pine needle mulch on top of mine each fall to protect them here in the mountains and they pop back up every spring.
 
I have experience in killing nephentes. From all carnivorous plants I have owned, those were the hardest.
Not too little, not too much, of everything, all the time. They either catch on, or they die.

There might be some nephentes forums that could help you out.
 
Nepenthes care varies widely by species since they're found at different elevations which changes their temperature requirements. They are tropical, from SE Asia, and generally like to stay moist at all times, prefer higher humidity, and most species prefer not to get too cold. They can be grown outside during the summer in warmer/humid areas, but not year round. Most aren't too hard if you can meet their care requirements, but should be treated like the tropicals they are.
 
I just ordered some plants through the net. Hopefully they aren't super tiny and not to easy to kill. I want to start hoarding a small but pretty collection of them. I ordered each major kind except for venus fly traps. I'd like to put them into small bonsai pots.
 
thumblessprimate1 said:
I just ordered some plants through the net. Hopefully they aren't super tiny and not to easy to kill. I want to start hoarding a small but pretty collection of them. I ordered each major kind except for venus fly traps. I'd like to put them into small bonsai pots.
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Exact same goals as me. Except I thoroughly enjoy my VFT too. Keep us updated.
 
JoeR said:
Wow, nice! Where are these beauts from, and are you happy with the quality versus price?
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I really can't give good advice as it's my first time purchase. They look cool, but the plants are much smaller than I expected. Very pricey in my opinion. I paid over $150 for these. I'd be most worried about the diminutive sundew in the condiment container. It's the size of a puppy's toenail. Everything was packed well into a small USPS flat rate box. I purchased from carnivorousplantnursery.com.
 
If I can keep them alive, I'll try other nurseries I've found. I have a feeling it'll still be pricey, but I'm hoping the plants will be fuller.
 
Very cool pics!

The only way we can keep carnivorous plants around here is to go with a dedicated bog terrarium. I had a nice small one in my kitchen for a few years - when I made the error of thinking it would be fun to grow carnivorous plants from seed. :) If you have never tried, it is quite interesting. Imagine a perfect version of an adult Venus fly trap... smaller than a pencil eraser. You could probably create an entire bog system with several plants - in a shot glass.

And I agree - definitely RO/DI water. That's all I used. If you don't have an RO system, just buy a gallon of distilled water at the grocery store. It should last a long time.
 
Bonsai Nut said:
Very cool pics!

The only way we can keep carnivorous plants around here is to go with a dedicated bog terrarium. I had a nice small one in my kitchen for a few years - when I made the error of thinking it would be fun to grow carnivorous plants from seed. :) If you have never tried, it is quite interesting. Imagine a perfect version of an adult Venus fly trap... smaller than a pencil eraser. You could probably create an entire bog system with several plants - in a shot glass.

And I agree - definitely RO/DI water. That's all I used. If you don't have an RO system, just buy a gallon of distilled water at the grocery store. It should last a long time.
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Thanks. I buy water that's RO from a local place regularly. I'll continue that.
 
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