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Carnivorous Plant Growing Instructions

(For Sarracenia, Dionaea (Venus Flytrap), and temperate Sundews)

Carnivorous Plants are easy to grow, if you follow the Following instructions, they will give you many years of Pleasure.

1. Place plant in full sunlight, best in unheated greenhouse, conservatory or south facing window.
2. Place pot in saucer or gravel tray in approx. ½" to 1" of rainwater or distilled water. Never use tap water. This will kill your plant. Tap water contains lime, chlorine and Fluoride Ions which are poisonous to all carnivorous plants.
3. Never let your plant dry out, if this happens and the plant withers, it will die.
4. Never give the plant fertilizer or any other plant food to the roots. You can feed the plant artificially by giving the plant tiny pieces of raw meat or LIVE insects.
5. Repot every third year into compost mix of 2 parts Irish Moss Peat,1 part Perlite and if preferred 1 part Silver or lime free sand.
6. The plants require a dormancy period in winter. This means the plant need cooler or cold temperatures between October and January, after which the plant sends up new growth in the spring. In this time, it is best to reduce watering so that the soil is just damp rather than wet. This can be achieved by putting some water in the tray and letting the soil soak up the water.
7. Remove or cut off any dead leaves or traps. In the case of pitcher plants, it is best to cut off the browning leave tops as they die back keeping the green live part intact. When the leaves completely dies back, carefully remove it from the crown or rhizome.
8. In case of the Venus Flytrap, do not play or force the trap to close. Either let it catch flies by itself, or feed it LIVE insects or tiny pieces of raw meat.