Starting/Sowing/Growing Carnivorous plants

stevebradford

Moderator
Staff member
Plant Care/Starting seeds
A basic guide for the cultivation of the common carnivourous plants.

Plant: temperature in C, lighting, soil, humidity (seed care)

Cephalotus follicularis
- 15-25 degrees, moderate light, peat mix, moderate humidity. (Seed. store in fridge dry, cold stratification, surface peat mix)


Darlingtonia
- 10-25 degrees, cold dormancy below 5 degrees for 2 months, moderate light, peat mix moderate humidity. (Seed. needs pollinator, store in fridge dry, cold stratification, 1mm deep peat mix)


Dionaea muscipula
- 5-25 degrees, moderate light, peat mix, humidity not picky. (Seed. needs pollinator, store in fridge dry, cold stratification not needed but can aid germination, surface peat mix)


South African Drosera
- admirabilis
18-25 degrees, Lots of light, Peat mix, moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- affinis 18-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- aliciae 18-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- capensis 18-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- natalensis 18-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- nidiformis 18-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- venusta 18-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)


North American Drosera
- anglica
10-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, cold stratification, surface peat mix)
- capillaris 10-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, cold stratification, surface peat mix)
-filiformis 10-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, cold stratification, surface peat mix)
- intermedia 10-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, cold stratification, surface peat mix)
- rotundifolia 10-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, cold stratification, surface peat mix)


South American Drosera
- hirticalyx
10-20 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, high humidity. (Seed. Store in fridge dry, surface peat mix)
- riparia 10-20 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, high humidity. (Seed. Self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, surface peat mix)
- roraimae 10-20 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, high humidity. (Seed. Store in fridge dry, 6 weeks hot stratification 25 degrees, surface peat mix)
- tomentosa 15-25 degrees, lots of light, Sphagnum, moderate humidity.

Australian Drosera
- adelae
15-25 degrees, Moderate light, Sphagnum, loves humidity. (rarely produces seed)
- binata 15-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, moderate humidity (Seed. store in fridge dry, can be cold stratified for better germination, surface peat mix)
- burmannii 15-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, moderate humidity (Seed. store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- paradoxa 20-25 degrees, lots of light, sandy peat, moderate humidity. (Seed. Hot stratification 25 degrees for 6 weeks, store in fridge dry)
- prolifera 15-25 degrees, Moderate light, Sphagnum, loves humidity. (Seed. needs pollinator)


Australian Pygmy Drosera
- omissa
18-25 degrees, lots of light, sandy peat, moderate humidity.
- pulchella 18-25 degrees, lots of light, sandy peat, moderate humidity. (Seed. Self pollinating, store in fridge dry, 25 degrees for germination, surface peat mix)


Asian Drosera
- oblanceolata
10-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix, high humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- spatulata 18-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)
- tokaensis 18-25 degrees, lots of light, peat mix moderate humidity. (Seed. self pollinating, Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface peat mix)


Heliamphora
- hispida
15-20 degrees, lots of light, Sphagnum, high humidity.
- purpurascens 15-25 degrees, lots of light, Sphagnum, moderate to high humidity.

Nepenthes
Plant seed as soon as possible viability decreases rapidly. All nepenthes need both a male and female plant in flower to produce seed. Store seed at room temperature plant on soil surface.
- bicalcarata 20-25 degrees, low light, peat Sphagnum mix, moderate humidity.
- ventrata 15-25 degrees, Moderate light, Sphagnum, any humidity in fact this one is happy with anything.
- ventricosa 18-25 degrees, moderate to high light, Sphagnum, moderate humidity.
- veitchii 10-25 degrees depending on the variety, moderate to high light, Sphagnum, moderate humidity.
- mirabilis var. globosa 18-25 degrees, moderate light, Sphagnum peat mix, high humidity.

Pinguicula
- gigantea
10-25 degrees, low to moderate light, peat mix, moderate humidity (Seed. Store in fridge dry, plant anytime, surface alkaline mix)
- grandiflora cold stratification 2 months/surface, peat mix/Store in fridge dry
- lusitanica (self pollinating) plant anytime/surface, peat mix/ store in fridge dry
- pumila (needs pollinator) plant anytime/surface, peat mix/store in fridge dry
- villosa, cold stratification 2-4 months/surface, peat mix/Store in fridge dry
- vulgaris, cold stratification 2-4 months/surface peat mix/Store in fridge dry


Utricularia
-
alpina (needs pollinator) plant soon viability decreases rapidly/surface LFS/
- bisquamata, plant anytime/2mm deep, peat mix/
- blanchettii
- calycifida
- dichotoma
- fulva
- graminifolia 18-25 degrees, moderate light, wet Sphagnum or water, moderate humidity.
- jamesoniana
- livida
- longifolia
- menziesii
- nephrophylla
- sandersonii
- subulate
- pubescens, plant anytime/2mm deep, peat mix/


Sarracenia
- All(Needs pollinator)cold stratification/1mm deep, peat mix/Store in fridge dry.
 
Last edited:

stevebradford

Moderator
Staff member
Dividing Sarracenia (when and how)

Sarracenia are temperate and go dormant in the winter. To be able to survive dormant for months they produce modified thick roots called rhizomes that store starches and proteins for the next growing season. When thriving sarracenia will spread and produce more rhizomes. Grown in a pot the rhizome will become crowded, In the wild they would naturally over time spread apart creating a field scattered with alien looking pitchers.
4F8F1434-DB01-453E-A74C-BD89F4733109.jpeg


Its been a few years your Sarracenia have been thriving but are now getting crowded and you want to divide them. Spring when they are coming out of dormancy, just at the start of the growing season is the ideal time to divide as it causes the least interruption to the stored energy reserves. Dividing just as they are starting to grow helps the plant heal quickly, you don’t want it siting dormant all winter with open wounds.
2704D173-40C8-4501-A02B-B1D5A20D8B5F.jpeg


Remove the plants from their pots, shake the loose soil off, some people discard the used soil to the garden, I mix in new and reuse mine. Try to break into sections with 2-3 growth points per section and some roots, if a smaller portion breaks off it will likely still survive if given good care. The smaller the division the longer it will take to recover.
7EAE0C57-93FF-44E5-A589-2638A7358861.jpeg


Using 50% peat 50% sand or perlite pot each divided section with the growth points above the soil surface and the rest of the rhizome below.
58B4001D-BFCB-40EA-B59E-B24FBE5F2740.jpeg
 
Last edited:

stevebradford

Moderator
Staff member
While some Utricularia are easy and will flower constantly in steady conditions others for me like U. sandersonii and Utricularia graminifolia take some encouragement. Example my Utricularia graminifolia grown aquaticlly will never flower but grown terrestrially they will.

In my wanderings I found a lot of the aquatic Utricularia will flower in panic to their changing environment. Aquatic Utricularia specifically U. gibba will grow in the shallows near the edge of ponds and flooded ditches. As summer comes the water warms, evaporates and the level drops, mats of exposed U. gibba on the muddy shore will flower in response before they dry out and die.

what’s been working for me to encourage Utricularia to flower is to give them an increased photo period and let the media they grow in get drier than usual. I don’t mean dry them out
 

WillyCKH

CPSC Moderator
Staff member
A common questions FAQ is wonderful. I'm sure it will be helpful to many members!
One thing to note is that Genus is capitalized and species isn't. For example, Darlingtonia californica.
I used to cap everything too. :)
 

stevebradford

Moderator
Staff member
Option1

Guide for starting your subtropical sundew seed for the best chance of success.

Step one:
Get your soil ready, sundews seeds should be started in a blend of 50/50 peat and washed silica sand mix. Also available premixed in small quantities from https://lgmplants.ca/

Step two:
Spread the tiny seed on top of the soil, do not bury them. Keep the soil moist from below, top watering can wash the seed away. Soil temperature should be between 22-27 degrees Celsius. Most will sprout in 4 weeks or less but wait a several months before giving up.



Option2
Starting sundews (Drosera) from seed

So you received your exciting package of sundew seeds and you want to give them the best shot at growing. This focuses on starting the common widely circulated sundews. There are rarer sundews that do require different conditions but the majority of sundews we can lump into the same starting conditions.

Soil, common sundews prefer peat low in minerals/fertilizers. We want the sundew seeds to be able to easily send their first roots easily down into the peat, hard packed is no good. To keep the peat from packing mix the peat with coarse about #16 grit silica sand rinsed with water 50/50 peat/sand mix. I like to mix a bunch extra up and keep it moist outside ready to use so it becomes stable with colonized microbes and bacteria. Sometimes freshly mixed peat can grow mold or slime as different colonists establish a balance. Premixed carnivourous plant soil is also available from https://lgmplants.ca/

planting

Lighting for starting sundew seeds should be at least 14 hours worth and full sun strength. For indoor at a minimum a 40w grow light fixture around 16 inches from the soil surface will also work. Carnivourous plants in general absorb less energy than other plants from the sun, sacrificing sun catching leaves for carnivourous bug catching leaves.

Temperature in my mind is extremely important. Plants in general typically don’t sprout in the winter they wait till conditions are favourable. Common sundews will be happy growing at 18-25 degrees Celsius. Starting seeds however is different they need to be convinced conditions are right. Start sundew seeds at a temperature higher in the range the plant will grow, about 22 degrees Celsius

Watering
 
Last edited:

stevebradford

Moderator
Staff member
Stressing plants out.

Sometimes a change in a plants environment is necessary, it’s grown too large, the seasons have changed or you just want to move it. After a move if the new conditions aren’t close to the previous conditions your plant was used to it may look droopy, sad or sunburnt for a couple months. Don’t panic, as long as the growing conditions match your plants requirements this is temporary it will recover and moving it again would just cause more stress.

Plants aren’t able to uproot to take a tropical vacation once they pick a spot to grow they are stuck there unless we intervene. What plants can do is grow in response to those conditions. The same plant grown in low light or bright light could have different coloured or sized leaves or the entire plant could even be shaped differently.

When we move a plant to different conditions than it’s been used to often those leaves it’s grown previously aren't ideally suited. Those leaves then will be discarded as they are replaced with new ones over a period of up to a couple months depending on how fast growing of a plant you have.

To avoid shocking a moved plant or cause as little stress as possible try to match the previous conditions or change them slowly. Keep an eye on the new growth to make sure it’s happy and don’t keep moving a plant even if the older leaves look a little sad.
 
Last edited:

Cin

Carnivore
Thought I’d post my progress report on my own germination adventures...thanks again to Steve Bradford for the Drosera seeds! I mixed up my soil which was a basic 50/50 peat/ perlite blend, well rinsed with dechlorinated water. I sprinkled the seeds on the surface. I planted everything because A) sounds like it’s important to have fresh seeds, and B) they were so small I couldn’t tell if they were seeds or not, so small! I put them in a cool window sill with the window open a crack, for about 2 weeks. Started all this on the 1st of January, and on the 27th I had seedlings in the Drosera capensis ‘Alba’ and Drosera affinis. I know have two seed packs with loads of seedlings! Absolutely nothing happening in Drosera spatulata or filiformis. can anyone tell me what the average germination times are? They are in about 40-50% humidity and about 22 degrees, maybe a bit more. i keep them pretty stable, mist, fine water sprinkling.
 

WillyCKH

CPSC Moderator
Staff member
Thought I’d post my progress report on my own germination adventures...thanks again to Steve Bradford for the Drosera seeds! I mixed up my soil which was a basic 50/50 peat/ perlite blend, well rinsed with dechlorinated water. I sprinkled the seeds on the surface. I planted everything because A) sounds like it’s important to have fresh seeds, and B) they were so small I couldn’t tell if they were seeds or not, so small! I put them in a cool window sill with the window open a crack, for about 2 weeks. Started all this on the 1st of January, and on the 27th I had seedlings in the Drosera capensis ‘Alba’ and Drosera affinis. I know have two seed packs with loads of seedlings! Absolutely nothing happening in Drosera spatulata or filiformis. can anyone tell me what the average germination times are? They are in about 40-50% humidity and about 22 degrees, maybe a bit more. i keep them pretty stable, mist, fine water sprinkling.
Have you cold stratified the D. filiformis seeds?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cin

Cin

Carnivore
I cold stratified my D.filiformis & D.intermedia even thought they were fresh off the seed pod. 100% of them have germinated and are all seedlings.
OH wow those are looking fantastic! How long did they take to germinate? I’ll keep my seed trays wet and see what happens...also, how long did you stratify them?
 

Cin

Carnivore
Have you cold stratified the D. filiformis seeds?
Yes I did the lot, but I’m not sure how successful it was since I had to put them in a cool windowsill with the window open a crack. It was very cool out and damp, though so I’m hoping it did the trick. In a cool room.
 
Top