Lowish light Carnivorous plants (For beginners)

[stevebradford]

There is a preconceived notion out there that carnivorous plants grow deep in dark over grown swamps hunting mosquitoes and other exciting prey.

Unfortunately that’s not very true. All carnivorous plants need light, some classics like the Venus flytrap grow in full sun. This makes growing most carnivorous plants indoors a problem without supplemented lighting. There are however a few that like indirect lighting making them better/easier candidates for indoor growing. Here are some of the easier beginner ones to start with.

Drosera adelae grows well in indirect light.

Drosera prolifera grows well in indirect light.

Drosera hamiltonii grows well in indirect light.

Nepenthes ampullaria of all the carnivorous plants this one might actually fit the description of growing in a dark swamp. It choses the jungle floor underneath a canopy of trees.

(Picture needed: ask @Carson Hardy and
plagiarize one of his)

Utricularia most just about all utricularia grow in the shade of other plants and won’t put out much above ground growth in bright light.

Pinguicula most these short stubby plants are happy with just a couple hours of direct sun or only bright indirect light all day.

.

Not carnivorous but also fun

Ant plants grow in the shade of trees and can be happy in very low light situations.

Biophytum sensitivum A touch sensitive plant that folds it leaves away when disturbed and prefers low light

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

D. prolifera, D. x andromeda and P. primuliflora do well in a bright north window also.

 

[Olivera]

There is a preconceived notion out there that carnivorous plants grow deep in dark over grown swamps hunting mosquitoes and other exciting prey.
View attachment 16946
Unfortunately that’s not very true. All carnivorous plants need light, some classics like the Venus flytrap grow in full sun. This makes growing most carnivorous plants indoors a problem without supplemented lighting. There are however a few that like a little shade making them better/easier candidates for beginner house plants.

Drosera adelae or any of the other Queensland sisters grow well in indirect light with Drosera adelae being the easiest to grow.
View attachment 16943

Nepenthes ampullaria of all the carnivorous plants this one might actually fit the description of growing in a dark swamp. It choses the jungle floor underneath a canopy of trees.View attachment 16947
(Picture needed: ask @Carson Hardy and
plagiarize one of his)

Utricularia most just about all utricularia grow in the shade of other plants and won’t put out much above ground growth in bright light.
View attachment 16944

Pinguicula most these short stubby plants are happy with just a couple hours of direct sun or bright light all day in a east facing window.
View attachment 16945

I’m sure there’s others that aren’t coming to mind at the moment let me know if you can think of any that don’t need supplemented lighting or very little.

Thank you,I appreciate the info you posted.
Unfortunately my patio and surrounding garden area do not get a full light but I still want to try these amazing plants.

 

[Reyn]

There is a preconceived notion out there that carnivorous plants grow deep in dark over grown swamps hunting mosquitoes and other exciting prey.
View attachment 16946
Unfortunately that’s not very true. All carnivorous plants need light, some classics like the Venus flytrap grow in full sun. This makes growing most carnivorous plants indoors a problem without supplemented lighting. There are however a few that like a little shade making them better/easier candidates for house plants.

Drosera adelae or any of the other Queensland sisters grow well in indirect light with Drosera adelae being the easiest to grow.
View attachment 16943

Drosera prolifera one of the other Queensland sisters and is similar to Drosera adelae in the low light conditions it prefers
View attachment 18633

Nepenthes ampullaria of all the carnivorous plants this one might actually fit the description of growing in a dark swamp. It choses the jungle floor underneath a canopy of trees.View attachment 16947
(Picture needed: ask @Carson Hardy and
plagiarize one of his)

Utricularia most just about all utricularia grow in the shade of other plants and won’t put out much above ground growth in bright light.
View attachment 18634
View attachment 16944

Pinguicula most these short stubby plants are happy with just a couple hours of direct sun or bright light all day in a east facing window.
View attachment 16945

I’m sure there’s others that aren’t coming to mind at the moment let me know if you can think of any that don’t need supplemented lighting or very little.

Not carnivorous but also fun

Ant plants grow in the shade of trees and can be happy in very low light situations.
View attachment 17503

Biophytum sensitivum A touch sensitive plant that folds it leaves away when disturbed and prefers low light
View attachment 18638

Thank you.

 

[spiffyzha]

I've never grown N. ampullaria specifically, but I feel obligated to mention that an awful lot of nepenthes will be perfectly happy with the light levels in a north-facing window, though the growth will definitely slow down in the winter. And, as I'm starting to learn, during the summer it can even be too much light for a few of them.

 

[Sekler]

I've never grown N. ampullaria specifically, but I feel obligated to mention that an awful lot of nepenthes will be perfectly happy with the light levels in a north-facing window, though the growth will definitely slow down in the winter. And, as I'm starting to learn, during the summer it can even be too much light for a few of them.

Same here....surprisingly a few neps that I have had their leaves becoming very red even in a northern windowsill.

The thing is that sometimes depending of the configuration instead of getting the morning direct sun that is usually happening under lower temperatures, afternoon sun in the house can be brutal if your home also warmed up since the morning...that being said, it works definitely but I had mixed results with a few species.

 

[Lloyd Gordon]

In my south facing window with Nep's, the sun is so high in the summer there's less sun on the plants. In the winter when the sun is lower, there's more sun but not as intense. It's sort of a natural light regulator.