12
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Should I prune a Venus Flytrap to prevent it from digesting itself?
It won't digest live plant matter. Venus flytraps secrete the enzymes phosphatase, proteinase, nuclease and amylase. These enzymes target insect prey, which have high levels of protein. They do not ...
- 51.5k
10
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Venus flytrap/Dionaea muscipula doesn't grow traps anymore
Your plant doesn't look like it's happy in the conditions it is growing in. For example, it definitely doesn't look like it is getting enough light.
Here are some tips for coaxing your plant back ...
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8
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Can I tell if a boxed, hydroponic, fly-trap growing kit, made for teenagers, would be reliable?
I would not recommend it, but I think you should ask this question in your siste site: https://parenting.stackexchange.com/.
The problem I find with this "gifts":
these are very very slow to grow (...
- 13.9k
7
votes
How should I care for my struggling Nepenthes Miranda?
Nepenthes, or the Asian pitcher plant, naturally grows in the tropical regions of Asia either in high mountain rain forests or in warm lowland grasslands at the base of mountains. They are divided ...
- 22.9k
6
votes
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Can carnivorous plants grow well indoors?
Graham is right. There are carnivorous plants that can be kept it inside. I wanted to add a few things, though. One is that some carnivorous plants will stay alive inside, but they might not do ...
- 5,032
6
votes
Can carnivorous plants grow well indoors?
Carnivorous Plants like full sun generally though you could place your plant on a window sill with high levels of solar insolation if wanting to keep as a house plant. They live in nutrient poor ...
- 22.9k
6
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Is it possible to grow nepenthes without a terrarium?
Nepenthes can be grown as windowsill plants as long as adequate conditions are provided.
There are two main divisions for nepenthes, highland and lowland with some groups in between. Lowlanders tend ...
- 278
6
votes
Venus fly trap plant closes its trap but won't digest
The plant evolved to eat live insects and spiders, and not dead ones. So you have to trick it by making it think it's caught live bait...
To feed a dead bug to your plant, first drop it into the ...
- 22.9k
5
votes
How long do Nepenthes leaves last without traps?
Pitchers tend to die much earlier than leaves.
I know this from personal experience. I've had pitchers die on leaves which last a month or more afterwards. I usually cut the pitchers off once they ...
- 278
5
votes
Can I use tap water as an alternative to rain water on my Venus fly trap?
I'm going to go against the grain here, and say NO. I don't know what the lowest TDS of the water in your area is (average is 350ppm -- http://www.tdsmeter.com/education?id=0018), but 350ppm is ...
- 220
5
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Why won’t my Venus flytrap eat its wax worms?
I had a Venus fly trap for years, your specimen looks healthy as far as I can judge. These plants originate from a swamp or bog ecosystem, I think in North or South Carolina, so they like wet feet (...
- 12.8k
4
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How can I get clean soil for my sundew?
Most of the carnivorous plants require a soil that is free from pesticides, trace elements from chlorinated water and "nutrients". In this case nutrients refer to Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium ...
- 56k
4
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Nepenthes "Lady Luck" Help
As it's a CFL bulb, it won't be getting baked because of the low heat output. According to my houseplant book, Nepenthes likes to be constantly moist, but not waterlogged, not just slightly damp, and ...
- 128k
4
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Growing *Sarracenia* in a pond in the Southern Plains
Yes that should be possible. But read up on the details below.
How to grow Sarracenia. From the Carnivorous Plant FAQ. Good link. The whole FAQ is also helpful.
Above says "zero-nutrient, acid ...
- 1,696
4
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Growing *Sarracenia* in a pond in the Southern Plains
I have seen these plants growing wild in USDA zone 4. It should be possible to duplicate the conditions:
full sun
constant access to water but not in the water
sited at the edge of a hummock of ...
- 56k
4
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Accepted
Can I tell if a boxed, hydroponic, fly-trap growing kit, made for teenagers, would be reliable?
I don't disagree with Giacomo's post, except for the quantity of bugs they eat, but I can tell you a little more about this subject.
Carnivorous plants are a lot of fun and can be easy to keep. I ...
- 5,032
4
votes
Accepted
Venus Flytrap: repot, sun and water
Congratulations on the start of your CP(carnivorous plant) obsession. These are great and hardy plants. I've got a mess of them and plan to make a bog garden soon.
I'll do my best to answer your ...
- 5,032
4
votes
Venus fly trap plant closes its trap but won't digest
Venus flytraps “digest” their prey differently than you may expect - the fly and it’s chitin carapace will not dissolve completely, but remain seemingly unchanged when the trap opens again. If you ...
- 15.5k
4
votes
Dionaea miscipula (venus flytrap) laid over the ground
greetings from Elche!
Since Valencia and Elche have quite similar climates, maybe my experience helps you: I have my venus flytraps for one year and a half, and they seem to be happy staying outside (...
- 365
3
votes
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How to grow aquatic floating bladderworts from seed?
I am currently trying to germinate bladderwort from seed. I prepared a very moist soil less mix in a plastic transparent egg carton and put them under indoor lights.
Six weeks later progress is slow....
- 56k
3
votes
Can I use carnivorous plants to control cockroaches?
I purchased a venus flytrap in the middle of my roach erradication. (My ex roomies left their own roomies)
So far, one plant has captured twelve baby roaches that were drawn to the nectar.
Even baby ...
- 31
3
votes
Accepted
Can I use carnivorous plants to control cockroaches?
It's a nice sentiment, but considering practicality, even if you did get the environment right for your plants (most carnivorous plants are rather picky), cockroaches are not going to fall into the ...
- 51.5k
3
votes
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Red Venus Fly Trap Seedlings
I would certainly question the statement 'there is a small chance they might not be red' - nearer the truth is the statement 'you have no idea what you're going to get'. Each seedling will be ...
- 128k
3
votes
How can I prevent my Nepenthes pitchers from drying out?
The fertiliser was a huge mistake, carnivorous plants hate root nutrients, so if you added any fertilizer, it would have to be extremely diluted, and apply it to the pitcher.
Water it more often, try ...
- 31
3
votes
Accepted
How important is water type to carnivorous plants, really?
There are a number of factors that come into play:
source of your water (affects the pH and amount of dissolved compounds)
treatment applied to the water (likely chlorine or chloramine)
ability of ...
- 56k
3
votes
Drosera / Sundew not eating
Maybe the plant is not 'hungry', can I ask if that insect in the photo was captured by the plant itself or did you put a dead insect there? The trap will only work for living insects, they'll have to ...
- 12.8k
3
votes
Dionaea miscipula (venus flytrap) laid over the ground
It isn't normal, no. Not entirely sure what the problem is, but there are a couple of observations to make from the images you've posted. First, the soil in the pot is too low, which means the plant ...
- 128k
3
votes
Accepted
Nepenthes not developing pitchers
Nepenthes are very sensitive to air humidity. Even the “modern hybrids” created for living room conditions prefer humidity in the upper range (60 - 70%), for older types even higher is necessary. The ...
- 15.5k
3
votes
Can you cross-pollinate between different families of plants?
Carnivorous plants specifically? I don't know.
As to plants generally--I've never heard of a cross between plants of the same order but different families, but it's possible at least one might exist.
...
- 16.8k
2
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Can I use tap water as an alternative to rain water on my Venus fly trap?
No and no, unfortunately. Chlorine will boil out in a few hours but fluoride needs a carbon filter. There are other dissolved salts in most tap water that are fine for consumption but not good for a ...
- 56k
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