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Carnivorous Plant Care: Home

Dionaea muscipula; photo courtesy of Flickr cc/Marco Uliana
Dionaea muscipula; photo courtesy of Flickr cc/Marco Uliana
 

You can grow carnivorous plants in a variety of conditions, from natural bogs in your backyard to a dish on a windowsill. The trick is to figure out which carnivorous plants will grow well in the conditions you have inside and outside your home.

 

Drosera dielsiana, a sundew, growing at NYBG
Drosera dielsiana, a sundew, growing at NYBG
 

Carnivorous plants should never be collected in the field, because most of them are relatively rare and are threatened due to human population, agricultural land use and over-collection. If you are interested in growing carnivorous plants in your home, purchase the plants from a reputable grower who uses tissue culture or vegetative means to grow the plant, or start them from seeds.

Pitcher plant (Sarracenia x excellens) growing at NYBG; photo by Marlon Co
Pitcher plant (Sarracenia x excellens) growing in the Native Plant Garden at NYBG; photo by Marlon Co
 

You can learn more about growing these common carnivorous plants 

  • Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula)
  • American Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia)
  • Sundews (Drosera)
  • Butterworts (Pinguicula))

by selecting a tab at the top of the page

 
Venus flytrap (<em>Drosera mulscipula</em>) with insects in traps; photo by Kaitlin Tyler
Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) with insects in traps; photo by Kaitlin Tyler

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Noteworthy Books on Carnivorous Plants