March 2, 2002
Carnivorous Plants
Sherwood's Forest Nursery & Garden Center

What are Carnivorous Plants

Carnivorous plants are the name given to a wide ranging group of plants which only share a single common factor, that is that they all have a method of trapping and digesting living creatures in order to provide a means of nourishment. How these plants do this varies widely from species to species. Most people think that all carnivorous plants have traps, which shut suddenly on unwary insects. However, the case is that most Carnivorous plants have 'passive' methods of catching their prey, most never move and simply wait for their prey to make a mistake. Stories of Carnivorous plants being man-eating fiends have also been greatly exaggerated. The majority of carnivorous plants never grow above a few feet. Even the giant tropical Nepenthes restrict their intake to insects, albeit slightly larger insects. The cultivation of these plants has often worried newcomers, fearing that the upkeep of these amazing plants is difficult and that the plant rarely outlives a year. This is not the case, if you follow a few simple rules, you should be rewarded with inte resting plants which make an interesting point of conversation for many years to come. Plants can be grown in and out of doors, depending on the type of course, and there are many native British Carnivorous plants. Although most of the plants for sale in the UK come from the USA, there are also species of Carnivorous plants found in Canada, Russia, South America, Asia and Europe.

Traps can be divided initially into active and passive types. Active traps use movement in the process of trapping and digesting their prey, Dionaea (Venus fly trap) being the best-known example. The mechanism is reminiscent of an old-fashioned game trap, with two sections hinged open and sprung, waiting to be triggered by the unsuspecting victim. Pinguicula use no movement but catches food with their fly-paper type leaves, but because they roll their leaf margins immediately after trapping to assist digestion they are also classified as active. Similarly, Drosera bend dew-dropped tentacles covering the leaf surface towards the prey, which is stuck to the adhesive droplets, and sometimes bend the entire leaf to surround their food. While they are not as fast as most other active traps, a very few species can bend their leaves in half in less than 60 seconds. Passive traps such as Sarracenia utilize no movement either in trapping or during digestion. They simply expect the prey to move towards the plant and become ensnared, by falling into a pit or being stuck with a gluey substance. Traps can also be distinguished by their form. The largest group, known as pitfalls, include all the pitchers. These consist of a tube into which a creature will eventually tumble and are often enhanced with nectars or coloring to attract the prey, as well as hairs or waxy cells to assist trapping. Sarracenia is a good example of a pitcher, which may employ the full range of available inducements. Fly-paper traps, like those of Drosera, use sticky mucus to glue the prey to the leaf blade. The steel-trap of Dionaea snaps shut on any creature unfortunate enough to trigger the sensitive hairs on the trap surface. Mousetraps, such as those of Utricularia, work in a very similar fashion, but suck in the prey in response to being triggered, operating in very wet conditions or under water.

Why do Carnivorous plants trap food? Carnivorous plants are found throughout the world and in many different habitats - from the acid peat bogs of Britain, where Drosera and Pinguicula grow, to the tropical jungles of southeast Asia, inhabited by the Nepenthes, and the flooded savannas of Africa, which provide a home for Utricularia. Many carnivorous plants require permanently wet conditions, as this might suggest, although others live in very dry sandy soils. However, the characteristic common to all their habitats is the lack of nutrients in the soil. By lessening their dependence on the soil for nourishment and by supplementing their diet with food that literally walks or flies in, the carnivores are able to survive where few other plants can. This visiting animal life is an important source of nitrogen - the nutrient which is most easily lost from the soil and which is always rare in soils colonized by carnivorous plants - and nitrogen helps to increase leaf growth and to improve or make possible both flowering and seed production. Venus Fly Trap IntroductionBy far the most famous of the Carnivorous Plant genre and probably responsible for more people getting involved in this type of plant as anything else. It was certainly the first carnivorous plant I grew. It is the only plant of its type and is normally found in the Carolina areas of eastern North America. In fact, according to Carl Stevens, who lives in North Carolina, "the natural distribution is a little more confined than what people may believe. The entire natural distribution of the flytrap is a circle about 75 miles (120km) from Wilmington, N.C. This covers the Southeast part of N.C. and the Northeast part of S.C." The bogland areas where it normally grows are devoid of the nutrients that it requires, so the plant grows stems, which have traps on the end. It is in these traps that the insects are caught.How it works. A normal plant will grow the stems up to 5 inches (about 13 cm). The trap will consist of two pads, which are hinged together on one side only. Along the other edges of the trap are 1/4-inch long spines, which stand outward, similar to eyelashes.The trap mechanism is triggered by three hairs, which are inside the pads. If you look very carefully at a pad (it's best to look along the hinge), you will see three tiny hairs sticking out from the middle of the pad. Each and every pad has these hair triggers.When an insect crawls into the trap, it must touch either two different hairs, or one hair at least twice. Once this happens, the pads close together very fast. As a precaution against false triggering by inanimate objects or rain etc. the trap will reopen if these hairs are not triggered again. If the captured insect continues to struggle, however, the hairs are continually touched and this forces the trap to close even tighter, until a complete seal is made along the unhinged edge. You can see that the spines have now done their job of keeping the insect from escaping, and have turned outward.It is at this stage that the digestive enzymes are released onto the insect, which is slowly eaten away, the nutrients being re-absorbed through the pads themselves.About 4-5 days later, the trap will re-open, revealing the dried up remains of the insect which would normally be blown away by the wind.The new influx of nutrients will lead to new stems being produced from the center of the plant.The lifecycle of the Venus Fly TrapDuring the spring time, the plants can produce a very long thick stem from the center of the rosette. This stem can grow over 10 inches high and may be topped with small white flowers which flower for a few days before dying off.The stem itself continues on for a lot longer, however, it can be cut off at the base once it has stopped flowering. The closed heads, if pollinated, may have produced seeds.The summertime produces the main growth and this continues right through to the autumn when the trap production slows.In the winter, the plant enters a dormancy stage. Trap production stops or is produced only very slowly. Don't feed the plant during this time.I'm not sure as to the lifespan of a Venus Fly Trap. How and where to grow them· The Venus Fly trap likes as much light as it can get. A south-facing windowsill is ideal. The traps grow with red middles if they are getting sufficient light, although completely green traps work just as well! · Grow the plant in live or shredded sphagnum moss or in specially prepared compost that is available in some shops. Never use ordinary compost, as this is most likely to contain extra nutrients in the soil, which could be enough to kill off your plant! · NEVER give it fertilizer of ANY kind. This will do the plant untold damage since it should get it's nutrients from the insects it catches, not the soil. · Stand the pot in a trough of water; rainwater is best, but anything that isn't hard. You should aim to keep about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in the trough at all times, so the soil stays nicely damp.However, during the winter, reduce the watering to a minimum, only once every couple of weeks, just so the soil doesn't dry out completely.Also, there is no need to water the top of the plant at all, just let the plant soak up the water from the tray. · Resist the temptation to trigger the traps, each closing of the traps will lose the plant some more energy. Obviously, if the plant isn't catching food with these closures, it will slowly get weaker. · Snip off the rotten, brown leaves as they die away. · If you do feed it DON'T use dead stuff, chicken, steak, flies etc!! This is because the traps need their hairs to be continually triggered for a time to allow the digestive enzymes to be released. Now, obviously, your bit of dead chicken won't keep triggering the hairs on the petals once the trap has closed. The trap will then reopen in a few days, without dissolving the food.· If your plant hasn't caught anything recently and you're getting worried, see if you can catch an alive or semi-alive insect that's still moving about. Drop it into a trap and is should perform the required movement to get itself eaten!(I've discovered that fly spray causes the flies in my house to get stunned and fall to the ground. They keep moving, however, for quite a long while, enough time to drop one into a hungry trap!!! I'm not sure if the fly spray affects the plant though, so I never spray near the actual plant.

Pitcher Plant IntroductionOnly a small handful of species exist of this type of Carnivorous flowers. However, there are a large amount of hybrids and sub-species.They very from the very small (less than 3 inches high) to the majestic (3 feet high).Most are basically green, however some types are yellow, purple or even partly white (Sarracenia Leucophylla). The Sarracenia Flava is named after the Latin for yellow.How it worksThe trap itself is a passive trap, which employs no moving parts to catch its prey. At the top of the pitcher plant is a lid, which is fixed and cannot move. The insect lands on this lid and is drawn into the throat of the plant often by the use of nectar or colored veins which run along the inside of the lid, down into the throat.Once inside the throat, the insect is trapped by longer and longer downward pointing hairs which stop the insect from returning the way it came. Further down still, the insect reaches a slippery area, which contains even more nectar glands.Finally, the insect reaches the digestive are of the stem, where enzymes are produced. The insect is then digested.The Lifecycle of the Pitcher PlantThis plant too has a dormant period during the winter. Some of the more hardy species such as S. Flava produce a series of 'mutated' stems, which don't grow to full height. These stems are designed to protect the plant against frost. Note that excessive periods of temperatures above about 60 °C can interrupt its dormant cycle and can lead to poor results the following year.Come the spring, the plant will produce flowers, as with most other carnivorous plants, these flowers are on tall stems at or above the height of the pitchers themselves. Colors can be yellow, cream, orange, pink or red depending on the species. There are some flowers which give off an attractive smell, whilst others are more unusual.Reproduction of the plant can be achieved through seed or the splitting of year (s.flava and s.hybride). So I let the flowers dry out and have collected what I think are seeds. These seeds are tiny but not as small as the Drosera seeds. I have a terrarium (an old fish tank actually!) that's full of spaghnum moss compost from the garden center, so I've sprinkled the seeds onto the soil. I'll keep it damp and covered. It's now 2 weeks since I did this, and already I can see some sign on growth. However, it's still too small to see what they are yet.

Introduction
Butterwort species are found in many areas of the world, and are well known to orchid growers due to the fact that the butterwort produce most probably the best flowers of the whole carnivorous group. The butterwort belongs to the 'fly-paper' group of carnivorous plants. This group have sticky leaves which catch and digest insects which are unlucky enough to land on them. The butterwort can be found in many damp places, peat bogs, swamps, edges of river beds, areas of rock or flooded fields.

How it works
The leaves of the butterwort are green or yellowish in color, they are thick and covered in glands which give off a slight odor which attracts the prey. The leaves also curl upwards slightly to try to avoid it's prey being washed off by the rain. The insect lands on the leaf of the butterwort and will become stuck on the glands. The leaf may curl over slightly in an attempt to increase the surface area contact with the insect. Mainly the prey consists of small flying insects which get their wings caught in the slime-like substance on the leaves. Crawling insects can normally escape this sticky end however.

The Lifecycle of the Butterwort
As with most other carnivorous plants, the butterwort needs a time of winter rest, where the soil is allowed to dampen slightly. For the rest of the year, the plant needs to be kept soggy. The butterwort will discard that years leaves and produce a small rosette like set of leaves which will not really catch anything for a few months whilst the plant rests over winter. Once the temperature starts to rise and spring arrives, the larger leaves will start to re-grow again. The flowers of some of the butterworts are produced throughout the year, whilst some only have one or two shows. The leaves are discarded after a few weeks, especially if they are getting covered in digested insects. Since the plant is very low growing, the roots of the butterwort are incredibly small, just enough to keep the plant stable in the ground.

How and where to grow them

• Grow the plant in the normal type of carnivorous plant soil, peat/sphagnum moss/sand.
  
• Keep the plant standing in soft water (rain water normally) throughout the year, only letting the soil dry out slightly during the winter.
  
• Remove any leaves, which turn brown and dry up.
  
• Feeding can be achieved by dropping any small insect, alive or dead, straight onto the leaves.
  

Introduction
Sundews are found throughout the world and offer a wide variety of size and shape. Many also have attractive flowers. The sundews belong to the 'fly-paper' group of carnivorous plants. This group has sticky leaves, which catch and digest insects, which are unlucky enough to land on them. The sundews are found in many damp places, peat bogs, and swamps or in grassland.

How it works
The leaves of sundews can be long and thin or rounded. Most follow the semi-active rules in that the leaves can move somewhat to fully capture the insect. Movement is usually restricted to the curling up of the leaf to increase the surface area of the leaf against the prey. An insect landing on a leaf will become stuck on the glands, which stick outwards from the leaves. Once caught, the insect will be digested by the digestion glands, situated mainly along the center of the leaf, over a period of a day or so. Mainly the prey consists of small flying insects.

The Lifecycle of the Sundew
As with most other carnivorous plants, the sundew needs a time of winter rest, where the soil is allowed to dampen slightly. For the rest of the year, the plant needs to be kept standing in soft water. Leaf production is slow over the winter period and leaf length is reasonable short. However, as the temperature starts to rise and spring arrives, the leaves start to grow faster and longer, perhaps reaching 4 inches for Drosera capensis. The flowers are produced on long stems, like most carnivorous plants, and the small but colorful flower heads open for a short time before drying out and dying. Not before the next flower head has opened, however. The outer leaves gradually dry out and can be removed by cutting them off.

How and where to grow them

• Grow the plant in the normal type of carnivorous plant soil, peat / sphagnum moss / sand.
  
• Keep the plant standing in soft water (rain water normally) throughout the year, only letting the soil dry out slightly during the winter.
  
• Remove any leaves, which turn brown and dry up.
  
• Feeding can be achieved by dropping any small insect, alive or dead, straight onto the leaves.
  
• Stand the plant in full sun, if possible, to promote active growth.
  
• For Drosera capensis which is one of the more common type, the temperature should be kept above 2'C
  
• Reproduction can be achieved by simply picking out the small off shoots from the main plant which appear from time to time
  

Carnivorous Plants fascinate children and adults alike. The majority of them reside in bogs. To plant a simple bog garden in a terrarium setting you will need: Supplies Needed You will need a 5-10 gallon fish aquarium or some other clear glass or plastic terrarium. Long fibered spaghum moss is purchased at nurseries or garden centers. Be sure to get the kind with long fibers--not the type that has been shredded into tiny pieces. Venus Fly Trap Dionaea muscipula is the most common of the Fly trap species. Planting your bog garden Since bogs are made up of floating masses of spaghum moss, it is very easy to plant a bog garden. First, soak the dry spaghum moss in a pail of warm water. Then squeeze it out. It contains the right amount of moisture when it feels damp but does not drip. Place a 3-4" layer into your terrarium. You may slope it from the back towards the front if desired. Your carnivorous plants most likely came in a plastic pot filled with moist spaghum moss and covered with a clear plastic top. Note that these plants are not rooted in soil. I learned the hard way that they promptly die if you plant them directly in soil. Plant carnivorous plants by making an opening in the moss the size of the root ball/pot size. Then, gently take the plant out of the pot and place it in your hole. Bring the spaghum moss up over the root ball. Make sure the plant rests on top of the moss layers, not sunk into it. Use any arrangement that is pleasing to you. Generally, the taller plants such as the pitcher plant are placed towards the rear and the tiny sundews are in the front of the terrarium. Caring for your bog garden Keep the spaghum moss damp at all times. Some growers recommend keeping 1/4" of water in the terrarium at all times. Just be sure that plant's roots aren't resting in water or it will suffocate from lack of oxygen in the growing medium and die. I do not recommend fertilizing these plants because they are easily killed by the salt in fertilizer. In nature, they derive all needed nutrients from the insects they digest and require a very low level of nutrients to grow. You may feed your plants from time to time with ants and other tiny insects to see the process of the plant "eating" its meal. However, these plants can exist indefinitely without being fed. Place your bog garden in a bright window without direct sun. Remember that the sun shining through the glass wall of a terrarium containing any plant can cook your plants on a hot day. During the summer, it may be best to place it in an east or northern window. Generally, they can take a western or southern window during the winter. Another option is to grow them under lights.

Good Gardening for the Spring
Come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the blooms

FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:

1. Peace of mind
   
2. Peace of heart
   
3. Peace of soul
   

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip
   
2. Squash indifference
   
3. Squash grumbling
   
4. Squash selfishness
   

PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful
   
2. Lettuce be kind
   
3. Lettuce be patient
   
4. Lettuce really love one another
   

NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings
   
2. Turnip for service
   
3. Turnip to help one another
   

TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:

1. Thyme for each other
   
2. Thyme for family
   
3. Thyme for friends
   

WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.