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Carnivorous Plants/outdoor bog garden

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Expert: - 5/30/2011


Question
i want to have outdoor bog garden. i really want to have cobra plant with my sarracenia, venus fly trap, and cape sundews. i herd that i can't use standard carnivorous plant soil mix. is it true or not? and is seattle, WA too cold for venus fly traps and sarracenias?

Answer
Hello Shane,

Your zone 7-8 there in Seattle, just right for many North American species. If in doubt, you can always cover the bog with a tarp in winter or mulch the plants. Darlingtonia require more aeration in their soil and cool nights. The soil mix will be similar, but you will need to add some orchid bark and additional perlite to the sphagnum moss and water with cool water daily. You might just make a separate section of the bog just for Darlingtonia. I do not have much experience with Darlingtonia, so you might want to talk to Sarracenia Northwest about your idea and see what they come up with for you. Darlingtonia is one of the more difficult species of carnivorous plant to cultivate. You will really have to have the perfect microclimate for them if you want to try them.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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