Carnivorous Plants/Pitcher plant

Advertisement

Expert: - 6/22/2007


Question
Can my hooded pitcher plant live in just sphagnum moss because when I bought it that's how it was planted. Also, what is a container plant verses a potted plant.

Answer
Hello Ryan,

The sphagnum moss you see it in is long fiber sphagnum which is it's naturally occurring media. This is expensive stuff, so most growers use dried chopped sphagnum peat moss mixed with perlite or silica sand. In any case, it is the acidity and drainage coupled with the water retention of the soil that matters. That and the absence of any chemical or organic residue that could poison the plants.

Container and potted plants are the same thing. They are both terms that describe a plant in a container as opposed to planted in the ground directly. I think some confusion springs from open and closed container planting options. An open container would be a pot with not cover while a closed container would mean a humidity dome or terrarium bound plant. Most carnivorous plants can actually be grown as open container plants as most they really do not require high humidity as people think.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

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.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.