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Short lessons for a first carnivorous plant, in reading order.

• Lesson 1: Choosing a suitable first plantHow to pick a carnivorous plant that will succeed in the conditions you actually have, and why the famous one is not usually the easiest.
  • What “carnivorous plant” covers
  • Three questions to answer first
  • A short list of forgiving species
  • Why the Venus flytrap is listed as intermediate here
  • Before you buy
• Lesson 2: Understanding water and growing mediaWhy carnivorous plants are harmed by ordinary tap water and potting compost, which alternatives work, and how to water without guessing.
  • Water
  • Growing media
  • Reading the plant
• Lesson 3: Matching light and growing locationHow much light each group of carnivorous plants needs, how to judge what a windowsill really provides, and when a grow light is the honest answer.
  • What too little light looks like
  • Judging a location
  • Light by group
  • Outdoors
  • Grow lights
  • Humidity is not a substitute
• Lesson 4: Understanding dormancy and seasonal changesWhich carnivorous plants rest in winter, what the rest looks like so you do not mistake it for death, and practical ways to provide it in different climates.
  • What dormancy is
  • Which plants need it
  • What a dormant plant looks like
  • Providing a cold rest
  • Ending dormancy
  • The dry rest of Mexican butterworts
  • Plants that skip winter

Plant groups

One introduction per genus: what the plants are, where they grow and how the group is cared for.

• Dionaea: Venus flytrapDionaea, the Venus flytrap: the only species in its genus. Easy for a season, harder for years: it needs full sun, mineral-free water and a cold winter rest.
• Sarracenia: American pitcher plantsSarracenia, American pitcher plants: pitfall-trap perennials, among the easiest outdoors in temperate climates given full sun, pure water and a cold winter.
• Drosera: SundewsDrosera, the sundews: the largest group of carnivorous plants. Common subtropical species are among the easiest to grow; other groups need seasonal routines.
• Nepenthes: Tropical pitcher plantsNepenthes, the tropical pitcher plants: climbing vines with lidded pitchers. No dormancy; temperature needs depend on altitude; some hybrids suit windowsills.
• Pinguicula: ButterwortsPinguicula, the butterworts: small rosettes of sticky leaves that catch gnats. Mexican species are easy on a windowsill; temperate ones need a frozen winter.
• Utricularia: BladderwortsUtricularia, the bladderworts: rootless plants with tiny underwater bladder traps. Terrestrial species are among the easiest to keep; aquatics are harder.
• Cephalotus: Albany pitcher plantCephalotus, the Albany pitcher plant: one species from Western Australia with thumb-sized lidded pitchers. Rewarding once settled, but sensitive to rot.
• Darlingtonia: Cobra plantDarlingtonia, the cobra plant: a single western American species with hooded pitchers. Hardy and striking, but it dies when its roots get warm.
• Heliamphora: Sun pitchersHeliamphora, the sun pitchers: South American pitcher plants from cool, rain-soaked Venezuelan mountain tops. Advanced plants; a few are easier under lights.
• Byblis: Rainbow plantsByblis, the rainbow plants: Australian plants with sticky, thread-like leaves. Most are tropical annuals raised from seed; B. liniflora is an easy annual.
• Drosophyllum: Dewy pineDrosophyllum, the dewy pine: a single Mediterranean species grown in a gritty, well-drained mix, never standing in water, and never repotted once established.
• Genlisea: Corkscrew plantsGenlisea, the corkscrew plants: small, rootless tropical relatives of bladderworts with spiral-slit traps in the soil. Grown like terrestrial bladderworts.
• Aldrovanda: Waterwheel plantAldrovanda, the waterwheel plant: a rootless, floating relative of the Venus flytrap with tiny snap traps. Endangered, and a specialist’s plant.

Species

Care profiles for individual species, with quick-care summaries and common problems.

• Dionaea muscipula (Venus flytrap)Dionaea muscipula, the Venus flytrap: hinged snap traps, a demand for strong light and pure water, and a cold winter rest that it cannot skip.
• Drosera capensis (Cape sundew)Drosera capensis, the Cape sundew: a forgiving South African species with sticky strap-shaped leaves. No dormancy requirement; tolerates a range of light.
• Drosera rotundifolia (Round-leaved sundew)Drosera rotundifolia, the round-leaved sundew: small and hardy, it needs a cold winter rest. Good in an outdoor bog, poor on a warm windowsill.
• Nepenthes ventricosa (Ventricose pitcher plant)Nepenthes ventricosa: a highland Philippine pitcher plant with hourglass-shaped pitchers, tolerant of room conditions and one of the easiest indoors.
• Pinguicula moranensis (Mexican butterwort)Pinguicula moranensis, the Mexican butterwort: easy on a bright windowsill, flowers for months and tolerates mineral media that kill most carnivores.
• Sarracenia flava (Yellow pitcher plant)Sarracenia flava, the yellow pitcher plant: yellow-green trumpets up to a metre tall from the southeastern US. Needs full sun, a cold winter and room.
• Sarracenia purpurea (Purple pitcher plant)Sarracenia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant: squat and hardy, holding rainwater in open pitchers. The most cold-tolerant Sarracenia.
• Utricularia sandersonii (Sanderson's bladderwort)Utricularia sandersonii: a tiny South African terrestrial bladderwort grown for near-constant small white and lilac flowers rather than for watching it feed.

Propagation

How each genus is propagated: seed, cuttings, division and other methods.

• Propagating AldrovandaPropagating Aldrovanda, the waterwheel plant: break the rootless floating stem into pieces, and each piece carries on growing.
• Propagating ByblisPropagating Byblis, the rainbow plants: mainly from seed, which needs smoke or gibberellic acid in all but one species. Larger annuals root from cuttings.
• Propagating CephalotusPropagating Cephalotus, the Albany pitcher plant: leaf and pitcher pullings, rhizome and root pieces, division or seed. All methods are slow.
• Propagating DarlingtoniaPropagating Darlingtonia, the cobra plant: cuttings of its underground runners are the dependable method. Seed and division also work.
• Propagating DionaeaPropagating Venus flytraps (Dionaea): from seed, division of clumps, leaf pullings and cut flower stalks. Commercial stock comes from tissue culture.
• Propagating DroseraPropagating Drosera, the sundews: the easiest carnivorous plants to multiply. Most sow themselves and nearly all grow from leaf cuttings.
• Propagating DrosophyllumPropagating Drosophyllum, the dewy pine: raised only from seed, as cuttings and division fail, so each seed is sown where the plant will spend its life.
• Propagating GenliseaCorkscrew plants are multiplied by leaf cuttings: a whole surface leaf with its pale base laid on very wet peat or sphagnum grows into a new plant.
• Propagating HeliamphoraPropagating Heliamphora, the sun pitchers: divide well-grown plants when they offset, or raise seed that needs no stratification. Division suits home growers.
• Propagating NepenthesPropagating Nepenthes, the tropical pitcher plants: stem cuttings, air layering, or fresh seed, which needs a male and a female plant in flower together.
• Propagating PinguiculaPropagating Pinguicula, the butterworts: by seed, winter leaves of Mexican species, gemmae of temperate species, and runners in one Spanish species.
• Propagating SarraceniaPropagating Sarracenia, the American pitcher plants: cold-stratified seed, division at the end of dormancy and rhizome sections. Division is quickest.
• Propagating UtriculariaPropagating Utricularia, the bladderworts: mostly by division, using soil plugs for terrestrials, stolon pieces for epiphytes and stem lengths for aquatics.

Articles

Practical articles on growing and research method.

• Which sundew suits your space? Climate and dormancy for every Drosera speciesWhich sundew suits your space: every accepted Drosera species in five climate types, with its native range, wild rhythm and the places it will grow.
  • What decides whether a sundew will live with you
  • The spaces most growers have
  • Every species by climate type
  • Temperate sundews: a winter rest
  • Subtropical sundews: no rest
  • Tropical lowland sundews: warm all year
  • Tropical highland sundews: cool nights
  • Winter growers: a dry summer rest
  • Shortlists by space
  • Names on labels that are not in the table
  • Hybrids
  • A species that is not here
• Keeping a growing log that actually helpsHow to keep a growing log for carnivorous plants: a simple method for recording what you do and what they do, so problems can be traced, not guessed at.
  • What to record
  • Measure a few things
  • Keep it honest
  • A format that works
  • When the log pays off
• How to research the needs of an unfamiliar speciesA repeatable way to find out what a carnivorous plant you have never grown actually needs, starting from its habitat and ending with a care plan you can test.
  • Step 1: Pin down the name
  • Step 2: Find the habitat
  • Step 3: Read what growers report, critically
  • Step 4: Write a provisional care plan
  • Step 5: Treat the plan as a test
  • An example
  • Keep your sources

Experiments

The growing journal: small home comparisons with a stated method and dated observations.

• Comparing growing media for Drosera capensis (example protocol)An example protocol for a small side-by-side comparison of three growing media, written to show how an experiment is laid out on this site. It has not been run.
• Observing growth under three light conditions (example protocol)An example protocol for observing one species under three light conditions, showing how an observation-based experiment is written up here. It has not been run.

About the site

Pages about Carnivorous Roots itself.

• HomeCarnivorous Roots teaches how carnivorous plants live and how to grow them: a species library, beginner guide, growing articles and an open growing journal.
• About this siteWhat Carnivorous Roots is for, how its pages are sourced and how to read its experiments.
• SearchSearch every species, guide, article and experiment.
• Photo creditsAttribution and licence details for every photograph used on the site.