Content
- Meat-freezing plants should never be fertilized!
- Why you should not fertilize carnivorous plants
- Change substrate annually
- Do not overdo the feeding of carnivorous plants
- Tips
Meat-eating plants should not be fertilized
Meat-freezing plants should never be fertilized!
Most houseplants need extra fertilizer to thrive. In carnivorous plants (carnivores), however, fertilizing is not advisable. It damages the plants and causes them to die off. They provide themselves with nutrients.
Why you should not fertilize carnivorous plants
At their original place in nature, carnivorous plants grow on very nutrient-poor soils. Therefore, they are equipped with safety gear, with which they can additionally catch and digest insects.
The substrate, which is used in the breeding of carnivorous plants in the room, usually already contains too many nutrients. Therefore carnivorous fertilization is not necessary even in winter, when there are few insects.
Occasionally it is recommended to give pitcher plants or venus fly traps to heavily diluted orchid fertilizer. That is unnecessary.
Change substrate annually
As a substrate for carnivorous plants, a mixture of peat, pebbles and other ingredients is usually used. The peat decomposes over time, so you should repot carnivorous plants every spring.
A larger pot is only necessary if the old planter has become too small for the root ball.
Carefully remove the carnivorous plant from the pot, shake off the old substrate as completely as possible and place the plant in fresh carnivorous soil.
Do not overdo the feeding of carnivorous plants
Even though most hobby gardeners are very attracted to it, you do not have to feed carnivorous plants. If you still want to see it occasionally, as a carnivorous plant includes its prey, you should not overdo it.
Only use a live specimen of insects and small animals in the safety gears, such as:
Make sure the prey is not too big. Do not feed too often and avoid touching the traps with your hands. With frequent and incorrect feeding of carnivores, the safety gears will die. The plant can thereby enter.
Tips
Meat-eating plants need a lot of light and sufficient humidity. Many varieties have enough space at a south or west window. Other species need additional artificial lighting.