Is it important to repot my carnivorous plant? We explain the use of this and how you can do it yourself. Handy right? Read this interesting blog to learn more about this.
Carnivorous plants are beautiful plants, and super useful too! They catch the unwanted guests (insects) in our house, handy right! Any carnivorous plant lover will confirm this. A beautiful plant, but now it keeps growing! What should you do? Rest assured, repotting a carnivorous plant is very easy.
The habitat
Before I tell you about how, and when, to best repot carnivorous plants, it's important to know where carnivorous plants come from. The carnivorous plant family is native to swampy areas. In these areas there is a nutritionally poor soil. As a result, almost every plant dies. This is because most plants get their nutrition from the soil. In addition, this type of soil is also much too moist for most plants. But the carnivorous plant family is a very hard family, and hard families don't give up easily. Because the plant could not get nutrition from the ground, they looked for another way to get nutrition. From the air, namely insects! The plants are so evaluated that they can survive in a soil without nutrition and capture the nutrition themselves.
The soil
To this day, the carnivorous plant has never used the soil to feed itself. Therefore, when you repot the plants, it is important to use a soil without nutrition in it. If you do use soil with nutrition in it, the plant may die. This is because the plant has never learned to reject substances from the soil, and therefore takes everything in directly. The same goes for the water you use. It is not recommended to use tap water. This is because tap water contains calcium. The plant has never learned to reject lime and will therefore absorb it. Therefore it is important never to add nutrition, to use soil with nutrition or to give tap water to the plant.
The period
Now we come to the repotting of the plant. It is first of all important to know in what period it is best to repot the plants. The carnivorous plant lives in a growth period and a rest period. The dormant period designates the period when the carnivorous plants rest and also do not catch insects. Most carnivorous plants look less beautiful during this period and some even retreat into the ground. But rest assured! This is quite normal. The rest period starts around the time when there are fewer insects, so around October. Put the carnivorous plants in a cooler place with a little light. Tropical carnivorous plants do not have a rest period. This is because they do not take a rest period in nature. In February / March the growth period starts. This is the ideal time to repot the plants. It is best to repot the plants right at the beginning of the growing period. Then they have enough time to get used to their new place. During the growth period you can repot the plants, but then there is a chance that the growth will slow down. This is because you will take the plant out of the growth cycle and it will have to get used to it again. Just like with most plants!
Repotting
Now we've come to repotting carnivorous plants themselves. This is super easy! This is because most carnivorous plant species root very poorly. This is because of their natural habitat. Because they can't get nutrition from the soil, the roots don't root deeply. Therefore you can easily dig out the carnivorous plants with a spoon or a small shovel. What you can also do is rub your hand around the pot of the plant so that the soil loosens and the plant can fall out. Catch the plant from the side with the palm of your hand. Never try to remove the plant from the pot from above. This can damage the plant and its fall. Gently dig the plant back into its new pot and done!
Good luck with repotting your carnivorous plant!