So how long is the growth period of a carnivorous plant? Do you know this already? Would you like to know? Then read our interesting blog.
The best time for almost all plants around the world, is the growing period. This is the period when natural conditions are at their best for the plant. Think about flowers. They have their growing period in the spring and summer. During this period it is warmer, and that means two things. Lots of sunlight and lots of insects, for example, bees. The bees spread the pollen from the flowers, which allows flowers to reproduce and expand over a very large area. Carnivorous plants also have a growth period, just like flowers, from spring to fall.
Why is the growth period in the spring?
There is a logical explanation for the period in which the growth period takes place. For that, you must first know the three factors that are crucial for carnivorous plant. If one of the factors is missing, the plant will die. These factors are natural:
- Sunlight
- Water
- Nutrition
Sunlight is important for the growth and coloring of the carnivorous plant. Carnivorous plants have so evolved that they are professionals at creating colors that look very attractive to insects. The more sunlight, the more color. For this reason, outdoor plant species, such as Sarracenias or Venus Flytrap, will also be much more beautiful when outdoors. Outside, they receive much more sunlight and can create beautiful colors. The better the color, the better the trap. In addition, water is very important, especially rain water. Carnivorous plants are in fact swamp plants, and therefore almost always need to have wet soil. (There are some species where this is not necessary, so always read carefully which care you need to apply to which plant species). Plenty of water keeps the plant beautiful and healthy. The moisture also helps the production of enzymes and a nice attractive nectar smell. Last but not least, nutrition is of course extremely important. The plant needs to catch insects to survive. The carnivorous plant is a marsh plant, and lives on nutrient-poor soil. Because of this, the plant has never learned to get nutrition from the soil and is dependent on what can be taken from the air. In the winter, there are almost no insects, and there is much less sunlight. Therefore, carnivorous plants enter the dormant period around October / November. What this rest period looks like differs per species. You can read more about this in the blog: Resting period carnivorous plants.
Outdoor plants and indoor plants
Within the carnivorous plant family, you have as in all families, many different variants. Carnivorous plants are found almost everywhere in the world. Therefore each species has different conditions. For example, you have tropical carnivorous plants, these are carnivorous plants that only occur in the tropics. Therefore, these species are real indoor plants. The carnivorous plant species that fall under this category are: the Nepenthes species, Heliamphora species, most Drosera species (For example the Capensis, Aliciae, Scorpiodus, Nidiformis and Madagascariensis) and the Pinguicula species. There are also carnivorous plant species that do not like indoors at all. These are the outdoor species, also known as the hardy species. This means that these plants can survive outside in the winter. Carnivorous plant species that fall under this category are: the Dionaea Muscipula (Venus flytrap) species, the Sarracenia species and some Drosera species (For example, the Binata and Rotundifolia). How the various carnivorous plants should be cared for during the growth period depends on the species. Therefore, always read up on the species and care.
The growth period
The growth period usually starts around spring (March/April). Then the weather gets warmer outside, there is more sunlight and more insects! The start of the growth period is also the best time to repot the plants if you have them in a pot. This allows them to start growing with a fresh and new start. Around spring, you'll start to see new traps slowly coming up. In this period you should also start to build up the care again. Give the plants both inside and outside, building up more and more water. Do this until you water as much as in summer. For Venus Flytraps and Trumpet Cup Plants, for example, this means, always wet feet. The growing period usually lasts for more than half a year. From March/April until October/November. Then the rest period begins again. Give the carnivorous plants a real rest, so they can save enough energy to become bigger and more beautiful every year during the growth period.