QuestionHi, I love plants, I grow them in my apartment, but never grew a carnivorous one. I am interested in these plants. What is the best ones to grow in an apartment for a beginner like me. Thanks.
Answer
Drosera Capensis
I would suggest a Drosera capensis, the Cape Sundew, also sometimes known informally as an "octopus plant." However, please read the information below.
Your question is a difficult one to answer without knowing some specific information about the apartment and the climate in which you live. All plants need light, some more intense or prolonged light than others, so a person in a basement apartment might need to use artificial lighting. In a ground-floor or above apartment, the direction a window faces is important. An east or south facing window can be ideal, a west facing one perhaps a little less ideal but still alright, and a north facing window perhaps too dim for any but semi-shade loving plants.
Humidity is often thought of as an important concern, but most carnivorous plants can adapt to conditions of less humidity, and it is almost always easier, and healthier for the plant, to grow them in a pot exposed to air rather than in a terrarium, as many people mistakenly believe is necessary for growing carnivorous plants indoors.
Many carnivorous plants need a dormancy period, and in the case of the Venus Flytrap, it needs to be fairly cool to cold (but above freezing), with less water (just moist to barely moist most of the time) during a winter dormancy of usually between 12-16 weeks; but the plant still needs plenty of light during dormancy for the photosynthesis that provides its winter food and gives it a stored reserve for healthy and vigorous growth in the Spring.
Some people find it difficult to give Venus Flytraps the conditions they need during dormancy when growing the plant indoors, although often merely sitting on the sill of a sunny window where cold air falls from the window's inside surface, along with diminishing the watering frequency, is enough to make the Venus Flytrap comfortable during its winter rest.
Perhaps one of the easiest carnivorous plants to grow, and also a very attractive and interesting one, is the Drosera capensis, the Cape Sundew, because it grows all year (does not need a dormancy) and loves the same temperatures that humans find comfortable. In addition, it doesn't need as much direct sunlight as Venus Flytraps (which love as much direct sunlight as can be given to them), so it is usually easier to find a spot in an apartment in which a Drosera capensis is happy and grows well.
Regardless of which carnivorous plant you choose, you should learn about the basic requirements of its care, which usually include watering only with distilled water, rain water or water from the reverse osmosis process (and not tap water, well water nor bottled "drinking water"), and avoiding any kind of potting soil or garden soil, using an almost nutrient-free growing mix instead (frequently based on sphagnum peat moss). When buying ingredients to make a growing medium, be sure to avoid Miracle-Gro brand, because that manufacturer enriches almost everything they produce with plant food, and that will damage or potentially kill a carnivorous plant.
To find out more about carnivorous plants and their simple, few but strict requirements, please visit FlytrapCare.com--
http://www.FlytrapCare.com/
--and consider joining the FlytrapCare Forum to discuss the subject with growers of all experience levels from many different countries and regions--
http://www.FlytrapCare.com/phpBB3/
Best wishes and happy growing!
