The Little Garden of Horrors

Water

This is one other major aspect of CP cultivation. CPs mostly have fragile root systems which are not adapted to taking up nutrients from the soil, and can be easily harmed by water containing high amounts of dissolved minerals or solids. The best water to use is of course filtered rainwater, and some growers with large collections also use distilled or RO water. In Singapore, tapwater is not hard and therefore acceptable for most CPs. However, I still find that many CPs such as Sarracenia do better when given purified water rather than tapwater.

With a few exceptions such as Nepenthes and Drosophyllum, the majority of CPs can be watered using the tray method. The pots are left standing on a tray of water, about an inch deep. Essentially, they are kept very wet at all times. Nepenthes on the other hand should never be kept in standing water - just water overhead as you would for a houseplant, and keep the potting medium moist at all times but not wet.

Drosera filiformis pots, standing in a tray of water.

Light

This may be the single most important reason of why some people's CPs do not do well. Other than Nepenthes and a small group of other plants that prefer shadier conditions, all my plants are grown with full, direct sun exposure. Nepenthes can be grown under 50-75% shade, and will also be happy on a bright window ledge which gets only direct morning sunlight.

If like most people living in urban areas you do not have access to a garden, indoors cultivation of CPs is also possible under artificial lights. Fluorescents are an excellent choice due to their energy efficiency, and I highly recommend the use of the newer T5 bulbs. T5s are slimmer in profile and provide a lot more light not due to the bulbs themselves, but rather due to the availability of excellent reflectors that are efficient. Waterproof end-caps for these bulbs can also be had for minimal cost (about $25 a pair), making them very useful in a terrarium set-up. Fluorescent lights should be positioned no more than 6 inches from the top of the pot, and are hence of limited use for larger plants like tall Sarracenia and Nepenthes.

If more lighting is required, metal halides can be used. Unfortunately MH bulbs run very hot, use large amounts of electricity and need to be shielded due to UV emission. My personal experience in MH lights stem from lighting a reef tank, and I would hazard a guess that anything from 150-250W per bulb will be sufficient for most highland plants even. Once again, reflectors make a huge difference, so try to go for one of those parabolic reflectors that spreads light evenly in a nice concentrated beam.

Food/Fertilising

As a general rule of thumb, never use fertilisers on CPs. If kept outdoors, they will be able to catch their own prey. In a terrarium, small live or processed insects can be fed to their traps sparingly (once a month is more than enough). For the more experienced, you may want to consider trying out some diluted fertiliser, which will be covered in more detail in the section under "Specific Plants/Topics".

Dormancy

With the exception of some annual Drosera and perennial plants like Nepenthes, many CPs originate from areas with seasonal weather and will take a rest during times of adverse weather. Plants from the Northern hemisphere such as Sarracenia will go into dormancy during the cold winter months, while some plants such as tuberous Drosera enter dormancy in the heat of summer, receding into tubers. Although dormancy may be bypassed for a couple of years, sooner or later the plant will weaken and succumb if dormancy is not provided for. Specific methods of inducing and maintaining dormancy here in the tropics is covered in detail under "Specific Plants/Topics".