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Carnivorous Plants
As well as retailing Herbs &
Carnivorous Plants, Historic Herbs are wholesalers for Central England.
Please contact us for more details. |
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Ø Sturdy
working plants feeding on a variety of garden pests. |
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Large
selection of quality plants at reasonable prices. |
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Choice of
plants, fully hardy for growing outdoors, or suitable for inside.
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Pitcher Plants
Butterwort
Venus Fly Traps
Sundews
Monkey Pitchers
Bladderworts
Cobra Lilly |
Natural Pest
Control
These unusual plants are an effective
natural method of controlling a variety of pests without the use of chemicals.
It is fascinating to observe the different methods they use to attract, trap and
consume insects and other pests.
Easy To Care For
There are a few simple rules to
bear in mind when caring for carnivorous plants and providing these are followed
they will thrive and not need much attention.
Stand in water. Not tap
water. Being peat bog plants, they should be stood in water. Rainwater
or distilled water are suitable.
Do not feed.
Carnivorous plants gain the nutrition they need from the insects and pests they
consume, and so to give them fertiliser will in fact poison them.
Plant only in peat.
As the natural habitats of most carnivorous plants are peat bogs, they
should not be planted in compost or garden soil.
Despite most people’s expectations,
many carnivorous plants are hardy. Pitcher plants are hardy
down to -20ºC (-4ºF). Cobra Lilies are hardy down to -15ºC (5ºF)
and certain varieties of sundew are hardy down to ‑10ºC (14ºF).
Pitcher Plants
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There are
eight species of pitcher plants and many hybrids, both natural and
artificially created. Most are hardy down to -20°C (-4°F). |
| Slug Eating Plant |
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Sarracenia
purpurea
The purple pitcher plant attracts and
consumes slugs, snails and insects. |
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| Wasp and Fly Eating Plant |
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Sarracenia
leucophylla
The white trumpet pitcher plant is under
threat because of the destruction of its habitat and poaching for use in
flower arrangements. It captures and digests wasps, flies, earwigs and
flying insects.
‘Ghost’ is a smaller version with
a pure white top.
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| Wasp and Fly Eater |
Sarracenia x Stevensii
This eye-catching hybrid attracts
wasps, flies, earwigs and flying insects, traps them in its trumpet and
then consumes them. |
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Ground Insect, Wasp, Fly and Slug Eater
Sarracenia
hybrid
Although this pitcher plant comes in many guises, the
deep red form appears to be the most popular. Being low to the ground, it
attracts ground insects and slugs, as well as flying insects. |
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Butterwort |
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Pinguicula
Whiteflies and black fly stick to the leaves and
are digested by the plant. Flowers most of the year, likes shade, and
is ideal for indoors, greenhouses and conservatories. |
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Venus Fly Traps |
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Dionaea
muscipulata
The most popular and best known of the
carnivorous plants. This half-hardy perennial can grow traps up to 2”
(5cm) across. |
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Sundews |
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Drosera
This living flypaper catches
greenfly, whitefly, flies and mosquitoes with the sticky tentacles on
its leaves. Several varieties are available, both hardy and half-hardy. |
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D. binnata
– Australian variety with branched leaves. Half hardy. |
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D. carpensis
– Cape Sundew. Pretty with red or white varieties. |
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D. filiformis –
Very rare American species with tall straight leaves. Hardy to ‑10ºC
(14ºF). |
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D.
angelica – Native to Britain. Hardy to ‑10ºC (14ºF). |
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Monkey
Pitcher Plants |
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Nepenthes
Originally from the far east,
these tropical plants like shade and high humidity.
Popular since Victorian times,
they are very effective at catching wasps, flies and other flying
insects. |
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Bladderworts |
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Utricularia
Ideal for ponds and bog gardens,
these plants have bladder-like traps on their roots which catch tiny
insects in the soil.
The largest genus of carnivorous
plants, these are found on every continent except Antarctica, and are
valued for their beautiful flowers. |
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Cobra Lilly |
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Darlingtonia californica
This fantastically shaped plant
catches wasps, earwigs, flies and other pests.
Hardy to -15ºC (5ºF) it likes
full sun but its roots kept cool. |
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