Die fungus gnats! Die! Die!

ltecato said:

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I highly recommend Drosera capensis (Cape sundew) as a beginner plant for anyone interested in carnivorous plants. They are the easiest insectivorous species to grow, in my experience, and they feast on fungus gnats. Best of all, you don't have to feed them anything because fungus gnats will swarm all over the pot due to the damp growing medium. Sundews grow in swamps and marshes, so they require lots of water, constantly moist conditions and preferably high humidity.

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eyderbuddy said:

amazing, thanks for the tip!

btw, yours look pretty good, i'm going to look into getting my own...

Are they easy to grow from seed?

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ltecato said:

I never tried to grow any Drosera from seed, but if you get one live plant they will produce "off-plants" or "pups" that crowd the container before very long, then you can easily divide them and put the smaller plants in new containers. Places like Home Depot and Lowes often sell D. capensis as novelty items labeled "octopus bug-eating plants" or something like that. They are always in clear containers with humidity domes on top. It's best to buy them as soon as they hit the shelves because they don't do very well just sitting out on a table in a store. The stores tend to neglect them and they go downhill in a hurry due to lack of water or light.

In general, the D. capensis is the most low-maintenance carnivorous plant available, in my experience. Venus flytraps are cool but they are a little harder to keep alive and thriving and they have to have a winter dormancy. A lot of carnivorous plants are so sensitive to chemicals in water that you have to hydrate them with rain water or distilled water, they can't even tolerate tap water very well.

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