Frequently Asked Questions

I just received my plant in the mail and it looks a bit droopy, what should I do?

This is probably the most common question we get from our mail order customers. Even though we take the utmost care in packaging our plants they still suffer a bit from shock when taken from a constant 16 hours a day of light, are put into a dark box and are then bounced around in the mail for up to a week. The good news is that if the five rules in the knowledge base are followed your plant will recover within a couple of days. A flytraps traps will open again and be functional, a sundew will develop new dew on it's tentacles and new growth will be evident within a week or two. Remember that all our plants are guaranteed against DOA.

Should I leave the dome over my plant?

No. The cover is there to protect the plant during shipping and to make it easier for the nursery center to keep them on the shelf for longer periods of time. When you get your plant home be sure to remove the cover and keep the potted plant sitting in a bowl with about one inch of distilled, reverse osmosis or rain water in bright sunlight during it's growing season. If you have purchased a tropical pitcher plant please use the planting mix specifically for them and water daily letting the water flow out the bottom of the pot. If your Nepenthes is not kept in an area with higher humidity remember to mist it a few times a day to keep the humidity levels up around it.

Does it matter what type of insects I feed it/How often do I feed it?

As long as the insect is not too large for the plant it will make a good source of food. By too large I mean that a VFT trap must be able to close up around it without difficulty and a sundew leaf should not droop from it. If the insect is too large a VFT trap will turn black and die from the one meal and the leftover insect body on a sundew or Ping will develop fungus and need to be removed manually. Your plant will do well with one meal a week, remember that there is a limited amount of times that a leaf can feed before it dies, this is natural.

Will being placed in a window provide it enough light?

Usually in the summer months a window that gets a few hours of direct light a day will suffice for your plant. If your plant does not require dormancy in the winter supplemental lighting should be used.

When does it need to be dormant?

Your plant will let you know when it is entering dormancy. In the fall growth will slow and stop and older leaves will die back. When you notice this it is time to prepare it for a winters rest and can be done by following the tips for dormancy in the 'Growing Tips' section.

Can you tissue culture propagate a particular plant for me?

We specialize in carnivorous plants, can and have cloned a few favorites for customers but still have work to do with a couple of species to perfect the protocols for them. Much success has been had in propagating other varieties of plants for people, if you are interested it is best to contact us with your particular needs.