Episode 93: carnivorous plants with Peter D'Amato (part one)
Venus flytraps at California Carnivores: these are still the number one seller at the nursery. Photograph: Orin Zebest on Flickr.
Peter D’Amato, founder of the nursery California Carnivores, is one of world’s leading experts in venus flytraps, pitcher plants, sundews and more. His book The Savage Garden, first published in 1998, is considered an authority on the subject: a revised edition came out in 2013. It certainly inspired me to get into growing carnivorous plants in the late 1990s, so I was delighted that he agreed to an interview for On The Ledge.
I chatted to Peter by phone from California and we had such a long chat that I have decided to split our chat between two episodes. Check out the notes below as you listen to this week’s episode: we talk about how his obsession began, find out what happens when a rate gets stuck in a giant pitcher, and discover what a ‘crapivore’ is. And once you’ve listened, you will find part two of my interview with Peter D’Amato here.
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The myth of the man-eating venus flytrap is given a humorous airing at California Carnivores. Photograph: Sarah Stierch on Flickr.
Here’s the story behind how The Savage Garden book came about.
Intrigued by Peter’s mention of Charles Darwin’s interest in the sundew? Here’s an article about Darwin and the Drosera.
When it comes to growing CPs in terrariums, Peter prefers the potted greenhouse-style terrarium - there’s no soil at the bottom of the tank, but this stye of terrarium keeps plants in individual pots which sit in saucers of water. That way you can control conditions for different plants from flytraps to butterworts. Here’s an example from website The Carnivorous Plant FAQ.
Intrigued by Palawan and its Nepenthes? More information here.
Listener Tania asked if she could ‘feed’ her Nepenthes with the poo of her chinchilla. Amazingly the answer from Peter is yes! If you don’t have a willing chinchilla, you could try putting Osmocote fertiliser pellets into the pitcher direct, but don’t overdo it. Or a teaspoon of insect material every other week. Whatever you do, don’t add fertiliser into the soil. If you have cape sundews, they like to be fed goldfish flakes. Venus flytraps however require live prey as the trigger hairs need to be stimulated even once closed.
If you missed my episode on venus flytraps, you can hear it here.
Never heard of CP expert Adrian Slack from the UK? Check out this archive article about him on the Tom’s Carnivores website.
Pinguicula grandiflora is a UK native that is better off outdoors especially in winter. It’s easy to grow and will be ok on a sunny windowsill in summer but it does need a cold snap in winter to thrive.
Make sure you use collected rainwater, reverse osmosis water or purified water for all CPs - they hate hard tap water.
Heliamphora or sun pitchers come from the Tepui Mountains in Venezuela.
We’ll be hearing more from Peter in episode 94 - I’ll link it here once it’s out!
Question of the week
Jacob wanted to know whether to repot his rootbound Anthurium, which has also just started to flower. I suggested waiting until plant had finished flowering, unless it starts to look as if it’s going downhill.
When it comes to potting medium, it’s useful to try to emulate the plant’s epiphytic lifestyle by adding some orchid bark and perlite to regular houseplant potting mix: I suggest a ratio of roughly 2:2:1.
If you’re intersted in learning more about Anthuriums and growing them in orchid baskets, there’s good article on The Exotic Rainforest website.
Want to ask me a question about your plant? Email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com.
CREDITS
This week's show featured Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops and Overthrown by Josh Woodward. Ad music tracks are Dill Pickles and Whistling Rufus by the Heftone Banjo Orchestra: All tracks licensed under Creative Commons. Logo design by Jacqueline Colley. Podcast editing by Joff Elphick.