Carnivorous Plants: The Houseplant Pest Control You Never Thought Of

Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness

Education, How To, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Home & Garden, Leisure

4.8 • 883 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2024

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Plant friends, did you know your houseplants can double as pest control? Carnivorous plants don’t just survive—they hunt. Venus flytraps can snap down on unsuspecting flies, while pitcher plants lure bugs into their slippery traps. These carnivorous plants themselves are nature’s own pest management system.

So I’ve brought on a guest who knows everything there is to know about them: Kenny Coogan, the head of education at the International Carnivorous Plant Society.

Kenny has been growing carnivorous plants for about 20 years, and about five years ago, he joined the ICPS as the education director. He quit his day job and turned his passion into his profession, running a carnivorous plant nursery in Florida. As he puts it, "Carnivorous plants are my life."

In this episode, we learn:

[01:47] What’s not to love about carnivorous plants?
[04:52] Who is Kenny?
[08:01] Some facts about Venus flytraps
[09:57] What is a carnivorous plant?
[12:54] Where do we find carnivorous plants outdoors?
[15:36] Don’t let your houseplants wither this winter with Soltech Growlights!
[16:57] Nourish your houseplants with Espoma Organic’s gentle and premium fertilizers!
[18:57] What triggers carnivorous plants’ dormancy?
[19:57] What carnivorous plants do to their prey
[24:17] Specific care for temperate carnivorous plants
[27:31] Specific care for tropical carnivorous plants
[32:43] Can you feed carnivorous plants hamburger? (how to hand-feed them)
[36:41] Trigger mechanism of Venus flytraps
[38:48] How much light do Venus flytraps love?
[42:58] What are the best houseplant-friendly carnivorous plants?
[48:26] Watering and potting tips for carnivorous plants
[50:30] Common mistakes and troubleshooting

Mentioned in our conversation:

For carnivorous plants' care basics and feeding tips,

check out the full show notes and blog here!

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Soltech Solutions

Check them out at soltechsolutions.com and get 15% off with code "bloom15".

Espoma Organic

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

Follow Maria and Growing Joy:

Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

Join the Bloom and Grow Garden Party Community Platform & App AKA the plantiest and kindest corner of the internet! Get your FREE 2-week trial here!

Take the Plant Parent Personality Quiz (Get the perfect plants, projects and educational resources for YOUR Lifestyle)

Support Bloom and Grow Radio by becoming a Plant Friend on Patreon!

Instagram: @growingjoywithmaria

Tiktok: @growingjoywithmaria

Subscribe to the Growing Joy Youtube channel! /growingjoywithmaria

Website: www.growingjoywithmaria.com

Pinterest: @growingjoywithmaria

Our Sponsors:
* Check out Manukora: https://manukora.com/BLOOM

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Did you know your houseplants can double as pest control?
0:02.9	Enter the thrilling world of carnivorous plants.
0:05.6	These botanical wonders don't just survive plant friends.
0:08.2	They hunt.
0:09.1	From Venus fly traps snapping down on unsuspecting flies
0:12.2	to picture plants loring bugs into their slippery traps,
0:15.6	these plants are more than just green decor,
0:18.0	their nature's own pest management system.
0:21.0	Join me today as we explore the bizarre, bug-eating world of carnivorous plants,
0:25.4	revealing how they work their magic, why they developed a taste for pests,
0:29.0	and how you can keep one both as a conversation starter, a house plant,
0:32.6	and an incredible natural exterminator for your indoor jungle.
0:42.0	Thank you. natural exterminator for your indoor jungle. Welcome to the Growing Joy with Plants podcast, where we not only learn how to care for
0:46.4	plants successfully, but how to simply and affordably use our plant babies to cultivate
0:50.8	more joy in our lives by doing so. I'm Maria, former plant killer turned
0:55.6	happy plant lady, author of Growing Joy, The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness,
1:00.0	speaker, podcaster, and most importantly, your new best plant friend. On Growing Joy with Plants,
1:05.3	you'll find conversations about house plant care, gardening tutorials, and wellness through the lens
1:09.9	of plants.
1:16.0	Plant care is self-care on growing joy.
1:24.3	Hello, plant friends. My name's Maria. I'm here to help you care for plants and grow joy.
1:29.0	And there's nothing that kind of kills your joy more than a pest infestation that descends on your houseplants. Normally, when we see pests, we go and grab for pest control
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.