Carnivorous plants for children: the best and their care

carnivorous plants for kids

Carnivorous plants are one of the most attractive to children. And they are a good way to make them responsible for caring for a living being. But which carnivorous plants for children are the best?

If right now you are considering giving your son or daughter more responsibility with a plant that is curious to them, how about we help you choose some carnivorous plants for them? Take a look at some that we recommend.

Venus flytrap

Venus flytrap

The Venus flytrap is one of the most well-known and easy to find carnivorous plants. Actually, it is a plant that you can get in many online stores, nurseries, florists and even in some supermarkets.

Its scientific name is Dionaea muscipula and it is characterized by having a kind of "mouth" in which, when something falls into it, it closes, preventing it from coming out.

As for the care that you should give it, it is having a lot of sunlight, sometimes even direct, and more or less high humidity.

In winter the plant hibernates, so you just have to make sure it is between 2 and 10 degrees. In summer it will be very active and it is possible that it will ask you to water it daily (it will depend on the heat and humidity in the area.

As for his "food", you will have to give him two small insects a month. When you put it in his mouth it will close and for 1-2 weeks it will remain closed while he digests it. Of course, we do not recommend that children are every two by three closing her mouth because that weakens her to the point of dying.

Drosera

Drosera

Better known by Drop of dew, and it is that it is not for less. It is a plant that, visually, is very attractive because it has little red hairs and, at the ends, a kind of drop of water, as if it were dew. Nothing could be further from the truth. These droplets are a glue, which the plant uses to trap insects that are confused thinking it is water, come down to drink and stick to it.

In this case, a fairly high humidity is necessary to keep it in good condition. Also, you have to put it in semi-shade (direct sun will burn it). Irrigation, as long as you keep it moist there will be no problem.

As we told you before, this plant also hibernates in winter. As for summer, it will hold well up to 30ºC, even more if it has been with your climate for a while.

Sarracenia

Sarracenia

Within the carnivorous plants for children, the Sarracenia is another of them, striking above all for the red tones that the plant has.

This plant has a temperate and cold climate, which can be much easier to adapt and care for than others that are tropical (especially in the face of humidity). With this in mind, keep in mind that it will need at least 6 hours of sun a day, in direct sun if it is winter, semi-shade if it is summer.

Like the others, it hibernates in winter, only worrying that the temperature is right.

Visually, the Sarracenia is a plant that has a tube with a lid. If it is open, it means that it is waiting for an insect to get in, at which point it will close the lid to trap it. Even if you don't get too excited, because it is one of the worst carnivorous plants (insects almost always escape).

Pinguicula

This carnivorous plant is a rosette-shaped one. They do not usually grow very tall in terms of height. But it does develop quite a bit.

Now, the plant grows in semi-shade, or full shade. It can adapt to the sun, but it is not recommended, especially since the leaves will burn very easily.

It is also not recommended if you are going to have it in a place where there are intense frosts (unless you put it inside the house).

As for watering, it is important to water to keep the soil moist, but it should dry out a bit before watering again.

darlingtonia californica

This weird name is actually for the carnivorous plant cobra lily, which actually looks like a cobra snake.

To feed what it does is attract insects to its leaves, which are modified with a special nectar whose opening is downwards. Thus, when the insects enter, they are confused thinking that they are fleeing from the plant when in reality what they are doing is going deeper into it.

How to care for carnivorous plants

If you are going to leave your son or daughter in the care of a carnivorous plant, first of all you have to explain to them how they should care for it, otherwise they will not know if they are doing it right.

In this sense, what you have to teach him is the following:

  • Find the best location: most carnivorous plants for children will need light, to a greater or lesser extent, and even a few hours of direct sun. That implies that they should leave them in their window or on the balcony they have, in a place where they have light.
  • Pure water: and by pure we mean water that does not have lime, chlorine and so on. They need to have a tray with 1-2 cm of water always so that the soil keeps it moist. If you see that it is too much water you can always place some pebbles and put it on top.
  • Carnivorous plants hibernate. Not all, but many of them. In winter they slow down or even stop altogether. At that time it is best that you take them to a cold place so that they spend that season as naturally as possible.
  • Food. If there is no food for them in the house or where you have carnivorous plants, you may need to get them something to eat every month. Mainly small insects. If you have it outside the house (in the window, balcony...) it is normal that it attracts insects itself.

Do not be afraid that in winter they will lose their leaves completely, if you continue to care for them they should come out again in spring. Only the Drosera capensis (of which we have told you), would not need those cold months, it can be perfect throughout the year.

Can you think of more carnivorous plants for children that are easy to care for? Remember that they can also be used for beginners.


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