CARNIVOROUS PLANTS VHT107

Want to Grow Carnivorous Plants?

These fascinating plants provide entertainment and stimulation to the enthusiast. Nine lessons cover a range of cultivated carnivorous plants, paying particular attention to the Pitcher Plants (Nepenthes) and Sundews (Drosera).

This is a great course for horticulturists, gardeners, nurserymen, teachers or anyone who wants to know more about this quirky but fascinating subject.

Learn to Grow Carnivorous Plants

Carnivorous plants are unique.

They don’t appeal to everyone; but they often capture the imagination of people who are not necessarily interested in other types of plants. Anyone who chooses to undertake this course is obviously interested in carnivorous plants; probably either as an amateur collector, a commercial grower or a naturalist.

Aims

To identify different carnivorous plants.
To describe the cultural requirements for a range of different carnivorous plants
To propagate a range of different carnivorous plants
To discuss the identifying characteristics and cultural requirements of several species of both Sundews and Pitcher plants.
To discuss the identifying characteristics and cultural requirements of several species of both Bladderworts and at least one other genus of Carnivorous plant.
To describe the identifying characteristics and cultural requirements of several species of less commonly cultivated carnivorous plants.
To describe the identification and culture of Australian Droseras in depth.
To determine and describe appropriate ways of cultivating and displaying cultured carnivorous plants.
To describe one group of carnivorous plants in depth.

Course Content

There are nine lessons, and nine assignments in this course, as follows:

1. Introduction -characteristics and classification, resources, etc.
2. Culture -soils, watering, pests, diseases.
3. Propagation And Container Growing
4. Pitchers (Nepenthes) and Sundews (Drosera)
5. Other Important Groups - (e.g. Bladderworts).
6. Lesser Grown Varieties of Carnivorous Plants
7. Australian Droseras
8. Growing and Using Carnivorous Plants -in containers, in the ground, as indoor plants.
9. Special Assignment

Scope

Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or all of their nutrients by capturing and digesting small animals, such as insects. Other terms used for carnivorous plants are a “carnivory” or a “carnivore”. The mechanisms used to capture and digest animals are generally subtle; but not always.

Characteristics that are unique to carnivorous plants include:

Attraction Mechanisms eg. Lures, odours, directional guides
Trapping Mechanisms eg. Sticky secretions that hold animals like fly paper, trap door like openings to digestive chambers.
Digestive Mechanisms eg. Secreted enzymes and absorption of digested material. Individual plant species may only exhibit only one, or maybe several, of these characteristics.