Q: Does hydroponics work well for carnivorous plants?


Nepenthes truncata

A: Hydroponics, as I understand it, is a method of growing plants without soil. Instead, the plants are grown in a water solution, or in a completely inorganic mix kept moist with a water solution, which contains all the nutrients they need. Plants grown in hydroponics are in ideal conditions and can grow fast.

It seems a natural consequence of their fondness for lots of water that carnivorous plants would be a great match for hydroponics. However, with the possible exception of Nepenthes, I have never heard that hydroponics has ever worked well with carnivorous plants.

This is probably because carnivorous plants do not do well with high nutrient conditions. I have read a few preliminary studies of people trying to grow carnivorous plants in hydroponic facilities, and in these studies the nutrients in the hydroponic solution killed the plants before they did any good. So sad.

Page citations: personal observations.