Ever wondered why some carnivorous plants don’t grow as fast as their non-carnivorous counterparts? Why do some carnivorous plants have shiny leaves, while the others have brownish colored leaves? Why do plants appear to change color during certain seasons of the year? The short answer to this question is that in most cases, carnivorous plants don’t outgrow or lose their leaf color. Even though they’re considered to be in their dormant state, they do still change color.
The truth about carnivorous plant care is that all plants do fall into one of two categories: meat-eating plants that simply don’t need much care and maintenance. Plants like wheat, corn and barley don’t need much additional maintenance, because they’re grasses. For plants like oaks, limes and tangerines, however, you’ll need to feed them regularly and keep an eye on their leaves. If they shed their leaves, you’ll want to take note of when and why they start shedding them. This will help you know if you should fertilize your plants or just allow them to grow wild without any fertilizer.
As for the plants that don’t need much additional care and maintenance, like fruits and vegetables, they do exceptionally well when it comes to carnivorous plant care. If you find these plants at your local grocery store or farmer’s market, try not to buy too many. This is because as soon as that fruit starts to go bad, it will quickly multiply itself once more, creating more waste for you to clean up.
Now back to the original question: does a carnivorous plant actually shed its leaves or it’s just the leaves that shed? Let’s address the leaves first since this is actually the more important part of carnivorous plant care. Leaf dropping is very normal and is one of the first signs that something is going wrong with your plants health. If the leaves are not properly cared for, the leaves will fall off very quickly.
The reason the leaves fall off is simple – the leaves can not support the weight of the plant which causes it to drop them off. To care for your carnivorous plant care, you have to change the water regularly, fertilize the plants properly and make sure the root systems are healthy. It’s normal for some leaves to come off in the middle of the growing season – this is completely normal. What’s not normal is the rapidity with which they fall off. Leaves drop off within a week – that’s completely normal!
There’s actually a very easy way to tell if a leaf is falling off. Simply rub your fingers around the leaf and if it holds water – guess what? It’s falling off! This is a strong indication that the leaf is dehydrated and is waiting to fall off before it gets too late. Don’t worry though – if the leaf does get stuck between your fingers and doesn’t come off easily (it may be sticky for a moment) it’s okay!
The other sign that a leaf is wet is when you can see the sap starting to ooze out. This means that the leaf is almost completely soaked. The leaf will dry out a little bit as it dries – so watch for this and act quickly. Once the sap dries completely, the leaf will regain its strength and start to grow new leaves.
This process doesn’t take too long – typically about a week. At this point you’ll need to pull the leaf out of the ground. Do this carefully so you don’t break the leaf or cut it. You can push the leaf to the side and it will go out by itself. Just be careful that it doesn’t break too much of the root system though.