Yellow pitcher plant
Sarracenia flava
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Carnivorous bog garden
Pitcher plants, flytraps and sundews outdoors
Nutrient-poor, acidic, always wet, full sun – carnivore paradise, and most species are hardy!
☀️LightMin. 6 h full sun
💧HumidityOutdoor
🌡️TemperatureHardy species; need winter dormancy
🪴Water & substrateOnly rainwater or distilled water!
Build
Step by step
Plants
Live sphagnum
Peat + silica sand (1:1)
Liner, few holes near base
- 1
Dig 30–40 cm deep, line with pond liner; overflow holes 10 cm above the base.
- 2
Fill with lime-free peat and silica sand – no fertilised soil!
- 3
Soak with rainwater and plant.
- 4
Spread live sphagnum on top; keep always wet.
Plant list
What to plant
Background
Midground
Purple pitcher plant
Sarracenia purpurea
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Foreground
Venus flytrap
Dionaea muscipula
Winter rest 0–5 °C; cover in hard frost.
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Round-leaved sundew
Drosera rotundifolia
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Cape sundew
Drosera capensis
Not hardy – bring in for winter.
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Large-flowered butterwort
Pinguicula grandiflora
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Carpet / ground cover
Sphagnum moss
Sphagnum
🐱Cat safe🐶Dog safe
Accent
Bog rosemary
Andromeda polifolia
Toxic (grayanotoxin) – not near pets!
🐱Cat severe🐶Dog severe
⚠️ Common mistakes
- Tap water – the lime kills them.
- Feeding meat or fertilising.
- Triggering traps with a finger – flytrap traps exhaust.
Member setups
From the community: Carnivorous bog garden
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