On the other hand, some insects eat carnivorous plants-particularly aphids but also scale, thrips, and mealy bugs. You may control them with orthene or malathion (in wettable powder form only). In some cases, a second application may be necessary after two weeks.

While we're on the subject, never feed your plants hamburger or other "people food". They will develop indigestion and rot. Also never put fertilizer in their soil.

But we have jumped ahead of ourselves. Before you can feed 'em you first must plant 'em.

BOGGING DOWN

Building a bog is easy. Just dig a hole 18 inches deep and as large an area as you want and be sure the side walls are vertical. Place a liner in the hole. Fill it with a mix of sphagnum peat moss and water. Let it sit for a few days and add more peat moss and water until the fill no longer settles. Then plant.

A few rules apply:

Location: Carnivorous plants usually inhabit wet acidic soils low in nutrients. The common locations are open, sunny areas with a lot of humidity. In hotter, drier climates such as California, morning sun is best so, if the midday sun reaches them, the plants may need protection from a shade cloth or taller plants.

Climate: Carnivorous plants commonly come from temperate and subtropical regions and go dormant in the winter. They do well along the southeastern coastal plane from Virginia to central Florida and all the way west to eastern Texas. They will also grow along the west coast from Seattle to San Diego. In times of frost, some non-dormant species may die back to the stem but in the spring they should rise again from their roots. Some species requiring a dormant winter can tolerate brief temperature drops to 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Water: The biggest secret to successful cultivation is water. Use high quality, purified water available by reverse osmosis (r.o.) or deionization. A small home r.o. unit costs about forty dollars and produces a gallon of water overnight. That is enough for a few plants in a small bog. My bog is six by eight feet. It requires a larger r.o. unit costing about three or four hundred dollars. Rain water is excellent and some well water may also meet the requirements. Some public water is even fine, such as the Hetch-Hetchy water in the San Francisco Bay area if you let the chlorine dissipate for a day or two. Whatever water you use, it must be neither hard nor alkaline and should have less than 100 p.p.m. total dissolved salts. If necessary, you may buy distilled water from grocery stores.

Soil: You could use several mixes for the 15 genera and 600 varieties of carnivorous plants but we used the best recipe (sphagnum peat moss, not Michigan or sedge peat) for the easiest-to-grow plants. That's it. Nothing else is necessary. And one last thing: Water the plants often. Avoid letting the soil dry out. The peat moss in the bog always must be soaking wet.

SOURCES

We have found one nursery meeting all ethical requirements for growing carnivorous plants: California Carnivores, 7020 Trenton-Healdsburg Road, Forestville, CA 95436. They have an excellent carnivorous plant growing guide and catalogue for $2.00. I obtained all the information for this article from that guide (with permission). The greenhouse at Mark West Vinyards is open to visitors, but call first (707) 838-1630. There is also an International Carnivorous Plant Society.