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 F.A.Q.:

Or, Frequently Asked Questions.
Send additional questions to c.lawson.creatures@gmail.com; I'll be updating this page as I think of more to share.

Is this plant safe for pets?


Generally, no. The two most common pet species, cats and dogs, are both carnivores and should not be consuming raw plants to begin with. Combine that with the myriad of fertilizers and treatments house plants absorb, and any houseplant will surely give your furry friend an upset stomach. I know however, that you and your pet will not always agree on what is and is not food. Listed below are the genera of plants I sell and their known toxicities.

Haworthiopsis, the zebra cactus, is non-toxic.
Anacampseros, the sunrise succulent, is non-toxic.
Echeveria succulent species are non-toxic.
Tilliandsia, air-plants, are non-toxic.

Drosera, sundews, are currently known to be non-toxic. Skin reactions to the sundew’s mucilage and poisoning after consumption have never been reported. I have noticed mild itchiness after working with my larger specimens at length, but nothing near what would be considered a medical event. I consider it best to keep animals away from your sundew, as they are sticky, and your pet is covered in fur. There is also a slight risk that the sundew may catch an insect that is toxic, and having immobilized it’s prey, can give your pet an opportunity to eat it.

Sarracenia, temperate pitcher plants, are non-toxic. Similar to the sundew you need to be aware of the insects these plants attract while kept outside. Wasps are commonly drawn to their traps, and can be alive in the plant for days after entrapment.

Monstera species are toxic.
Schefflera, umbrella trees, are toxic.
Scindapsus, satin pothos, are toxic.
Epipremnum species pothos, are toxic.

The above toxic plants have a compound called calcium oxalate that forms indigestible crystals in the leaves and stems. When ingested these crystals cause intense irritation of the entire digestive tract as they pass through.

Tradescantia, inch plant, species are toxic. Inch plant sap, which can be drawn from broken stems, is known to cause dermatitis in pets. I personally have not had any reactions working with my own stock of tradescantia, but people with sensitive skin should use caution as well.

Plectranthus species may be toxic. The plectranthus genus is very large; some species in it are safe, some are not. The Bonsai Mint, plectranthus ernstii, is considered safe, but I don’t trust like that and keep my personal plant well out of animal reach.

Chlorophytum, spider plants, may be toxic. Most sites list spider plants as pet safe, and I can confirm that despite frequent nibbling my cats are just fine. However, my research so far on this plant has been conflicting. Rumor is, spider plants contain a compound that causes mild hallucinations in cats. Some sites claim it is similar to catnip, others compare it to opium, and others still claim this is a myth. None that I have visited so far actually name this compound. What I can give based on my own observations is that cats are drawn to spider plant leaves more than other plants. I’m unsure if it is the plants’ alluring shape or a chemical draw, but 9/10 cat-on-plant crimes are against my spiders. I have also observed that if allowed to chew too much, the cat will throw it back up.

Nepenthes species may be toxic. ASPCA lists the tropical pitcher plant species as toxic, siting gastrointestinal upset. However! There are species of pitcher plants that produce a sugary exuadte designed to attract shrew species- not as prey though. The secretion is thought to be laxative and encourages the tree shrews to defecate into the plant’s pitcher. N. hemslyana has a similar arrangement with Hardwicke’s Wooly Bat, where the animal will shelter inside the pitcher during the day, then leaves to feed at night. If it were the digestive fluid of nepenthes that was toxic, these minute mammals would be unable to live as close to the pitchers as they do. Toxicity in leaves is also unlikely, as pitcher plants are an ingredient in lemang periuk kera. A Malyasian heritage food, lemang periuk kera are nepenthes pitchers filled with sticky rice and steamed in coconut milk. Dumplings made from plant pods! In addition, there are many reports of growers sipping the digestive fluid of their plants around the web, I’ve seen people report their experiences on reddit, tumblr, and youtube (I will gladly link when I find them again).
With all this said, do not allow your pet to chew up your nepenthes. The plants are expensive. Nepenthes is a large genus with wild diversity in behavior, and it is entirely possible that some species may contain toxins. Also, like the temperate pitcher, the tropical pitcher is a master at attracting large, horrifying, stinging insects.

My primary source for all this information was the ASPCA webpage on plant safety. Peppered in are my own observations, wikipedia finds, and the occasional source linked in the text. Final disclaimer, ASPCA only has research for cats, dogs, and horses. If you are exposing, say, a pet bug to your plants??? Do Not. Plants that you got from me??? Stop that. What are you DOING?

When should I repot my plant?

There are three ways to tell if your plant needs a bigger home:

   - Your plant is growing roots out of the drainage holes.
   - Your plant has grown so much you can no longer see the soil under it’s foliage.
      and
   - Your plant dries out too quickly.

The first two are obvious visual indicators that you need a larger pot, but they can be ignored for a while if you still need to buy the larger pot. However, if your plant is drying out too quickly between watering days it could affect your plant’s health. As an example, I check my potted plant's moisture weekly. If a plant is drying out entirely before the week is up, that signals the plant drinks more water than it’s current pot can hold. A larger pot has more soil; more soil will hold more water; the plant will have access to moisture for a longer amount of time. For bog plants and pitchers this is beneficial, sometimes even necessary, as species like drosera and nepenthes will die if allowed to dry completely.

However, other species can drown in a pot that is too large. Succulents, cacti, and most non-carnivorous houseplants will experience root rot if their soil is constantly wet. Using the same example as above: I check my plants soil weekly, and if I notice a (non-carnivorous) plant is staying damp for two weeks in a row or longer after a watering it would be best to downsize that pot.

How do I repot a carnivorous plant?

Soil makeup and potting seasons vary largely between carnivorous plant genera and even species; however, there are some general rules to keep in mind.

The first is to never use soil with added fertilizers. Carnivorous plants have adapted to get all their nutrients from their leaves. Plant food designed for roots will burn the carnivore’s system. Unfortunately, this makes soil suitable for carnivorous plants difficult to find in most large chain stores. Miracle Grow is the most popularly stocked soil brand and all their product has added fertilizers. I have had luck finding fertilizer-free soil components at small/family owned nurseries and online.

When making your own carnivorous plant soil mix, a good starting place is 1 part peat moss, and 1 part perlite. Most of my own plants grow in this simple 1:1 peat/perlite mix. Once wet peat moss holds moisture well (although it can be hydrophobic when dry, be sure you really soak it), and perlite allows excess water to drain while also being lightweight. Both of those ingredients are nutritionally inert as well. Long fibered sphagnum moss is an excellent addition for moisture retention; some growers use this as their only soil with success. Another good ingredient is orchid bark, especially for nepenthes as the chunkiness adds airflow and helps mimic an epiphytic environment.

Soil Sunrise has a pre-mixed carnivorous plant blend and a wide selection of soils, substrates, and additives without fertilizers. Many online carnivore shops sell bags of their mix too.

With soil considered, the next part of the repotting puzzle is when to repot. Plants grown indoors year round aren't picky, you can repot them any time of the year. Plants that experience dormanscy or yearly slow periods prefer to be repotted in spring. Aligning a pot up-size with the start of their growing period ensures that new roots and leaves will be the plants priority. Damage done during the repot can be repaired with new growth and they will anchor themselves in the new pot faster.

Finally, the method of repotting a carnivore is the same as any other plant! Fill the new pot with soil, dig a hole the size of your plant’s root ball, place in the hole, and bury. I find it easier to repot my carnivores into already wet soil, but that’s not a necessity so long as you water them into the new pot thoroughly.

How do I do dormancy?

Dormancy is one of the biggest challenges for new, and experienced, carnivorous plant growers. When grown inside all year your plant does not receive the signals needed to enter seasonal dormancy. If years are allowed to pass without this rest period temperate species will weaken and eventually die. That said, missing a dormancy once in a while won’t spell the end for your plant. Seedlings especially can benefit from the extra seasons in the light as they mature. For long term success, however, dormancy needs to be considered (for temperate plants, not tropical, please do not do this to your tropical carnivores).

There are many ways to simulate winter for your plants! I’m only going to detail two methods, and those are highly influenced by me living in growing zone 7, but if you do a search you’ll find many results from carnivore growers in just about every climate.

Each winter my temperate carnivorous plants are moved to one of two locations: outdoors, or indoors in an unheated room. Winters where I live are cold and snowy, but rarely dip below 25 degrees C for more than a day or two; this is exactly what temperate carnivores expect! Outdoors, my biggest concern for overwintering is if the pot is large enough to stay moist, but not freeze solid into an ice cube. I have had success leaving pots 2ft in diameter to the elements, and suspect a pot as small 1ft in diameter would survive if the plant itself was well centered. Surrounding pots with hay or pine needles will help insulate them from extreme temperature drops if the winter is expected to be harsh. Smaller pots are best kept indoors for dormancy. I am lucky to have an unheated room that is insulated enough to prevent full freezes, but cold enough to trigger dormancy. While overwintering, bright light is not as important as it is during growing seasons. Plants that would require full sun or grow bulbs will manage well on a windowsill for winter. Some places that can house a carnivore indoors for dormancy are enclosed porches, garages with windows, or a spare room you are fine letting get chilly for a season. Don’t forget to keep them wet! I start my indoor plant dormancy in November, and bring the plants back in to warm up in March.

Part of plant dormancy is dying back to the rhizome. This looks bad, but as long as the very center of your plant remains solid it is still alive. Be patient! They’ll come back :)

Who are you? What is this?

I am Dr. C. Lawson; mad scientist and artist. Not legally a doctor. You may have seen me on instagram as cannibalistickiwi. Art sales initially was my goal for doing pop-up shops, but the plants chose me as their vessel for multi-household spread. So now I sell plants.

This site exists as a care reference for people who buy my plants, and as an inventory hub for people who want to buy plants. Buy my plants. I have some larger goals for this site in terms of horticultural education. I hate that the internet is getting cluttered with stolen, repetitive, AI generated “information” slop. I live on the internet, and would like at least one website on carnivorous plants to be how it was formerly: 100% all human written slop. I also want to encourage people to grow plants at home. Starting their hobbies in house plants, building confidence in the craft. Then moving up to food, herbs, fibers, and having to share crop with neighbors because it grew too well and now there’s So Much Sponge, but this inspires others nearby to grow in their yard and it leads to the whole neighborhood gardening and losing their complete reliance on the grocery industry. Community centered food sourcing. Ultimately this will lead to the death of Walmart and it’s ilk… but that’s all still being work shopped :) The Greenhouse of Horror is about carnivorous plants :)

Is this AI?

Nope. Not on this site. Never. As soon as I figure out how to code to keep bots from scraping here I'm blocking AI too. Going to keep it ad free as long as I can also. My thoughts are my own and the only person profiting off them will be me.