Carnivorous plant – scary name but cute appearance
After arranging new varieties to prepare for the upcoming harvest, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Thu (31 years old, living in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City) enthusiastically introduced the carnivorous plants that were regarding to be released.
Hong Thu’s carnivorous garden is only 30m2 wide, but can bring in an income of nearly 20 million VND/month for the girl. (Photo: Thuy Vy)
“This is a clamp trap, children and adults all love it, it looks so small but it catches prey very well. And this is a glue trap, avocado grass, hooves, lid, … This tree is a trap pit, he is the tallest elder in the garden,” said Ms. Thu.
These carnivorous plants sound scary in name but are small and useful in appearance. At maximum growth, the carnivorous lines can be as tall as two adult human fingers. Moreover, their hunting characteristics are quite different. While the pit tree lays still waiting for its prey to fall into the hole, the trap tree will close when the prey arrives thanks to its sharp spikes.
Each type of tree will have a different price, depending on the size and characteristics of each type. (Photo: Thuy Vy)
In the garden of more than 30m2 on the terrace, Ms. Thu designed a net house to cover the whole thing. This net not only protects the plant from heavy raindrops, but also regulates the amount of light just enough for the plant. Not only that, she also designed an irrigation system connected directly at the top. The flow of water from the system will wash away raindrops, helping the tree not to be infected with bacteria and alum.
Each type has a different cost, depending on the size and type of tree, usually ranging from 150,000-400,000 VND/pot. With only a small scale right on the terrace, Ms. Thu’s carnivorous plants have been sold to customers all over the country. Since then, the business has easily brought her an income of 12-18 million VND/month.
With just some initial guidance, Hong Thu’s customers can easily take care of their own plants. (Photo: Thuy Vy)
The 9X girl shared, she has long had a strong passion for plants that catch prey through foreign films. Seeing that, her husband just found out on social networks, brought the seeds to try to plant.
That time was 2008, in Vietnam, there were very few people growing this plant, so there were almost no books, newspapers or anyone who might guide. However, Ms. Thu and her husband did not expect the first bait tree that they planted to grow successfully without much care.
“The first time I saw a tree to catch prey in real life, I was very happy. From one tree, my husband and I pursued this hobby and planted a few dozen or a few hundred trees. To put it on the desk, visit home from time to time. Visiting the children for a while, I also feel comfortable,” Thu confided.
In 2020, when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, due to being unable to work or go out, Thu and her husband planted more than 100 trees on the terrace. Not only Thu and her husband, their 8-year-old daughter also considers this unique tree as a close friend during the time of separation. Since then, she and her husband have found that the connection between children and trees can help children’s education become better.
“I myself can get a lot of mental benefits when pursuing this hobby. I feel patience and meticulousness, I am also in a joyful mood because I am exposed to the energy source. green every day. The whole family also has the opportunity to gather together, take care and learn regarding the characteristics of the tree”, Ms. Thu confided.
After participating in many forums that love carnivorous plants, Ms. Thu has the opportunity to interact with people with the same passion. Since then, she took advantage of the opportunity to attract many people to learn and buy trees. Seeing that her hobby can generate income, Ms. Thu decided to think seriously regarding it and started investing more than 500 trees in her business.
The girl prioritizes ordering plants from Thailand, with prices up to 800,000 VND/tree. Not only that, Thu also took the time to learn more knowledge regarding planting and caring for carnivorous plants from foreign forums, and then sharing with people who love this special plant.
It seemed that the plant was still new, not many people cared, but unexpectedly in a short time, the 9X girl sold almost all of the plants she raised.
It doesn’t take much effort to grow carnivorous plants
For those who are passionate regarding carnivorous plants, Ms. Thu said, it doesn’t take too much effort to take care of them. Because inherently, they are plants with strong vitality. In particular, growers only need to note the three most important characteristics.
The first is light. Carnivorous plants are very fond of natural sunlight from 4-8 hours, if grown indoors, you can use lights for 12 hours to grow better, stimulate color, and photosynthesis. However, growers need to avoid exposure to direct sunlight, the plants will easily dry out due to lack of water.
Carnivorous plants are plants with a high will to survive, growers do not need to spend too much effort to care. (Photo: Thuy Vy)
Second is the amount of water. Caregivers should water the plants twice a day, for 3-5 minutes each time. If we do not have time to water the plants, we can put a plate with water underneath and then proceed to the process of soaking the pot. Carnivorous plants will suck up water to feed themselves.
“Note that this plant is quite picky regarding water. They will not grow or even die from water contaminated with alum, high pH or compounds like chlorine. On hot sunny days just pour more water than usual once a day. A little bit, the tree will live on its own without fertilizing,” Thu shared.
The girl revealed, the last thing is that carnivorous plants actually lack nutrients the better. Therefore, growers only need to mix fern and a little perlite for the plants to take root. Because the behavior of the plant is to catch its own prey and feed itself from the nutrients of insects. If humans actively capture food for plants, they will close the lid soon, causing the plant to die quickly or only show leaves. After a year, users can change the soil to let the seedlings continue to grow.
In order for flowers to bloom in a beautiful size, growers need to pay attention to three criteria regarding the amount of water, light and soil of the plant. (Photo: Thuy Vy)
Every day, the 9X girl only spends 1-2 hours taking care of the whole garden. Thanks to this business, Thu has the opportunity to meet people with the same passion and exchange knowledge for curious and nature-loving children.
With Thu, a carnivorous plant helps us a lot in decorating our desks, making our homes more spacious, providing knowledge regarding nature and helping to refresh our spirits.
“There are many children who are only in 2nd and 3rd grade, but coming to the garden is delighted, reading the names of plants in English very clearly. In addition, the aroma properties, plant enzymes help attract , kill harmful insects, make the house more clean,” said Thu.
In the near future, the 9X girl will continue to expand the garden, invest in more carnivorous plants so that people in and outside the community know and care more regarding carnivorous plants.