Yes Im in San Diego, and Im a total noob, Im trying to grow a couple mango as houseplants but really interested growing some pitcher plants, how do you grow them, can they be grown as viable indor plants without any sort of habitat setup, or maybe by hanging outside on the porch?

my mango's are not going so well due to fruit fly's and the cold weather, I may need to switch to another type of plant as my hobby :)

brandon

Hehe, well pitcher plants will take care of those fruit flies for you no problem :). I grow mine under grow lights using terrariums, but many people grow them outside with success. I know of a few people that grow them in So. Cali with great success, although some of the more finicky species prefer a greenhouse or terrarium for higher humidity. As for indoor growing, this could work depending on the humidity in your house and the temperatures. Some species like cooler temps (highland) and some like warmer temps (lowland). Light is also an important factor, so for an indoor plant, a south facing window would be prime. Humidity should also remain above 50%, though this is not always necessary with every species.

how about sundews? have you had any luck with those?

would you suggest growing from seed, or purchasing from an online store?

I only have a few sundews, and I used to grow them in the terrarium. Only recently I put them outside... so I am not sure how they will fare, but another S.D. grower grows his outside with great success. It depends on which species, and how many you want to grow, but I would probably just start with a couple online purchases. Many sundews will self-propagate and you will end up having a ton of seed in no time. Have you ventured to some of the other CP (carnivorous plant) forums? There is a great online community full of specialized help on TF... I guess I can't use the name on here because of an automatic blocker (Just google "carnivorous plant forums" and it is the second entry that pops up with the acronym TF). They would also be able to give you a lot better advice on Sundews than I can because I only grew the 2 species I have because they were free plants with a Nepenthes order I placed with Cobraplant. My name on TF is "Nepenthes". Feel free to shoot me a PM anytime... I spend more time there than over here.