Stylidium debile (Frail Trigger Plant) • Protocarnivorous

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Stylidium debile, commonly known as the Frail Trigger plant, is an herbaceous annual plant that grows as a ground cover (green rosettes) and produces pink flowers around 10 to 20 cm tall. It is endemic to coastal areas in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia

Experts still argue as to whether triggerplants qualify as full carnivorous plants, or whether they should be placed into the taxonomic category known as “protocarnivorous”. They have the ability to capture prey via sticky threads on their flower scapes, and they secrete the digestive enzyme protease. Part of the issue seems to be that triggerplants seem only to be carnivorous during their blooming season. The rest of the year, they’re about as carnivorous as a rose...  

Plant Care:

• Keep soil only moist to the touch, if practicing windowsill growing, water every third day, more if needed. S. debile is one of the most undemanding carnivorous (or protocarnivorous) plants you can keep.
• It thrives in full sun and partial shade, although it keeps blooming all year if given full sun. Plants may be repotted in carnivorous potting soil or garden compost.
• Stylidium can be left outdoors, in a windowsill pot, or kept in a well-lit terrarium. It doesn’t freak out and die if given a small bit of liquid fertilizer every month or so and it’s relatively nonplussed as to water quality compared to most other carnivores.
• It keeps growing under high humidity and dangerously low, during air quality alert days – any plants that die off are rapidly replaced by new offshoots from the roots.
• If you're having trouble, try supplementing light with a desklamp until it thrives again.

Growth Cycle, Spreading & Seasonal Care (Additional Info):

• Stylidium debile is generally considered an annual plant, but in cultivation it often behaves like a perennial because it readily spreads through babies produced from underground stolons.
• During winter, the original plant may die back completely - this is normal. New plants will reshoot from the roots as the daylight period gets longer and the temperatures warm up.
• Snip off dead plants and spent flower heads as they fade to keep the pot neat and encourage fresh growth. Over time, this plant can form a dense little group, even though individual plants are short-lived.
• Repot or transplant every 1-2 years - they'll happily grow in a free draining soil like our Terrarium Mix or Sarracenia PROmix™.
• Fertilise lightly with Magic Mist during the active growing season - Unless you are pollinating to collect seed, flower stalks can be removed as soon as they emerge to encourage a fuller, more compact group of plants.