Expert: Christopher Littrell - 6/22/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi Chris,

  This afternoon, i went to a garden land and was about to buy peat moss for my venus flytrap. But then, the manager there suggested me to use a soil called "CocoEarth" which is an OMRI-listed organic product made from 100% coco coir. They told me that it has no mineral in it, so I bought it... But before I use it, I was thinking that it might actually kill the plant. Can I use it? I got perlite, should i mix with it?

ANSWER: Hello Nicol,

You could use coconut fiber, like what you have, with your Nepenthes, but I would not advise using it with Venus Flytraps as it is simply not acidic enough for them. Venus Flytraps need an acidity less than 5 on the Ph level, coco coir is over 5 on the Ph level, so would sicken your Flytrap over time, eventually killing it.

Most people, even those that grow typical plants in a nursery, simply do not understand that carnivorous plants are a different kind of plant altogether, particularly the ones that live in peat bogs.

People have tried many different mixes of soil with Venus Flytraps and have found that the best is peat and perlite, peat and sand, and long fiber sphagnum or live sphagnum mixed with perlite or sand. Nothing else seems to support Venus Flytraps beyond a few weeks or months and even then produces weak, tiny plants.

Christopher

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi,
  Sorry to bother you again...but today is my big day! I repotted my venus flytrap this afternoon. I used peat moss but i realized after that it was actually sphagnum peat moss, I hope it won't kill my plant. But then I saw a video somewhere on youtube showing how to "divide" venus flytrap. So i did...which i kind of regret. First, I gently pull the plant out, then i got rid of most of the old soil. Then, i used rainwater to wash alittle the pot, and I saw that my plant has alot of "baby plants" so I just pull them apart gently. THEN, i realized that i only has one little pot...so i ended up putting them all in but in different corners. BUT the thing is, my plant looks so messy now....before it had sparse of leaves, but now it looks like a messed up plant with some leaves here and there, it is hard to describ how ugly it looks. I told myself that the leaves are going to eventually die off anyways, so I just left it outside now. And my question is, did I do anything wrong? do you think i should get a larger pot tomorrow so that i can fill all of them in. I think i gave it enough stress already today, maybe i should wait 1 or 2 weeks... OH and is my plant going to divide itself more after? because my little brother saw it and he insisted me to give him a part if it, so i did eventhough I know he is going to kill it, and i regret it because I feel like i just took away a part of my plant.

Answer
Hello Nicol,

Sphagnum peat moss is exactly the type you need, so long as it is unfertilized it is fine. There are several types of peat moss, but sphagnum is a moss that degrades into an acidic peat with lots of iodine that kills off bacteria.. just what a Flytrap needs.

Dividing a Flytrap is possible, but only do so every couple years at most or the plant might be weakened by too many divisions too often. Just leave the plants alone now and let them recover and they should be fine if they have all their needs met. They will grow out more and look better with time. Venus Flytraps will keep dividing their rhizomes. After time, as you repot them each year, you will notice that the divisions will fall apart almost naturally... that is the time to actually divide them. At other times, you can pull them apart, but just don't pull them apart too forcefully. If it takes a lot of work to get them apart, they are not ready to divide.

Christopher