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About Sarracenia Northwest
Expertise
Got a carnivorous plant problem? The growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin have helped thousands of growers around the world, and they can help you too. When you submit your question, they will diagnose your situation and offer a solution to help you get your carnivorous plant back on track.

Experience
With over 40 years of combined experience, Jeff and Jacob has definitely taken a straight forward approach to growing carnivorous plants. Get the straight facts from the guys who grow and propagate thousands of these plants every year.

No terrariums. No myths. No nonsense.

Education/Credentials
Authors of Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden and producers of the Grow Carnivorous Plants! DVD Series.

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR QUESTION:
We no longer answer how-to questions (i.e. How do I propagate...?; How do I grow...?).

Instead, we help growers by diagnosing a specific plant problem and offering solutions (i.e. Why is my sundew not producing dew?; Is now a good time to divide my Sarracenia?; Why are the traps turning black?; What's a good substitute for perlite?; Why didn't my seeds germinate?; Can you identify this carnivorous plant for me?)

If you are looking for general care and specific how-to information, please visit the following pages on our main website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets
http://www.cobraplant.com/videos
http://www.cobraplant.com/DVD
http://www.cobraplant.com/ebook

For help selecting carnivorous plants for your home and garden:
http://www.cobraplant.com/bestplants

For business questions:
http://www.cobraplant.com/contact

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

You are here: Experts > Style > Gardening > Carnivorous Plants > my bug eaters are having problems.

Carnivorous Plants - my bug eaters are having problems.

Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 10/31/2009

Question

bug eater problems

I have 5 plants in a windows box facing sound. three sundews and 2 butterwarts. I replanted them in a 50/50 mix of fine coconut fiber and cheap sand from home depot because I could not find anyone with washed sand right now. they get watered with filtered water. they have only been repotted 2 or three weeks. but after they recovered they got all dewy and started to grow. but all of a sudden they are no longer dewy and look a bit dried up. they are always kept moist.

Answer
Hi Steve,

YIKES!!!! The soil mix is entirely wrong for these plants. Under no circumstances do we recommend using coconut fiber for sundews and butterworts. While Nepenthes will grow well in coconut fiber, all other carnivorous plants perish in it.

Please use only the recommended mix of sphagnum peat moss and perlite. Home depot has peat moss because that's one of our sources for this product. If you can't find the recommended sand (washed sand or silica sand), I recommend using perlite or pumice. Washed sand is specific for horticultural use. You can use children's play sand, but avoid using industrial sand. Industrial sand may contain polluntants, such as heavy metals.

So repot your plants immediately in a fresh mix of peat moss and perlite (or appropriate substitutes). While gardeners rave about the use of coconut fiber for their garden, it's an inappropriate ingredient for 90% of carnivorous plants. This includes everything except Nepenthes. We've experimented with this product on test plants at our nursery, and all species except Nepenthes deteriorated. Flytraps and sundews were the first to go in a matter of a few weeks.

For appropriate soil mixes for tropical sundews and butterworts, read our care sheets:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets

I also recommend watching our upcoming DVD, Grow Carnivorous Plants Volume 2. We focus on the care of tropical sundews and butterworts. The DVD is at the printers and will be available later in November.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin

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