Carnivorous Plants/Reducing PPM

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Expert: - 5/3/2009


Question
Hey Chris it is me again. I am having a hard time reducing the PPM in the soil. I took fresh long fiber sphagnum right out of the bag and placed it in a pot. Then I poured the filtered water through it. The water entering the moss had 0 PPM but after it went through the pot and gathered in the watering tray it had 15 PPM. How in the heck am I going to get beautiful Drosera plants if the very soil media contaminates the water?

Thanks again,
Tom

Answer
Hello Tom,

15 parts per million is not going to harm carnivorous plants. What occurred is the small amount of mineral solids in the soil were carried out of the soil with the water. It will now collect in the tray over time with some reabsorbtion of the solids as capillary action occurs in the moss. Since you have very little solids in the final product, I would not worry about it. The solids should be less than 50 ppm. Above that will harm Drosera and Dionaea.

Christopher

Carnivorous Plants

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Christopher Littrell

Expertise

I am capable of answering questions about the most common carnivorous plants found in cultivation. I have no personal experience with Byblis, Drosophyllum, Aldrovanda, and Heliamphora. I have not cultivated gemmae forming pygmy sundews nor tuberous sundews. For information regarding those aforementioned species, I would suggest contacting other experts. I can answer questions regarding most species of Nepenthes, tropical and temperate Drosera, Mexican Pinguicula, Sarracenias, and Dionaea. I have some limited experience with growing Utricularia, Cephalotus, and Darlingtonia.

Experience

I have grown carnivorous plants off and on for about 27 years. I have made the same mistakes and suffered the same mishaps that many growers make as they attempt to separate the myths from the realities of growing these plants. Currently, I am successfully growing a variety of tropical sundews, a Nepenthes, several Venus Flytraps of varying ages, and Sarracenias. I have been successful in stratifying Sarracenia seeds and providing artificial dormancy requirements for my temperate plants when needed.

Education/Credentials
I hold a Master's degree in Educational Psychology. Over my lifetime, I have constantly read books involving the growing conditions of carnivorous plants. I hope to incorporate the educational aspects involved in psychology with teaching other people how to cultivate carnivorous plants.

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