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Carnivorous Plants/Miracle grow soil for pitcher plants

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Expert: - 5/30/2010


Question
Is miracle gro sphagnum peat moss and perlite safe soil for me to grow my Sarracenia pitcher plants.  I just bought my plants and went to Walmart to get the soil requirements...I noticed that the miracle gro blends are enriched with miracle gro plant food.  Will this harm my plants?

Answer
Hello Mahadji,

Yes, any kind of fertilizers will harm carnivorous plants and will kill them eventually according to species and concentration of fertilizer. The best sphagnum peat mos to use would be the bales of plastic wrapped dry moss that comes in 1 or 2 foot cubes found in nurseries and garden centers. Those bales usually have lettering like Premium Canadian or Black Gold on them and are unfertilized sphagnum peat moss. The perlite could pose the same problem if it is a brand name like Miracle Gro that places fertilizer in most of their products. Check out the perlite information and call their company up and ask if they have fertilizer in the perlite. If they do, use it only for non-carnivorous plants. If the perlite does not contain fetilizers, then you will be able to use it with your carnivorous plants. A 1:1 ratio of perlite and sphagnum peat moss is a good mix for Sarracenias. You can also go the sure route and buy premixed soils from online companies specializing in carnivorous plants. Two good companies would be cobraplant.com and californiacarnivores.com.

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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