Carnivorous Plants/peat moss

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Expert: - 5/8/2010


Question
I have two Venus flytraps and one is potted with sphagnum moss. (The one used for orchids.) The other one is potted with a black mush, and it smells terrible. it is not well drained, but i poked a few holes in it and added perlite. How can i get rid of the smell?

Answer
Hello Antony,

When peat moss is not potted in a well drained environment it will build up stagnant water and begin to smell sulfurous as the moss very slowly rots.

Repot the plant into fresh sphagnum peat moss with a 1:1 ratio of perlite and into a 4-5 inch pot with regular drain holes in the bottom.

I have had similar situations before myself with inadequately drained containers. The only solution is repotting into normal pots with good drain holes.

Make sure the sphagnum peat moss and perlite you use are not fertilized. Many of the small bags found in garden centers are fertilized for non-carnivorous plants. Carnivorous plants will die just as quickly in those fertilized moss mixes as in any other regular potting soil. The moss to use would be the big bale of dried sphagnum peat found in nurseries and sold in 1 or 2 foot cubes in plastic wrap. They usually say something like Premium Canadian or Black Gold or some such and are not fertilized. Similarly, check out the perlite to ensure it is not fertilized either. Some brands are and some are not.

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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