You are here:
Carnivorous Plants/none
Advertisement
Question
Hello, I got some carnivorous plants at lowes(a venus fly trap, a sundew, a nepenthes, and a sarricinia purperia) they where in little cubes and growing in just sphagnum moss i thought this was wrong and i transplanted them into bigger pots and different soil the soil i made for them is i half sphagnum peat moss and i half vermiculite and now im growing them outside under some bug attaraching plants(they get 5 hours of dazzled afternoon sun) is this right? I live in California.p.s some aphids got to the venus fly trap and messed up the new growth.
)
Hi Kasen,
The recommended soil mix for flytraps and Sarracenia is equal parts peat moss and perlite. Vermiculite is not suitable for these plants, though it is OK to use with Nepenthes. However, your current mix is still inappropriate for Nepenthes.
For Nepenthes, use 1 part peat moss and 2 parts perlite. This is a good general mix for tropical pitcher plants. There are also other appropriate soil mixes, and you can find them on our website:
http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets
I also recommend watching our DVD series, Grow Carnivorous Plants. We show you how to grow these plants, how to repot and propagate them and avoid common mistakes:
http://www.cobraplant.com/DVD
Good growing!
Jacob Farin
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
Sarracenia Northwest
Expertise
If your plant is showing poor growth, discoloration, abnormal leaves or possible infestation, the growers at Sarracenia Northwest can help! Carnivorous plant experts Jeff Dallas and Jacob Farin will help you diagnose the problem and get your plants on the right track. Their no nonsense approach has helped thousands of growers all over the world. They can help you too!
Experience
With over 40 years of combined experience, Jeff and Jacob has definitely taken a straight forward approach to growing carnivorous plants. They have encountered many types of diseases, abnormal growth and infestations related to carnivorous plants, and they know what it takes to get plants looking beautiful and healthy again.
Education/Credentials
Authors of Secrets to Growing Beautiful Carnivorous Plants for Your Home and Garden and producers of the Grow Carnivorous Plants! DVD Series. They also produce a monthly video podcast to illustrate how plants cycle through the seasons.
No terrariums. No myths. No nonsense.
Just the straight facts from guys who grow and propagate
thousands of carnivorous plants each year.
|
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?) For general plant care, please read our care sheets on our main website: http://www.cobraplant.com/caresheets For business questions: http://www.cobraplant.com/contact |
Follow us on Youtube and Facebook!
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.