Expert: Daniel Lee Bowen - 1/20/2012

Question
QUESTION: Hi again. I was wondering if it would be a bad thing if I mixed my sphagnum peat moss with my dead, long fiber sphagnum moss. Will this cause mold/fungi to grow? I don't have any more sphagnum peat moss, but I do have long-fibered sphagnum moss.

I have a picture of my terrarium. Using the last of my sphagnum peat moss, I got it to about an an inch and a half of soil above the 2 inches of gravel for drainage.

My aim is to get around 4 inches of soil. How many inches of soil do you have in your 10 gallon terrarium? I couldn't quite tell from your previous photos.

The bottom right corner where the gravel shows in my photo is the squared off water drainage thing you suggested to me with your photo.

Does all look well to you?

Will I be able to mix these two things together and have it work?

If I can mix the long fiber sphagnum moss with my peat moss, I'll have enough soil to create my terrarium today. If not I'll have to wait and buy more peat moss at a gardening store.

Thanks once again! I look forwards to your reply.

ANSWER: Hello again my friend!
      I think your planting mix sounds great and should hold up well for years, and with added weekly ventilation the mold/fungi will be keep at check but make sure to check everyday you can, note if you add perlite to your mix it may stick to your sundews traps where you want to feed them and will be hard to remove, lol! I enjoyed seeing your tank/set-up, for that is the size of tank I started with over 50 years ago! Just note more important about how far the lighting will be from the tops of your plants then how deep the moss is! Make sure that you have no more then 8-7 inches from the top of your smallest carnivorous plant so you can get that color and health of thriving carnivorous plants you are looking for. You my friend have designed your tank well, with a drainage pathway, and now you will see and know where the water level is and will know for a fact when your plants need more watering and if you over do it you can now remove if needed, I'm happy for you and your carnivorous plants. Your friend and helper always Happy Growing  Dan

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Once I get my 4-5 inches of peat moss mixed with long-fiber sphagnum moss added onto the 2 inches of gravel on the bottom, every plant in there should, at the most, only be (8 inches) away from my 4 fluorescent tube lights that give off 11,800 lumens or so.

I also just got a P. Gigantea. I'm guessing since the Primuliflora can thrive in a terrarium that the P. Gigantea can as well, but I just wanted to make sure and check with you.

Thanks so much! I'll send you a picture once I'm done creating my terrarium, so you can see what you think on the job I've done.

ANSWER: The lighting is right on the mark and will work great to add that rich coloring you are looking for and yes on adding your gigantea, just keep an eye on for the first 30 days or so and never let dry out. I have so enjoyed viewing your photos of your new terrarium, everything is looking so good and not long until they start to fill the tank. One thing to keep in mind but very important to thriving carnivorous plants, is they need a lot of time left alone, no touching no moving no handling for that I think is the biggest problem for most of these carnivorous plants. Only twice a week for play time with your plants and add feeding time to that as well. Good luck and Happy Growing My friend, and always here to help Dan

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I will not be putting a lid onto the terrarium, and I have my fan on every night so that gives all my plants the circulation they need.

As for the temperature, the highest it reaches is 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and the lowest is 70.1 at night with my fan. 67-69 during summer months as we have AC and not heat on during the day.

I don't really touch them at all and there's no bugs alive currently as its at freezing temperatures almost every night here in Pennsylvania.

Thanks!

Answer
You have all the bases cover, but you will need a meter to read the temperature and humidity costing about 8 dollars so you will have nice dew on your sundews that's why I use a cover on all my terrariums so as to control that needed humidity and then you will know the site temperature inside your terrarium. Now get ready to have your carnivorous plants thrive! Have fun and will wait for your call, if needed! Thanks again for all your kind words and know I'm here for you Devon, and Happy Growing your friend Dan