FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Ok,
So I was figuring I would nurse the flytrap I bought yesterday back to health this year ("Starting with a new venus flytrap" post), but today I stopped by a family owned nursery and I saw the flytraps they got in stock this morning. It looked way healthier and has bigger traps, so I went back to lowes, returned that one, and got this one instead.

I did use the death-sentencing miracle-gro peat moss, but I'm crossing my fingers hoping the nutrients wont do much damage. I guess we'll see in a few months.

Attached are pics of course.

SundewWolf wrote: I did use the death-sentencing miracle-gro peat moss, but I'm crossing my fingers hoping the nutrients wont do much damage. I guess we'll see in a few months.

It probably won't make it to a few months. It seems strange to go to all the trouble of returning one fly trap and buying another, only to sentence it to death. The nutrients will kill it fingers crossed or not. I'm surprised the roots are so short but it looks amazing right now. So it would be a shame to kill it off by using hostile soil. Here's a look into your future: http://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/have- ... ml#p170327

I don't think perlite can hold much nutrient, and is nothing compared to actually fertilizing the soil with concentrated liquid. You still eventually want to flush it out though.

The whole entire reason why flytraps even catch bugs to begin with is because of the fact that they evolved in a habitat that had practically zero nutrients in the soil. They evolved the ability to capture bugs over countless generations in order to obtain the nutrients they needed to survive. Their roots aren't designed to take in nutrients, and when they do, it burns them pretty badly and is most often fatal for the plant. That's why Miracle Gro products are never used for them. They have time release fertilizers that slowly release those fertilizers over a period of time, possibly months. So soaking your plant's pot to try and flush the fertilizers out just doesn't really do much to help. My recommendation would have been to also buy new planting mix. I've even bought a $2.00 package of those peat pellets from Wal-Mart, and just soaked them until they were rehydrated and dumped the peat moss out and mixed it with some silica sand that I rinsed out prior to using. The bag of silica sand, I bought it for only $6.00. The potting materials are pretty cheap, so if you were already investing in a newer plant, then what's the harm in spending a little bit more to make sure that your flytrap has the best opportunities available?

Why do you think we use reverse osmosis, distilled, or rain water? Because even using simple tap water is bad for them, due to the minute quantities of minerals within it. So how do you think your plant's roots will react to potting mix that has had time release fertilizers artificially added to it? Even ordinary potting soil would be fatal for flytraps, which is why most people use peat moss, perlite, and/or silica sand. They're inert and have zero nutrients in them.

I'd get it re potted into a suitable medium immediately. When I was younger I killed a few flytraps by using Miracle Grow soil and tap water. It certainly doesn't take long.

I can stop by the nursery and get peat without added nutrients. I looked on the miracle gro bag today, and the NPK numbers were in the 0.03%-0.05% range . I wasn't aware this is strong enough to kill a flytrap. I'll repot it today in better peat.

Thanks

David F wrote:I don't think perlite can hold much nutrient, and is nothing compared to actually fertilizing the soil with concentrated liquid.

He/she said peat moss, not perlite.

I'll repot it today in better peat.

I think that's a wise choice! It's a very nice plant!

SundewWolf wrote:I can stop by the nursery and get peat without added nutrients. I looked on the Miracle Gro bag today, and the NPK numbers were in the 0.03%-0.05% range . I wasn't aware this is strong enough to kill a flytrap. I'll repot it today in better peat.

Your flytrap will thank you for it later on, and since your plant isn't established yet, you shouldn't have any problems from repotting it again.

While 0.03%-0.05% may not seem like a whole lot, it's still considered too much for Venus flytraps. That's why even most tap water isn't considered safe for use when watering them. Because the "total dissolved solids" (TDS) has to be 50 PPM (parts per million) or lower. So 50 parts per million translates into 0.005%, and the TDS has to be equal to or less than that amount. And 0.03%-0.05% equals 300 to 500 PPM, which is way over the threshold of what's considered safe for flytraps.

Well, I hope this helps shed a little light on the subject, and good luck with your new flytrap.

This is the peat I found today. The employees at the nursery said this one had no nutrients added, and their "garden doctor" said that this was fine for flytraps. the website on the bag is "Michiganpeat.com" i couldn't find anything about added fertilizer or nutrients on the bag or website.

I hoping someone can tell me if this stuff will be acceptable.

thanks!

sorry for bursting your bubble but I believe nepenthes prefer different but similar media compared to venus flytraps. They are also much harder to keep alive than VFTs, because they are very picky on growing conditions.

I'm not familiar with Nepenthes or reed sedge peat.

But I did a quick search and found this: http://www.peatinc.com/why.html
Q. What is the difference between Sphagnum and Reed-sedge peat?
A. Sphagnum peat is the least decomposed type of peat and contains more than 66% recognizable plant fibers. It is very acidic in nature and typically is yellow to light brown in color. Reed-sedge peat is further decomposed than Sphagnum. It contains 30 to 60 percent plant fibers, is less acidic and is dark brown in color. Reed-sedge also has a higher nitrogen content than sphagnum and is less susceptible to decomposition in a mix.

I hope this helps some, hopefully someone with more knowledge of these two will come along soon.

akinkysnorlax wrote: I believe nepenthes prefer different but similar media compared to venus flytraps.

Nepenthes perfer a more airy mixture so peat and perlite works as long as its well draining. From what I've read about Reed Sedge Peat, it might have been best to add a little more perlite for a more airy soil. I'm sure the Nepenthe will do fine as long as you don't over water it and if this type of peat is ok to use with carnivorous plants.

I've never used reed sedge peat so I did a little research on it since peat is a generic term of soil-like material consisting of partly decomposed vegetable matter found in boggy areas. I always look for sphagnum peat when I buy it.

Here is what I've found about reed sedge peat. It must have a 33% minimum fiber content with more than 50% reed-sedge and other nonmoss fibers. Reed peat-Composed mainly of reeds including Phragmites, Scirpus, Typa species. Sedge peat-Composed mainly of stalks, leaves, rhizomes, and roots of sedges and Carex species.

So, I'm not sure if it is safe for carnivorous plants or not. If you go to the website I found there are graphs comparing different peats. Reed Sedge Peat can be much higher in nitrogen so it could cause some harm.

SundewWolf wrote:The employees at the nursery said this one had no nutrients added, and their "garden doctor" said that this was fine for flytraps.

It can be hard to trust some of these people unless they themselves grow carnivorous plants or specialize in the selling of cp. I don't know how much this bag of peat cost but I hope its not to much. I know Walmart sales sphagnum peat as well as Lowes, Home Depot and many other big name stores.

Once again I hope you the best of luck with your plants but if you see any sign of mineral burn, which if you don't know what you're looking for or worried about something post pictures and ask, I'd re-pot in sphagnum peat moss.

On a positive note it looks like you did a lot better at mixing your media.

tom_e_boi wrote:So 50 parts per million translates into 0.005%, and the TDS has to be equal to or less than that amount. And 0.03%-0.05% equals 300 to 500 PPM, which is way over the threshold of what's considered safe for flytraps.

Wouldn't 50ppm be 0.00005% (50/1,000,000)?

xr280xr wrote:

tom_e_boi wrote:So 50 parts per million translates into 0.005%, and the TDS has to be equal to or less than that amount. And 0.03%-0.05% equals 300 to 500 PPM, which is way over the threshold of what's considered safe for flytraps.

Wouldn't 50ppm be 0.00005% (50/1,000,000)?

No because if you want to see it in % you have to multiply by 100.

xr280xr wrote:

David F wrote:I don't think perlite can hold much nutrient, and is nothing compared to actually fertilizing the soil with concentrated liquid.

He/she said peat moss, not perlite.

I'll repot it today in better peat.

I think that's a wise choice! It's a very nice plant!

That changes a lot!

Yeah you're going to want to swap that plant's soil ASAP.

Good luck

-Dave