FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Sponsored by FlytrapStore.com

Ask questions about how to grow and care for Venus Flytraps

Moderator: Matt

By Nick 81
Posts:  55
Joined:  Tue Oct 04, 2016 2:53 pm
#277141
When I first started experimenting with carniverous plants back in the summer I used pre mixed peat free carniverous compost.
I now mix my own partly because it's more economical and partly because peat is what everybody uses and it's what they grow in in their natural habitat.
I have heard that thier is no substitute for peat which is as good as the real thing.
If this is true why? If nutrients aren't needed for these plants then why is peat so irreplaceable.
Nick 81 liked this
By Grey
Posts:  3255
Joined:  Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:48 pm
#277187
I think part of the love affair with peat rests in its natural acidity, lack of nutrition, and general ability to absorb and retain water. It is a totally natural substance that doesn't require processing in the way that, say, coconut coir would. Peat is, essentially, a "plug and play" product -- it generally doesn't need additional fiddling with in order to be usable (unlike the desalination process of coconut fibre). It's also tried and tested, which is of great reassurance, especially when growing carnivorous plants for the first time (it was for me, at least).

I'm moving to more environmentally friendly soil mixes as well, which is benefited by the fact that I no longer grow Venus fly traps (although I would definitely like to!) so it isn't as much of a necessity, but I would love to hear what others think about this particular topic.
User avatar
By steve booth
Posts:  1221
Joined:  Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:15 am
#277201
The most probable answer to your question in relation to VFTs and Sarracenia, is because peat is the very stuff that they have adapted over millennia to grow in, whereas milled pine and granite chippings and other mixes just dont occur naturally anywhere in their growth regions. So it is natural that they react best to peat.
Other mixes can made and used as effectively as peat (see Mike Kings recent conversion to peat free mix) but it takes time to hone it to get the consistency, aeration, acidity and water retention to be the same, so the plants react accordingly.
Cheers
Steve
steve booth liked this
By Nick 81
Posts:  55
Joined:  Tue Oct 04, 2016 2:53 pm
#277245
Thanks Steve.
What effects do you think a non peat medium could have if any?
Maybe a shorter life span or a smaller size?
By KategoricalKarnivore
Posts:  1769
Joined:  Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:00 pm
#277254
The sarracenia and drosera that grow by where I live grow in clay silt. I dug up a bucketful yesterday to do some experimentation with germination. When it's dry it is like a very fine powder. Almost like talc powder. And when it's wet it is like a very thick mud and it compacts down a good bit too.
User avatar
By steve booth
Posts:  1221
Joined:  Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:15 am
#277314
KK, I have heard of people experimenting with the non clumping type cat litter, which I guess is just clay anyway, so long as it is nutrient free and acidic it will work, but as suggested the aeration will be poor, which may retard growth, unless you mix something in with it.
Nick I have experimented with various mediums, the one I am currently using is a mix of peat and wood flakes, the sort they use for horse bedding. The flakes are mostly pine and give the mix acidity and tannin's released slowly, similar to the effect of pine needles and fallen trees in the wild, plus it provides great aeration, the root systems on some plants are more extensive than the plants in standard mixes.
The mix works very well in my bogs, probably better than perlite (cheaper too) but inevitably after four or five years it gets tired and starts to rot due to the acidity reducing. When this happens I reinvogorate the medium, with more shavings, some pine bark (the sort they use for mulches) and a dose of sulphur to get the acidity back, so not peat free but I dont use more peat i the bogs.
Heres a peat free mix that seems to work well
http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.ph ... ents-2014/
The effect of the peat free medium will be very much based on what it is, its acidity and texture. The mix Mike King uses has great results and due to its constituents will probably remain in good order for a number of years, but as his plants are all potted it doesnt matter too much as they get pulled out and divided every two/three years and repotted with new medium. So its a case of playing with the constituent parts of your mix to get it to a state where the plants can grow in it and preferably thrive in it. They will let you know by their vigour and colour.

Cheers
Steve
By KategoricalKarnivore
Posts:  1769
Joined:  Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:00 pm
#277331
steve booth wrote:KK, I have heard of people experimenting with the non clumping type cat litter, which I guess is just clay anyway, so long as it is nutrient free and acidic it will work, but as suggested the aeration will be poor, which may retard growth, unless you mix something in with it.
Thanks for the info.
Yeah I am thinking of doing a side by side comparison of different mixes with the clay. 1 pure clay, 1 50/50 clay/perlite, 1 50/50 clay/LFSM, and 1 50/50 clay/peat. I'll put the same plant in each and keep an eye on any differences I see.
By omnipercp15
Posts:  352
Joined:  Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:58 am
#278433
I think it's also a case of availability. You can find peat at your local hardware store or garden center in large quantities. And like the above posts are mentioning, there are other media you can use, just that when giving instructions on 50-50 of perlite and peat moss, that's about as easy as can be to make your own.

You can find coco coir too, but not in large quantities, at least for the average person.

There certainly are other growers or hobbyists who use different media with great results.

I'm seeing a similar thing with nearly all of […]

My sundew isn’t eating!

Sadly my leaf cuttings haven’t grown probabl[…]

Drosera germination time

Wow! Thank you very much, everyone!

More additions! Thanks Secretariat73! S. leucophy[…]

Transaction with Secretariat73

I must concur. Despite the best efforts of our dea[…]

So far, not less than five days apart. Humidity va[…]

Argh! Just 4 days left in the photo contest and we[…]

SASE received. Order is fulfilled. Return envelope[…]

Support the community - Shop at FlytrapStore.com!