FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Its hard to find the correct soil for vfy at home depots and other retail stores. So I went to a nursery garden and asked for Sphagnum peat moss and perlite and told them for what plant. They said that the best thing close to that was cactus soil. Its called Hoffman organic cactus and succulent soil mix. These are the ingredients : Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, Reed sedge peat, perlite, sand, limestone. (Ph adjuster). I've read the entire bag and I didn't find any type of miracle grow thing. Will this mix be good for my vft?

No, my cactus soil alows water to almost run straight through the soil. Like in the desert, where-as cp's live in bogs and would be almost impossible to look after!

matadorjr wrote:These are the ingredients : Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, Reed sedge peat, perlite, sand, limestone. (Ph adjuster). I've read the entire bag and I didn't find any type of miracle grow thing. Will this mix be good for my vft?

The two ingredients on that list that should concern you are Reed sedge peat and limestone. I'm not familiar with Reed sedge peat, but I just did a bit of googling and it sounds like it should probably be avoided.

The limestone I know is a soft rock made of calcium carbonate. The calcium will leach into the soil and poison the flytrap. Also, it adjust the pH of the soil to make it more alkaline, like the type of soils that cacti are commonly found growing in. Flytraps prefer acidic soil.

So no, that won't be good for your flytrap.

Oh, and I noticed that this is your first post....welcome to flytrapcare!

thanks for the answers guys. after i purchased that soil and did some research too (which i should of done more before buying) and yes, that reed soil ended up not being good for the plants so I'll have to return it to the store. I did buy a 1 qt bag on ebay where the mix is ready. It's called "monster mix" the sellers name is kshaw04 and has algo 1 gallon mix for carnivorous plants. So instead of buying a bale of sphagnum peat moss, perlite, sand mix by separate, he sold it for about $4. So not bad since I'm a starter.

Matt and Steve also sell it in the flytrap store. A good deal, and a good amount to keep you going!

Glad to hear youve got something for now, maybe you can get your garden centre to order you in some peat? I dont know common USA brands though.