FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Today I went to Lowe's, and the only Peat Moss they had was the MiracleGro brand with all the plant nutrients in it, which I've heard will kill the VFT. Same for Perlite, only MiracleGro... I also checked Walmart and they were the same way. Where can I find normal Peat Moss + Perlite?

Lowe's had some Sphagnum Moss, that wasn't MiracleGro brand, is that similar enough to Peat Moss to be used, and can I use it without Perlite?

I'm in a real predicament because I'm expecting my VFT in the mail tomorrow and I was hoping to have the pot ready tonight so I can just drop it in when it arrives...

If I don't get a pot ready is there a way to keep the VFT alive for a day or two longer until I can find some non MiracleGro products?

You should be able to find regular peat moss at Home Depot this time of year. I haven't really looked recently to verify that though. You can use sphagnum moss for VFTs, but I've never tried and I've heard that they don't grow as well in it.

Did you try looking at any local nurseries?

If you don't have peat by tomorrow, don't worry about it too much. You can leave the plant in the bag it was shipped in for a few days.

I don't know of any local nurseries. Will my VFT survive in Sphagnum Moss alone with no perlite? At least for a little bit until I can find some Peat Moss and Perlite without fertilizer in it?

Yes, your VFT could survive indefinitely in long fibered sphagnum moss alone. You don't really need perlite at all. I have some plants potted in pure peat moss and they do fine.

Thanks matt, and triffidlover for helping me in the chat. I think I'll go with the pure Sphagnum until I can find some peat + perl. I guess I'll use the pure Sphagnum until 6 months or a year, I don't want to transplant too often.

If you live in the country try your farm supply place. Mine sells garden stuff/plants/seeds in the spring and had the plain kind of both items. If you are in town you'll probably have to find a nursery or green house. Although I talked to my local green house lady and she said the fertilzer kind she was all she had. So no guarantees.

yeah, you are lucky u live in america, you can pretty much pick it up anywhere...

its not actually illegal to sell it here, but its almost a Taboo or something.. so I had to buy mine from ebay.. costs an arm and a leg.

Nick,

This is the stuff they are selling at Lowe's which is fine for growing Dionaea.


It is a medium bale of 100% Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss and does not contain any growing additives.
It may be a little too much for your growing needs but then agian, if you catch the Dionaea disease and buy more plants, it will come in very handy.

I would not recommend the Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss, also in the picture, from Lowe's as it is low quality.

I hope this help,


Giovanni

The small bag on top is the one I found at Lowe's. I would really like to have a small bag as I live in a dorm and don't need an 80 lb bag of moss sitting under my bed. I think that one is long fiber? I think that might be my only option as of now.

Nickrober wrote:The small bag on top is the one I found at Lowe's. I would really like to have a small bag as I live in a dorm and don't need an 80 lb bag of moss sitting under my bed. I think that one is long fiber? I think that might be my only option as of now.

If you use pure sphagnum moss, be sure not to overwater the plant and keep it too wet all the time. Sand and perlite help to aerate the soil and keep it from becoming so waterlogged that rot is encouraged. If I were going to plant in pure sphagnum moss, I would probably recommend trying the dry long-fiber sphagnum moss first (the smaller bag in Giovanni's photo above), and chop it really well before using it to pot the plant, with knife or schissors. If you use already naturally composted (darker) sphagnum moss (sphagnum peat moss, the "peat" means naturally somewhat decomposed), then just be sure to let it dry out some between waterings until you get a feel for how often it should be watered and how moist it should be. You'll develop your own techniques and cultural practices over time, just like everyone else. We all grow our plants a little differently from each other.

Steve

Thanks Steve, always helpful. Tomorrow I'm going to go get some of that moss and chop it up and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow and I can post pictures!

Here's an update:

I got a plastic cup and put a few small holes in the bottom.
I bought the long fiber sphagnum moss and cut it up real small with some scissors.
I put the sphagnum moss in a ziploc bag and poured some distilled water in there and let it soak for a little while.

Anything else I should do before the VFT arrives? I thought it would be here today, should definitely be here tomorrow.

Nickrober wrote:Here's an update:

I got a plastic cup and put a few small holes in the bottom.
I bought the long fiber sphagnum moss and cut it up real small with some scissors.
I put the sphagnum moss in a ziploc bag and poured some distilled water in there and let it soak for a little while.

Anything else I should do before the VFT arrives? I thought it would be here today, should definitely be here tomorrow.

Yes, it should be there tomorrow. Shipped on a Saturday by Priority Mail it usually only takes two days. But when shipped on a weekday it usually takes three days.

What kind of plastic cup did you get? How large is it? A 16-ounce styrofoam beverage cup works great (but the plant will outgrow it in a year of good growth), and the plant benefits from the insulation. A slightly larger and deeper styrofoam cup (like those that are sometimes at the soda fountains of convenience stores) would be good too, or one of those insulated plastic mugs that you can get at a convenience store, with a drain hole or two drilled in the bottom. Just suggestions. Regular uninsulated plastic will work OK (lots of people grow their plants that way), but try to get a light color and definitely not clear or translucent (it will let sunlight into the root zone and heat the growing medium and roots too much.

This is not a good photo, but here's a young Flytrap growing in a 16-ounce styrofoam cup, with a soda can beside it for scale. This is how I grow all the Flytraps I sell, from the tiniest to the ones that are mature and robust enough to ship.


Steve

It's just a normal drinking cup...

Here it is on the window sill which will be it's new home for a while.

Nickrober wrote:It's just a normal drinking cup...

Here it is on the window sill which will be it's new home for a while.

That looks fine. If it gets too hot in the direct sunlight (feel the sides of the cup occasionally during the summer), you can always put that drinking cup inside a slightly larger cup to shield it from direct sunlight. You can even put perlite (the kind without any plant food added, like Miracle-Gro seems to always add) in the cavity between the two for insulation if you want, or use the outer cup as a water tray, pouring a little water into it to be sucked up through the drain hole of the inside cup. The perlite will probably try to float though in that case.

I'm being fussy-- Do it however you want.
Steve