FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have my vft in the soil I got it, pure peat moss, it has been raining alot and before this I was just planing on changing it in the spring. Would it be ok if I changed it now. I dont want it to get root rot.

branpera wrote:I have my vft in the soil I got it, pure peat moss, it has been raining alot and before this I was just planing on changing it in the spring. Would it be ok if I changed it now. I dont want it to get root rot.

Changing it now is definitely preferable to root rot. Use the 50/50 mix of sphagnum peat moss and perlite.

I just repoted the 3 plants that I have and I was supprised to see how little roots they had.

i have mine in all peat

are there any benifits for all peat

branpera wrote:are there any benifits for all peat

vs. all perlite, not that I know of. Except that 1) perlite floats to the top when you water it, which can be annoying and 2) you don't have to buy the perlite, thus saving money. I think the aeration is worth it though; root rot sucks.

Some people use 50/50 peat moss and washed sand or silica sand instead of peat/perlite, which also works.

I have mine in pure peat, and they do fine, even in our rainy climate. Just remove them from the saucers when in rains so it doesn't flood the pots.

mktamin wrote:I have mine in pure peat, and they do fine, even in our rainy climate. Just remove them from the saucers when in rains so it doesn't flood the pots.

It seems like sometimes the plants do fine, and sometimes they do miserably. I think it's possible for plants to do fine in pure peat, but conditions have to be a bit more ideal than they have to be with a 50/50 mix.

Personally, I like to have a little insurance.

I had a few of my plants in a mix that was perlite and peat, but heavy on the peat. I did lose a couple last winter to root rot. I'd definitely recommend not keeping them in pure peat over the winter. If you do, water them very, very sparingly.

Matt wrote:I had a few of my plants in a mix that was perlite and peat, but heavy on the peat. I did lose a couple last winter to root rot. I'd definitely recommend not keeping them in pure peat over the winter. If you do, water them very, very sparingly.

What do you use now?

Well "nesler" the only problem that you're facing now is when you repot it "shock" an the time it will take before it gets into dormancy.. or in other words the amount of time for the plant too heal.. it could still be healing by the time it get's dormant an this might hurt the plant.

allen,