FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I cannot find any perlite or silica sand thats within 2 hours of where i live. so are there any effective alternatives that can work just as better as silica sand or perlite? and also, i did manage to find medium grade and fine grade commercial sand. could one of those be my best alternative?

I use silver sand and perlite and they work just as well as silica sand and perlite. I've also read on the web somewhere that sharp sand could be used as well.

A good replacement for perlite is Turface (also called Aquatic Plant Soil). It's a high-fired clay that's porous and inert. It doesn't float like perlite which is nice.

My VFT/Sarr mix is 2 peat, 1 silica sand, and 1 Turface. I use it all by itself for Pings. I even us it for non-CPs, mainly succulents. For Lithops and the like I use it 50/50 with crushed granite. For things like Jade plants I use it with equal parts crushed granite and fine fir bark. It's good stuff.

The bad news is it may not be easy to find. Many bonsai folks use it, so you could check with any bonsai clubs or stores in your area. Turface is used on baseball fields, so a company that deals in that area might have it. It's also used in pond applications. It goes by Aquatic Plant Soil in that context.

If you do find some, be sure to give it a good rinse before use. It's quite dusty out of the bag.

pieguy452 wrote:I cannot find any perlite or silica sand thats within 2 hours of where i live. so are there any effective alternatives that can work just as better as silica sand or perlite? and also, i did manage to find medium grade and fine grade commercial sand. could one of those be my best alternative?

Why dont you just buy the pre-mixed potting media from FTS, it has everything (sand included) already in it, and you
get more then enough for many plants.

To me, it's a no-brainer

http://www.flytrapcare.com/store/growin ... edium.html

Cant you just use the Internet hehe not being funny but thats where i get all my stuff

Just a thought, but how about those little foam bean bag balls?