FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

SFLguy wrote:Hey Matt, is there any reason why you put a small layer of peat on the bottom (referring to the low giant pic)?

Probably to add a little weight to the bottom of the pot, and while using something that won't hurt the roots.


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Thanks, that makes sense

Fang wrote:

SFLguy wrote:Hey Matt, is there any reason why you put a small layer of peat on the bottom (referring to the low giant pic)?

Probably to add a little weight to the bottom of the pot, and while using something that won't hurt the roots.

That's correct. It's mostly just to add weight to the bottom of the pot. But it also creates a nice layer that holds moisture better deep in the pot. I think this helps promote root growth as well, as the plants send roots down into the peat layer to harvest the water there.

sbrooks wrote:I've personally had trouble growing in 100% LFS; moisture level was an issue for me. I've wavered around with several medium mixes. I've also decided that I don't like sand in the medium, and I went from 50/50 peat/perlite to "Man, I hate all these dried white rocks on the surface!" And, yes, LFS is waaaaaaaaaaaaay more expensive than peat.
This past year, I've tried to have the best of both worlds: I go with about 50% peat, 30% LFS, and 20% perlite.
Seems to be working out pretty good for me. I also tend to tear the LFS up a little bit when mixing. With seeds/leaf pullings/very small divisions, I go a little heavier on the LFS.
As with most convictions related to CP growing, we stand on the shoulders of giants Like Matt and Steve, and Joel, and Eric, and are very grateful for the knowledge bestowed.
As far as rinsing the peat, I haven't yet figured out a reasonable method for doing so; I picture pouring a gigantic pot of boiling water onto a gigantic screen or colander filled with a couple cubic feet of peat. Not sure where to acquire such equipment, and smaller scale methods that I can imagine seem impractical. So I'll just take my chances with "Dirty Peat" for now.

Thanks for the props dude but to put me in the same sentence as Steve, Matt and Joel is just wrong . Those guys have way more experience than me. I'm def no giant in the CP world...more like a mouse .

sbrooks wrote:I've personally had trouble growing in 100% LFS; moisture level was an issue for me. I've wavered around with several medium mixes. I've also decided that I don't like sand in the medium, and I went from 50/50 peat/perlite to "Man, I hate all these dried white rocks on the surface!" And, yes, LFS is waaaaaaaaaaaaay more expensive than peat.
This past year, I've tried to have the best of both worlds: I go with about 50% peat, 30% LFS, and 20% perlite.
Seems to be working out pretty good for me. I also tend to tear the LFS up a little bit when mixing. With seeds/leaf pullings/very small divisions, I go a little heavier on the LFS.
As with most convictions related to CP growing, we stand on the shoulders of giants Like Matt and Steve, and Joel, and Eric, and are very grateful for the knowledge bestowed.
As far as rinsing the peat, I haven't yet figured out a reasonable method for doing so; I picture pouring a gigantic pot of boiling water onto a gigantic screen or colander filled with a couple cubic feet of peat. Not sure where to acquire such equipment, and smaller scale methods that I can imagine seem impractical. So I'll just take my chances with "Dirty Peat" for now.

I've both, rinsed, and used peat right out of the bag. I don't think the plant cares much either way, and to some extent, some argue that the natural organic content of the peat may be benificial to CP's. The greatest thing I've had to come out of rinsing, has been a great reduction in mold and algae, especially in seed starting. I rinse my peat in a large container (5 gallon bucket, or large mixing bowl, depending on how much medium I'm making) by adding the peat to the container, adding DI water, mixing it around by hand for a bit, then using a strainer to scoop the peat out, empty the water and then repeat. Then I add my perlite, which I also rinse (just once).

Dionae wrote: Thanks for the props dude but to put me in the same sentence as Steve, Matt and Joel is just wrong . Those guys have way more experience than me. I'm def no giant in the CP world...more like a mouse .

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On this forum, you are a giant! Since this is the biggest CP forum (that I am aware of) in North America, and your knowledge, experience, and willingness to help others is quite abundant, then I will stand by my assertion!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you not one of the most knowledgeable members on this forum when it comes to Sarracenia? With all due respect to Matt and Steve, I'm going to assume that you have more experience in that phylum than both of them put together.

Eric, you are quite the gent when it comes to helping people.

Great write-up BTW Matt. Thanks for taking your time to list the pros and cons as well. It's made me want to try LFS again for some of my plants but it's just too damn expensive compared to peat! Hahaha :laugh:


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Hmmm. It may be worth it for me, seeing as I only have 13 plants growing in all peat... Is there anyplace to buy LFS cheaper than at Lowes? The brick there for four dollars does not seem very large, Any sources for the US?

Boy, I guess I lucked out for once. Stuff like this never happens to me, but I was at Lowe's a few days ago buying a new washing machine when I remembered reading this thread, so I also went over to the garden section too. They had all of their orchid growing supplies on sale really cheap. Their regular price for the Better-Gro LFS from Chile was $4.99, but they had it on sale for $1.24 each so I grabbed up all they had and bought it all! They only had five blocks, but I saved almost 20 bucks that way.

I went shopping in another nearby town a couple days later, hoping the Lowe's store there would have it on sale too, but all of their orchid stuff was still the regular prices so I guess it's not a chain-wide sale. I keep stopping by my local store every couple days hoping they might put some more out at the really cheap sale price, but nothing so far.

I've never grown in LFS before so I'm not sure if I should repot all of them when I bring them inside this fall or risk waiting until next spring. I've been growing in peat/sand/perlite for over three years now, and this is the first time I've ever really had any problems. All of my flytraps have been going slowly downhill all summer and I haven't been able to find anything that helps. Another thread here has me interested in trying a spray for fungus first since it's been such a record-breaking cool and wet summer here. (Matt's care sheet says staying cool and wet is one of the worst thing for VFT's.)

When I do get around to repotting in LFS, do you need to wrap the roots with some of it like it says on the bag? Does it have to stay *long* fiber? If you cut it up with scissors before wetting it, couldn't you just mix it with sand and perlite like you normally do with peat moss? Wouldn't that help prevent the repotting problems with the roots getting entangled in all the long fibers? Or would that let it compact too much and not allow enough air flow around the roots? I'd really appreciate some detailed instructions on how to plant in it. My pots are 7" square and 9" deep.

I just never know what to do anymore. Before I found these two threads, I was ready to give up completely and leave all my plants outside this fall and just let them freeze even though I've invested hundreds of dollars in them. It's just agony watching them dying so slowly and nothing ever helps.

Leo756 wrote:Boy, I guess I lucked out for once. Stuff like this never happens to me, but I was at Lowe's a few days ago buying a new washing machine when I remembered reading this thread, so I also went over to the garden section too. They had all of their orchid growing supplies on sale really cheap. Their regular price for the Better-Gro LFS from Chile was $4.99, but they had it on sale for $1.24 each so I grabbed up all they had and bought it all! They only had five blocks, but I saved almost 20 bucks that way.

I went shopping in another nearby town a couple days later, hoping the Lowe's store there would have it on sale too, but all of their orchid stuff was still the regular prices so I guess it's not a chain-wide sale. I keep stopping by my local store every couple days hoping they might put some more out at the really cheap sale price, but nothing so far.

I've never grown in LFS before so I'm not sure if I should repot all of them when I bring them inside this fall or risk waiting until next spring. I've been growing in peat/sand/perlite for over three years now, and this is the first time I've ever really had any problems. All of my flytraps have been going slowly downhill all summer and I haven't been able to find anything that helps. Another thread here has me interested in trying a spray for fungus first since it's been such a record-breaking cool and wet summer here. (Matt's care sheet says staying cool and wet is one of the worst thing for VFT's.)

When I do get around to repotting in LFS, do you need to wrap the roots with some of it like it says on the bag? Does it have to stay *long* fiber? If you cut it up with scissors before wetting it, couldn't you just mix it with sand and perlite like you normally do with peat moss? Wouldn't that help prevent the repotting problems with the roots getting entangled in all the long fibers? Or would that let it compact too much and not allow enough air flow around the roots? I'd really appreciate some detailed instructions on how to plant in it. My pots are 7" square and 9" deep.

I just never know what to do anymore. Before I found these two threads, I was ready to give up completely and leave all my plants outside this fall and just let them freeze even though I've invested hundreds of dollars in them. It's just agony watching them dying so slowly and nothing ever helps.

Sorry to hear about your luck I switched from a 50/50 mix to LFSM and my plants thrive, I think it would greatly help you. If you check your plants daily or even every other day, you shouldn't have a problem with it and monitoring everything.

To repot, all I do is set a good amount in the bottom of the pot already wet and washed, you don't need to cut it. Then I wrap some around the rhizome of the plant to make it easier to handle and then just place LFSM around like you would any other media. After repotting, just top water for a couple times to help secure the roots and the media, but that's really about it. I don't keep mine in trays since I monitor everything ever day. I notice night and day differences between the two media.


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bvalente wrote:I wrap some around the rhizome of the plant to make it easier to handle and then just place LFSM around like you would any other media.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm still kinda confused. Whenever I repot my VFT's, I always fill the entire pot level full with peat/sand/perlite, and then I use a long dowel rod to make a deep hole in the media. Then I gently lower the roots and rhizome down into the hole and hold it at the proper depth while filling in around the top of the hole with a bit more media. Whenever I've tried doing it other ways, the media always winds up settling a lot due to air pockets and drops way down below the top edge of the pot, which means less depth for the roots to grow in. I'm assuming you can't really "drill" holes in LFS like that since it'll be a big jumbled mass that will keep springing back into place down inside the hole, right?

Leo756 wrote:

bvalente wrote:I wrap some around the rhizome of the plant to make it easier to handle and then just place LFSM around like you would any other media.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm still kinda confused. Whenever I repot my VFT's, I always fill the entire pot level full with peat/sand/perlite, and then I use a long dowel rod to make a deep hole in the media. Then I gently lower the roots and rhizome down into the hole and hold it at the proper depth while filling in around the top of the hole with a bit more media. Whenever I've tried doing it other ways, the media always winds up settling a lot due to air pockets and drops way down below the top edge of the pot, which means less depth for the roots to grow in. I'm assuming you can't really "drill" holes in LFS like that since it'll be a big jumbled mass that will keep springing back into place down inside the hole, right?

You're right, when I used peat/perlite you have to anticipate the drop and allow room to thread the roots down. LFSM is a lot easier to work with, you just put down a base and then work around it. How I do it is fill the bottom up and then an entire wall working it towards the middle. Then I place the VFT where I want it and pack the remainder up with LFSM. The roots will fall into place where they need to.



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Okay, but what if you have more than just one plant in a pot? My pots are 7" square and 9" deep so I usually have at least 5-6 plants in each pot, and sometimes even more than that if they're small. So what will hold each one in place while I'm putting the rest of the others in?

You can mill the sphag but it will make less media in the end. It would make it easier to plant using your usual method though.

Great post. Thank you for sharing, Matt. I recently started using LFS for my subtropical sundews. I just want to share my two cents. I purchased the Chilean spaghnum moss without additives (the one in the picture). It looks great, have beautiful coloration, but it tends to form algae without rinsing. So, even if package say it's sterilized, I recommend rinsing the LFS a few times in rain or distilled water. The minus that "peat moss has to be rinsed" can be easily added to LFS as well (at least for those from Chile).