FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I cannot seem to keep algae from growing on my LFS in my pots. I have done a ton of research and it just doesn't seem like there's a clear widely accepted strategy among growers to keep algae growth at bay. I know some people use hydrogen peroxide, algaecides, etc., but I was some experienced growers could help weigh in. Is it possible to keep it away or is it just inevitable that eventually the LFS will look nasty and green no matter what you do? Also, if it's possible to keep the algae growth away will the method cause any harm to the flytraps? Thanks!

edit: I know algae doesn't affect the plant's growth, but it's just really ugly to look at.

Algae will grow anywhere that's wet enough and bright enough, and LFS seems to be a particularly good home for algae. You can kill it, but it'll probably just grow back later. I don't generally have a problem with pots with LFS if they aren't kept in a water tray, or if the LFS is packed fairly loosely so it doesn't stay too wet on the surface. Well-rinsed peat should never be an issue.

I don't know if this would work with sphagnum, but one way I've heard of getting rid of algae in peat moss at least is rinsing it with boiling water. That would kill off algae and mold spores, but I don't know what it'd do to moss. I'd give that a try and see what happens.

Most growers I know who have been in the hobby for a while just stop bothering to take care of algae. Sometimes if you wash your media really well, algae has a harder time developing, but most of the time it is inevitable.

Would springtails help with algae management/precention, I wonder?

Springtails only eat fungus. I have never had algae issues with well-rinsed peat.

Benurmanii wrote:Most growers I know who have been in the hobby for a while just stop bothering to take care of algae. Sometimes if you wash your media really well, algae has a harder time developing, but most of the time it is inevitable.

That seems to be the most common answer I'm coming across in my research.

The only problem I've had with algae is that it's taken over some of my seedling pots, which are a lot more vulnerable to things like that. I've actually noticed some of the more delicate ones have been dying off in the especially moss and algae-infested pots, so I've been moving a few in to community pots that are a bit cleaner so they'll survive.
I was replanting a rather large tokaiensis seedling yesterday and when I scooped up the soil it was really disgusting. It was literally packed into a perfect shape from where I had scooped just because of all the algae holding it together. I had to pull off clumps and they came apart with what looked like little hairs attaching to it.
But this only got so bad because I had the pots in water trays for months without emptying them and got worse when I put a little orchid fertilizer in the water, hoping to encourage seedling growth.
I have never had any problems with plants I just top water, but I have always planted them in peat and sand, not sphagnum.
Why not give boiling water a try even with just a little sphagnum?

Fertilizer in the water is a recipe for an instant algae bloom. Algae grows anywhere there's enough water and available nutrients - you need to get rid of the nutrients to prevent it from growing by rinsing your soil before use and using low-TDS water.

I do use distilled water for all my plants.
Also, since there are many live seedlings growing in all the pots, unfortunately I can't do that anymore (but after this experience I know now to always rinse the soil with hot water too before using with seedlings- because I did rinse it before).
But what I have been and am doing right now is letting the soil dry out a bit. Of course, I'm monitoring it carefully to make sure the seedlings don't dry out but after making that mistake I emptied and washed the trays out, because the soil is just so soaked that it's been more than a week and its still fairly moist. I'm hoping letting it dry more might kill off some of the algae and if not at least prevent it from getting worse, since it thrives in wet conditions. Interestingly enough, or perhaps by coincidence or that the fertilizer finally reached the roots of the seedlings, quite a few of them, including two sundew species specifically and a lot of my slower-growing flytraps, have been growing and upsizing quite quickly while I've been letting the soil dry. Very interesting...

nuke/pressure cook/autoclave the media
(remember to add distilled water to it so it won’t burn XD)