FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

recently ive been using a soil mix that was meant for nepenthes to grow my venus fly traps in and it consists of milled sphagnum peat moss, perlite, sand, fir bark, and LFSM .

I'm wondering if this is ok? i mean this is essentially the same as regular venus flytrap mix except it also contains fir bark.

I've already been growing my venus flytraps in it for a little more than 3 months now but i've been a little worried about whether or not the bark on the bottom of the pot might start decaying or something because i keep my plant pots in a tray of water.

I mean like I said i haven't really had a problem so far and its been 3+ months, but does anyone else use a similar soil mix for their venus flytraps? and what are your experiences thanks

I am a long time fan of using pine bark as a top dressing or mulch for non-carnivorous, acid loving plants. I have not used it with any CP's, but would be willing to try it experimentally. Pine bark, because of its composition, decays slowly and I consider it to be a mild acidifier. I mix it in with my blueberries and top-dress many other plants as well. I consider it to be sort of like peat only more coarse and resistant to compaction.

Having said that, there are some caveats:

1) I do not know how fir bark compares to pine bark, but would assume they are similar. That assumption may not be correct.

2) Quality pine bark would be required before I would try it. Many barks that I find have a lot of wood mixed in and thus would decay quicker and with poorer results.

3)Make sure the bark does not have any additives, such as fungicides, weed suppressants, etc.

4) I have very limited experience with flytraps and their needs.

Not sure if any of this helps you, but as long as you are top watering the plants and they can drain, I would think chances are reasonable that it would not do major harm.

Just an opinion and hope to hear from the experts as I have good access to quality bark.

twitcher wrote:I am a long time fan of using pine bark as a top dressing or mulch for non-carnivorous, acid loving plants. I have not used it with any CP's, but would be willing to try it experimentally. Pine bark, because of its composition, decays slowly and I consider it to be a mild acidifier. I mix it in with my blueberries and top-dress many other plants as well. I consider it to be sort of like peat only more coarse and resistant to compaction.

Having said that, there are some caveats:

1) I do not know how fir bark compares to pine bark, but would assume they are similar. That assumption may not be correct.

2) Quality pine bark would be required before I would try it. Many barks that I find have a lot of wood mixed in and thus would decay quicker and with poorer results.

3)Make sure the bark does not have any additives, such as fungicides, weed suppressants, etc.

4) I have very limited experience with flytraps and their needs.

Not sure if any of this helps you, but as long as you are top watering the plants and they can drain, I would think chances are reasonable that it would not do major harm.

Just an opinion and hope to hear from the experts as I have good access to quality bark.

well in my case the bark is mixed into the soil so there is bark present throughout the entire pot, and not just as the top dressing. i keep my plant in a tray of water outside, i almost never top water.

because of that im kind of concerned about whether or not the bark that is below the waterline will end up turning into sludge or something before my next repot period about 10 months from now.

I put pine bark and fir in my outside bogs, it adds acidity opens up the texture for oxygen adds tannin and has a beneficial effect. However a lot will depend on the size of pieces and quantities involved but generally i wouldn't be worried. The bark will not break down as fast as the peat etc and will, by the addition of acidity to the soil, prevent early breakdown of the soils components, thereby extending its life.

Cheers
Steve