FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hello, is it a good idea to add charcoal to flytraps mix. I read somewhere that during fires in its real habitat the charcoal helps seeds to germinate, but is it good to stay in the mix of peat moss and perlite, or it will make the soil to become neutral or cause mineral burn?

It would probably not do much of anything at all. Just stay with the standard mix.

activated charcoal tends to suck out dirty stuff. don't think it'd do anything though. there shouldn't be any nutrients but rinse it to make sure. i suggest to take 1 tsp and use a mortar and pestle to grind it. then use a sieve to get a powder. try sprinkling over seeds on a small part to test if it does anything. vft seeds don't need any extra stuff for germination though. for some plants that's the case but not for vfts(i think).

Well, I did put some charcoal on my plant to dry some fungal growth which was probably due to poor air circulation.

No harm was done to the plant and it grew happily with charcoal specks on the leaves.

i think charcoal takes it only bad stuf but doesn’t affect the good stuff.

uxleumas wrote: ↑Wed Oct 07, 2020 8:39 pm activated charcoal tends to suck out dirty stuff.

Like dirty images?

uh... no?

Be careful with charcoal. It needs to be rinsed thoroughly because it can contain potassium and sodium hydroxides as well as other compounds that can damage your plants.

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murrkywaters wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 8:57 pm Be careful with charcoal. It needs to be rinsed thoroughly because it can contain potassium and sodium hydroxides as well as other compounds that can damage your plants.

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i've never had any hydroxide problems. surely hydroxides would also kill the fish? (i use activated charcoal for fish filters)

Activated charcoal is nearly pure carbon, whereas charcoal from a fire pit would be an issue. Leaching a pile of ash is where people used to get potassium hydroxide for soap making.

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murrkywaters wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 1:53 pm Activated charcoal is nearly pure carbon, whereas charcoal from a fire pit would be an issue. Leaching a pile of ash is where people used to get potassium hydroxide for soap making.

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don't they have to add calcium hydroxide? i thought ash had potassium carbonate? (unless the fire is hot enough to decompose it)

White ash from hardwood has gotten hot enough to produce KOH. Without leaching to ash a bunch the pH will be enough to kill your plants.

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