FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

[Lychanthrope]

I found plain perlite and mixed it with the peat 50/50. Poured in the last of my distiled water and it wasn't enough. Since it was raining I set the bucket outdoors. I brought it in this morning and mixed it up some more. Looks pretty good except that I still find lots of small peat balls that if I break them up with my fingers they are dry inside. Will these balls ever get wet on there own or do I need to try and find every one and break them up with my fingers? I hope not the latter.

[Matt]

I usually break the peat up as best as I can and then soak it in R.O. water while stirring for a while. That usually saturates all of the peat moss. It's likely that the little balls will eventually soak up the water though if you just leave them.

[Lychanthrope]

OK then my next question should probably be "How wet should the soil be?" Right now it's very damp, but not wet enough to wring water out.

I will be planting some baby B 52's in one pot and some typicals of varying ages in another if that makes any difference.

[Matt]

To start with, I usually get my peat moss soaking wet. So wet that you can wring water out of it. I don't have any good reason for doing this. Damp is probably fine.

[Steve_D]

When mixing growing medium, it can be as wet as you like to make it for easy mixing. Sometimes a little wetter helps to evenly disperse the various ingredients when you mix it with your hands, stick, spoon, whatever. Steaming it in a microwave also helps to both sterilize the medium (to hopefully prevent moss and fungal growth) and to moisten those stubborn little clumps of dry sphagnum moss.

However, for planting, it is often easier to sift growing medium that is dry-to-just-moist around the roots and bulb than to try to stuff clumpy wet or overly moist growing medium into the planter with the Flytraps. So--

• For mixing: wetter sometimes makes it easier
• For planting: dryer usually makes it easier

Steve

[Lychanthrope]

Thank you for the help guys.