FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I am buying some Albino capensis seeds from someone and would like to know exactly what soil is right for them?

50/50 peat and fine perlite (or coarse quartz sand). And stand back. Honestly, I have had them pop up in everything, including constantly moist peat-based potting soil that would kill many bog-loving CP with its added lime. They are weeds. But fun weeds.


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Bob Beer wrote:50/50 peat and fine perlite (or coarse quartz sand). And stand back. Honestly, I have had them pop up in everything, including constantly moist peat-based potting soil that would kill many bog-loving CP with its added lime. They are weeds. But fun weeds.


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Should I use sphagnum moss instead of perlite? Perlite has a low water retention and allows airflow, while Sphagnum moss has a high water retention and allows airflow.

You have to moisten your sphagnum moss first though and pack it tightly in the pot but loosely around your plants.

I have used sphagnum and peat moss mix (I also made holes out of my plastic pots for airflow) for my Sarracenias and S. minor and it works very well! For my mix I moisten the sphagnum moss, in a medium to large bowl of good water (you don’t need to fill the bowl, just need enough good water to moisten your Sphagnum), then I pack it around the bottom and the sides of the pot, then I mix my moistened sphagnum moss in a medium to large bowl of peat moss (you just need a small layer of peat, enough to make your sphagnum moss look like some what of a burnt chorro) and pack your mix in the center of the pot. You can sprinkle or pinch some peat in some areas if you want. Once I get to the top and I am able to plant my plant, I cover my plant the rest of the way with peat.

Oh I forgot to mention I would probably use the peat and sphagnum the rest of the way in this case. B/c a friend told me that Sarracenias bulbs are intolerable of being super moist, but they do like the soil to be damp.

DeathMob wrote:
Should I use sphagnum moss instead of perlite? Perlite has a low water retention and allows airflow, while Sphagnum moss has a high water retention and allows airflow.

You have to moisten your sphagnum moss first though and pack it tightly in the pot but loosely around your plants.

I have used sphagnum and peat moss mix (I also made holes out of my plastic pots for airflow) for my Sarracenias and S. minor and it works very well! For my mix I moisten the sphagnum moss, in a medium to large bowl of good water (you don’t need to fill the bowl, just need enough good water to moisten your Sphagnum), then I pack it around the bottom and the sides of the pot, then I mix my moistened sphagnum moss in a medium to large bowl of peat moss (you just need a small layer of peat, enough to make your sphagnum moss look like some what of a burnt chorro) and pack your mix in the center of the pot. You can sprinkle or pinch some peat in some areas if you want. Once I get to the top and I am able to plant my plant, I cover my plant the rest of the way with peat.

Well that's kind of the whole point, perlite prevents stagnation of the substrate. Watered well, sundews have no problem growing in a perlite mix, especially if grown using the tray method. It's a common ingredient in CP soils.

Sphagnum moss and peat would probably work as well, or just 100% sphagnum moss. Capensis are not too picky on their substrate as long as it's CP safe. (Actually I noticed a lot of plants are ok with either peat/perlite or sphagnum, so I started using various combo's of those three ingredients, along with bark and red lava rock for some of my CP's ).

DeathMob wrote:a friend told me that Sarracenias bulbs are intolerable of being super moist, but they do like the soil to be damp.

I grow all of sarracenia in standing water (1 to 1.5 inches) and peat/perlite so I'm not sure what he means...Maybe during dormancy? Then yes, they should not be kept too moist, but during the growing season it's no problem to keep them decently wet.

No need to use Sphagnum. Peat will retain water, the perlite or sand will lighten things up a little and let it drain better. That’s all you need.


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I believe the south african sundews grow better in peat as well for whatever reason.

My friend who raises Sarracenias in 5 greenhouses also supplies us with D. capensis. He does absolutely nothing to propagate them; they just seed everywhere. When he divides the pitcher plants, he pulls the capensis out and pots them into small pots, and raises them on for a week or so. That’s it. He uses 50-50 peat/perlite. There’s really nothing else to worry about, you CAN overthink this.


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