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The right soil for carnivorous plants in pot
RubyLeaf
Posts: 260
Its a circular wooden barrel. About 18" Dia. x 14"H. Need to know a few things also ^_^
Need to know what soil I can pick up at a garden centre tommorow, and roughly how many litres I'll need.
A cheaper alternative to pond liner to put in barrel (so it creates ideal boggy conditions).
And if its okay to take the pitcher plants out their pots and into this one at this time.
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Hi Mike thanks for the reply!
To be honest I was trying to avoid repotting them and sticking them in the barrel. I wanted it be a more permenant home.
I always water my pitcher plants with rain water
Shouldn't be grown in soil at all. Sphagnum moss on top of an inert substrate.
Sorry to sound dumb but whats an inert substrate?
My bog garden is 50/50 peat(I know) perlite mix covered with moss. I was advised this mix by the chap I bought the big pitcher from. Rubyleaf, If you are anywhere near north Yorkshire, I have a good half bag of peat left you can have to save buying another.
Sorry lass. If I'd known you were from Yorkshire....Carnivorous plants are used to growing in bog conditions where they have ample water but very few nutrients. That's why they have to "eat" insects. A bit like the Yorkshire moors but a bit warmer.... Most garden soil is too rich ie. it contains too many nutrients and bacteria. The best "soil" for them is a base of fine gravel, not sand as this may contain a lot of lime which they also don't like, topped with perlite or vermiculite then covered with sphagnum moss - the same that is used for certain types of orchids. Alternatively go out onto the moors and look for some areas where there is cotton grass. Rip up a bit of the peat. God will forgive you....
equal parts of washed sharp sand/perlite and peat are good for temperate pitcher plants (Sarracenia), temperate sundews (Drosera) and Venus fly traps (Dionea), if its a tropical pitcher (Nepenthes) then pure sphagnum is best.
keep them all wet during the summer (sat in 1-2 inches deep bowl of water is best, Nepenthes are best soaked daily and not sat in water)) and dryer in winter, keep them in full sun, there are lots that will grow outside in the UK year round I've had success with Sarracenia purpurea spp purpurea (the huntsman cup - from Canada) and its hybrids