Clay pot for vft

[curtisconners]

I have a vft that I want to repot, but I couldn't find any plastic pots that seemed suitable. There were clay pots that looked like they would work, but I'm concerned about the minerals from a clay pot being dangerous for my vft. are there any problems with clay pots for vft's? I really want to get this repotted, because it came in some really weird pot made of woven fibers. Thanks.

 

[allysnapper]

I've been using clay pot growing my vtf for about a year, and so far it's doing pretty well.

 

[curtisconners]

Excellent! Thanks.

 

[hcarlton]

The problem with terra cotta (clay) pots is not that they themselves will release minerals, it's that they eventually build up any excess minerals or nutrients leaching from the water or soil, and over a period this can become toxic to the plants because then the pots allow that build-up to dissolve back into the soil. The only plants I'd really suggest terra cotta for are Drosophyllum and possibly things like Roridula or Mexican Pinguicula.

 

[curtisconners]

Would it still happen if I used sphagnum moss as soil and (of course) used distilled water?

 

[hcarlton]

Personally I wouldn't use sphagnum as soil for a Dionaea, as for one it can overgrow them, and two, it can tend to compact and become too dense and damp for their liking as opposed to a peat and sand/perlite mix, but what kind of soil doesn't matter quite as much in this case. Using distilled water it would certainly last in there longer, but another issue is that terra cotta also invites mold and algae growth on the constantly damp exterior of the pot, which can become detrimental to the plant even if mineral build-up isn't.

 

[curtisconners]

Ok, I might just order some pots. Have you actually compared sphagnum to peat and perlite? I've heard several times that sphagnum is best.

 

[hcarlton]

For me personally, Dionaea have always grown better in a peat mix.

 

[curtisconners]

Hmm... I might do some experimenting to see which is better for me. It'll have to wait till next year though, most of my vft's are out of dormancy, except for the one in the weird fiber pot. Which, for some reason stayed in dormancy for a few weeks longer. Thanks for the help.