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Soil?

ChrisBranleh

ChrisBranleh

Magical Bystander
Where do you get yours? I know its something like 50/50 peat moss, but what kind? If you find a link from walmart/kmart/lowes/ anything like that, can you send the link? Im repotting my plant soon, but im clueless on which soil i should get.

All i know is that it shouldn't be anything with fertilizer or anything odd. Help please.:-(
 
Pretty much any brand except miracle grow or any others with added fertilizer are good.

I use the Shultz brand peat and perlite sold at WAL-MART.
Like this...http://www.schultz.com/ProductCategories/Soilsamendments/PeatMoss/
good luck!
-Matt

Edit: I just re-read your post and I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. Do you need to know what soil mix is good? Or just brand? If you're wondering about the mix, please tell us what kind of plant it is you plan to repot.
 
I recommend buying a big bale of peat moss at lowes. It doesn't cost much more than a small bag to be honest and you get an exponential amount of more soil. It'll say it expands. I'd look at what mine says, but it's double bagged in garbage bags and outside right now.
 
Sphagnum peat moss and perlite - I get mine at a local nursery, but Lowe's sells it as well. 50/50 mix, and be sure to mix it - don't put the peat on top of a layer of perlite or anything like that.

I hear that the key is to ensure that it's *Sphagnum* peat moss (sphagnum peat is what I use and my fly traps are thriving). Some other kinds of peat moss, I read, are no good for flytraps. It needs to be sphagnum, which I believe is the most common kind anyway. It will say sphagnum on the bag, likely in large font.

You can also do a mix of one part peat to one part sand - use "play sand" if you use sand instead of perlite but you should wash it in a tight mesh to remove any minute particles. I've heard arguments that perlite is better from some, and that sand is better from others. I don't know the reasons. I use peat/perlite for flytraps.
 
theyellowdart said:
Pretty much any brand except miracle grow or any others with added fertilizer are good.

I use the Shultz brand peat and perlite sold at WAL-MART.
Like this...http://www.schultz.com/ProductCategories/Soilsamendments/PeatMoss/
good luck!
-Matt

Edit: I just re-read your post and I'm not sure exactly what you're asking. Do you need to know what soil mix is good? Or just brand? If you're wondering about the mix, please tell us what kind of plant it is you plan to repot.
Click to expand...

Silly me, Venus fly trap.
 
Definitely the Greensmix® Sphagnum Peat Moss - that's the good stuff for your fly traps ;)

Don't get the peat humus.

Any sterile perlite will do for your 50/50 mix (you can assume perlite is sterile if the bag just says that it's plain old "perlite").

What I do is get a cereal bowl, a huge bowl, and a large jug of distilled water.

Scoop an equal amount of perlite and sphagnum peat into the large bowl.

Mix the crap out of it.

Add distilled water. Mix some more. Keep adding water until the sphagnum is dark dark brown to black, thoroughly saturated (but not oozing / watery) and work out the dry peat clumps so everything gets wet.

Chuck it in the pot (fill to the rim, it'll sink a bit on its own), make a hole with your finger, pot your VFT, rhizome just below the soil, or right on the soil line.

Cover up gently. The less you disturb the roots the better.

Put the pot in a 1" tray and add water until the tray is full. When the tray water evaporates, water the tray. Only water the soil from above the fly trap if the soil at the top starts to dry out (you want to catch it early).

Apologies if you already knew all that. :)

Edit: Buying the book "The Savage Garden" will help you extend the life of your VFT.
 
The second one should be ok but always read the label on the back of the package. The keyword is "Sphagnum" - "Sphagnum Peat", "Sphagnum Moss", "Sphagnum Peat Moss". Nothing else, no fertilizer, no other soils or mosses.

Unless of course you are buying a carnivorous plant mix from a reputable source like Andres's flytrapshop.com. In which case it will be Sphagnum peat moss mixed with salt/fertilizer free sand or perlite.

Lowes typically sells 1.5 or 3 cubic foot bales of Canadian Sphagnum peat moss of good quality. These are usually kept out in the nursery yard with all the other big bags of soil amendments. You might consider buying one of those if you have the room to store it. It will be cheaper in the long run and you won't have to worry about having peat moss for several years.
 
Thanks everyone! i think i will order my soil from flytrapshop.com

thanks again everyone. I will post pics of it soon.
 
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