FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

They definitely need much more humidity/water. Be careful with the bagging, though. Definitely don't set them in full sun with a bag over them...steamed spinach is what you'll end up with. Set them somewhere where they get plenty of light but *not* direct, full-sun. If you have a grow light indoors then you should be fine.

You could also set the planting trays in a slightly larger non-draining tray/pan and add maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water to the tray,...VOILÀ!!! "tray watering"!!! (Of course, you may already be doing this....what do I know!!!! )

That is the brand of peat moss that I'm currently using with no problems.

I've used the Sta-Green brand of perlite, too...I wasn't too excited about it because it had so much powder in it, but it just could've been the couple of bags came from a dusty time at the packaging facility.

Lots of people do not rinse their growing media and have good results. I, personally, FWIW, *do* rinse mine. I rinse the peat moss and perlite separately. The drain water will be dark from the peat, naturally. Peat takes a bit of work to rinse and uses up a good bit of low-ppm water. I usually pre-rinse peat moss after I've caught up a good bit of rain water in a large container. I feel much better about using surplus water that will probably not be stored. I usually do no more than 2-3 rinses of the peat moss. A tip is to buy a few 5-gallon nylon bags used to strain paint. Put a bag in a 5-gallon bucket, add the peat (maybe fill only halfway so you have moving around room). Gather the neck of the bag together and wrap a heavy nylon string around the neck several times tightly to close it up. Pour water over the top of it until it's almost covering the bag of peat. Then start kneading it like bread, mashing it, squeezing it, etc.,. Peat moss is hydrophobic and does not readily absorb water so you need to work it good. After you worked it good, take a break and let it soak a few minutes. Take it out and squeeze all the water out that you can. Rinse and repeat...as many times as you want to. Besides rinsing out tannins and impurities that can raise the TDS level you also remove some algae and moss seeds/spores. Removing the seeds and spores can be really big when starting seeds and such.

As for the perlite, it can look really nice and white and be pretty dirty. At the processing plants I've read that they use whatever water is handy to keep the dust levels down...whether the water is from a salt pond, ditch, creek, stagnant whatever, or maybe even public water. Rinsing removes most of the residue from that. You rinse water will turn a milky white to let you know your removing fine particles and "other stuff". The nylon paint strainer bag can be used for this, too. Rinsing perlite is my least favorite task!

Once you have everything rinsed then toss it together. You don't have to worry about having trouble wetting the peat moss...you've already got it nice and moist!!!

The "standard" CP mix is what you used....1:1 mix of peat moss and perlite. The sand can replace the perlite...all or pot of it. Sand is usually smaller and naturally it's heavier. I like it because it doesn't float around light perlite does and usually doesn't pose a problem when a heavy rain comes. With a heavy rain the perlite can float up, stick to the plant, and cause a thicker layer on the surface than what you want. You can always top dress the mix with some LFSM to keep the perlite in place (and it looks good, too!).

I've found that some plants like a sandy growing medium...some actually prefer more sand than peat moss. I rinse my sand well, too...rinse until the cloudiness is gone from it. Be sure it's silica sand...pool sand is about all that's available now...it's a bit finer grade than the preferred coarse stuff but the coarse sand is like a unicorn, or a chicken-with-teeth, or an honest politician...it just can't be found. A 1:1 ratio of peat moss and perlite is good, though.

Like I said, lots of people (many of the better growers here on the forum) do not rinse their peat moss or perlite. And, they grow great plants. I'm just a bit picky/odd/contrary/whatever...I'm "OCD-Me"!!!!! We all do things differently, at least a little bit.

Btw, I recently bought some Vigoro perlite in a large bag...bought it online from either Lowes or Homedepot. I like it as it's not as powdery as the StaGreen...but, I haven't gotten to the bottom of the bag, yet, so it may have a bunch of powder down there.

What Panman has said about wetting the peat moss is important. It really doesn't want to soak up water, but once started you can almost hear it sucking it in!!!<grin>

Is the planted tray sitting in another tray? If it is you could simply lay a sheet of clear plastic (split-open bag) over the top and maybe just stick a few pieces of good tape in strategic areas to anchor it down. I've used old bags that ice came in, dry cleaner bags, plastic bags that "things" came in, etc.,. If you lay a sheet of plastic across the top you need something to keep the moisture from leaving out the bottom. You could possible wrap the bottom with plastic and then lay the top piece over it. Be sure to put a few holes in the plastic...nothing giant, but a few slits here and there so a little air can enter and exit.