FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey. Just wondering if it would be suitable to repot my sundew and what with?
Its in a rather small pot,3/4" and has 4/5 different plants in it. It is rather crowded. I have noticed some roots poking out the bottom of the pot. Is it an ok time of the year to repot?
is it a peat/perlite mix needed? i dont have perlite, but i have been offered gravel by my local nursery as a replacement. before i buy, do you reckon regular peat and gravel be suitable??
thank you very much,
Emma

p.s i would also be using this peat/gravel for my flytraps. any1 know if this would be ok too?

Nooooo gravel is bad.

Gravel has way too much salt/mineral content. It'll kill all your carnivorous plants. It may be OK for some plants, but definitely not carnivorous types.

Silica sand or quartz sand can be used instead of perlite if you have access to that, or you can buy perlite online: http://www.amazon.com/Perlite-Professio ... B001V6WXEI

What species of sundew(s) are we talking about here?

It is the alice sundew.

hmmm no gravel then..

this might be a stupid question lol, but is peat and peat moss the same?

In the CP community, yes...peat = sphagnum peat moss, it's just shorter. Like television is called the "tele" in England. Same thing.

drosera aliciae is tropical. You can repot it now.

And actually, aliciae isn't picky about soil at all - you can repot it in 100% "long-fibered sphagnum" (it's beige-colored dry strands of pure sphagnum), which may be attainable for you. Check around.

It needs either that, 50/50 peat/silica sand, or 50/50 peat/perlite.

Here's an Alice guide that may give you more info than you need: http://www.growsundews.com/sundews/aliciae.html

Hey. Thanks Veronis

lol I phoned up the nursery today and asked for sphagnum peat moss, lol and he was like what, peat?? lol and i'm like uhmmm yeah. Not having a clue it was the same!

thanks for the link. will check it out.
i can order perlite from a few places. I will do that!

do you know if it is too late in the season to repot one of my vft? it came from homebase, so i don't know if the media is too great.

thanks again

We always tell people not to pot except just before Spring because if the plant isn't already very healthy, repotting a flytrap mid-season can really mess it up (Probably won't kill it, but it will set it back at least a few weeks).

If it's actively growing, repotting it will cease all growth for a while. It's really up to you. If the media looks like it has enough perlite/silica sand/drainage, I'd leave it alone unless the pot is way too small. Imo a tiny pot (and therefore being root bound all year) is worse than a mid-season repotting. Besides, it's just Spring now. It has all growing season to recover from it.

Just don't repot it if the flytrap looks droopy and sad, because the shock from repotting can kill an unhealthy flytrap.

Well he has no silica sand or perlite in it at the moment. He does look a bit droopy , I think that might be why. But even though, his growth has actually been really good and good colouring.
So i think i might just leave it till next year when the plant is just coming out of dormancy.

well i will get the stuff to pot my sundew and leave my vfts.
Thanks very much for you help!
Emma x

EmzyT wrote:this might be a stupid question lol, but is peat and peat moss the same?

Peat is a general-use word for natural soil layers composed mostly or almost entirely of decomposed or partially decomposed plant material. That plant material can vary. For example, there is sedge peat, consisting of mostly decomposed sedges, and sphagnum peat consisting of partially decomposed sphagnum moss. It is the latter, the sphagnum peat, which is most often referred to regarding carnivorous plants and growing medium, as Kelby (Veronis) mentioned.

It does not really matter what type of peat i use?
sphagnum peat is just the most prefered?
x

No, not sedge peat. You need sphagnum peat....actually, just read this -

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq3200.html

lol thanks again veronis!
x