FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

has anyone grown plants in a soil mixture containing sawdust?
is it ok to use?

I would imagine that sawdust would deco mpose and render the mix unsusable

that was my worry

Although I haven't tried it, very old sawdust (after 2 or more years of natural decomposition by itself, with no other material, and being kept moist) might work OK as a major constituent of a growing mix. New sawdust, in its initial fairly rapid decomposition, steals just about any and all nitrogen from the soil, depriving plants of that vital ingredient. However, since carnivorous plants are adapted to soil with virtually no nutrition, even new sawdust might be OK to use in a growing mix.

I'm thinking 1 to 1.5 parts sawdust to 1 part silica sand, or maybe with a little extra sawdust and an equal amount of perlite added. Anybody want to sacrifice a few Venus Flytraps to find out?!

I was wondering the same thing about cypress mulch. I use it on my cranberries and blueberries to keep the pH acidic and was wondering if it would be a good soil additive for CPs.

the sawdust i would use is from pet shops for guinea pigs and rabbits