Steve,
good defense of perlite!
but..your only benefits to the plants themselves are:
It contains huge amounts of water and or air.
It opens the texture of the substrate.
I can see how that can helpful for houseplants..but why would you want either of those things for CP's?
(im talking about mainly VFT's and Sarracenia..Perlite for Nepenthes and Pings can be (and should be) a completely different conversation.)
VFT's and Sarrs, in the wild, live in very wet peat bogs..
their roots are designed to be in contact with more water, and less air, than most plants..
yes, they dont need to be 100% saturated with water, and there is some air in the peat and sphagnum,
but why would you need perlite to *increase* the amount of air in the mix?
the plants dont want or need increased air in the mix..
If sphagnum and peat is what the plants grow in, in the wild, then it seems to me that sphagnum and peat
in the ideal media to grow them in, in captivity..
(I also dont like sand in VFT and Sarr mixes, for the same reasons..if they dont grow in sand in the wild (which they dont)
why should I add sand to my mix? again, I see no benefit or reason for it..)
so it comes down to..what is the benefit to using perlite for VFT's and Sarrs?
I see zero benefit, or need, or use, for perlite..
perhaps using it (if its clean) is "neutral"..no gain, but no harm..
but if that is the case, why use it at all?
I think perlite use for VFT's and Sarrs is a "myth" that hasn't quite died out yet..
people still use it just because they think they should..just because they read it somewhere..
it probably came over from the houseplant world: "perlite is good, you want it in your mix, period."
but does it offer any *real* benefit for "bog" CP's?
IMO, no, it does not..
Scot