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Sphagum Peat Moss

Well a trip to the local Lowes had me rushing to grab a few things. In my shopping I grabbed a small purple pitcher plant and a small Sundew. I also grabbed a bag of Sta-Green Sphagnum Peat Mohttp://www.sta-green.com/Product....ss . Here is what I have going.
I have a very small pitcher plant in a little 3" pot it has lots of very small traps. Seems to be doing pretty well.
I have 2 medium Nepenthe Miriandas in hanging 8" pots it is on its way to a good recovery.
I now have a very tiny purple pitcher plant that looks like it will need help. It is currently growing in that little cube that Lowes sold it to me in.
I now have a very tiny Sundew that is also in the cube. It looks like it will need help.

Since I am dealing with so many plants and I posted this to the general group.
Here are the questions:
1. Is the Sta-Green Sphagnun Peat Moss a good product to use with all of my CPs ? Is good for only some of my CPs? Is it a horrible product I should return and get my money back?
2. What is the best wat to repot my Purple pitcher plant? I have a 5" plastic pot with holes I would like to use.
3. What is the best way to repot my Sundew? Can I also use the 5" plastic pot for this plant?
4. Should I repot my Venus Fly Trap? It is in a small pot with a bunch of small traps but it appears to be doing ok.
5. Can I use the Sphagnun Peat Moss with my Nepenthe?
Thanks for putting up all my silly questions.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
 
1. Really not sure, you'll need to wait for someone else to reply, or to do some research yourself to make sure it is in fact sphagnum moss.

Well, if the sphagnum moss is what is says it is:
2. All my Sarracenia are grown in straight peat (well, the vast majority of 'em!). If you feel that the medium in which it's potted right now is of a good quality, then you should pretty much be able just to plop that in to the bigger pot with more peat.

3. Whatever the dew is, it's probably pretty hardy (something like capensis) so the chances are that you could throw it in to pretty much anything and have it grow. It'd be best to disturb the roots as little as possible. Your sphagnum moss should do just fine, though you could always ad some perlite or something to the mix.

4. What's it potted in now? I mean, do you feel that it is of a good quality? If so, then you'll probably be good leaving it as it is unless the container is too small. Should you choose to continue using the medium in which the plant is in, then you may wish to flush it out with some pure water to wash out whatever nonsense the folks at Lowes may have put in there.

5. Sphagnum moss is excellent for Nepenthes. Some people grow them in straight sphagnum moss, others will add perlit or orchid bark, or any other number of things to the mix. With mirandas, it'd be my guess that you should be fine keeping it simple (all sphagnum, for instance.)

So, thos're my answers. I obviously don't know everything about the situation, nor about the plants, but that's what I'd do if I were in your shoes. The best of luck to you!
 
Okay this is where everyones expertise will help me. I thought the bas was a mix of sphagnum moss and peat moss. That the two were completly seperate items. Maybe I am wrong maybe sphagnun is a type of peat moss?
Really showing my ignorance here.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
 
I'll make it easy, as a lot of time people will say "sphagnum peat" and will be referring either to the moss or peat.

Sphagnum moss- The mossy substance.
Peat- The dirt-like substance.

The link to the site that you originally provided makes it sounds like it's the actual moss. In general, you can grow pretty much everything in straight sphagnum moss.
 
hi Brendhan,

somewhere on the bag, there is probably a small chart listing what is really in the peat moss you bought. if it says "peat moss 100%", then you will be fine. if there are any kind of fertilizersor other types of moss added into it, i would return it, as they might hurt your cp's.
you would probably be ok just flushing your pots out with pure water, and letting them grow for a few months (and become aclimated to their new homes) before repotting them. use the "search" button at the top of the page to find more info than you ever wanted to know about repotting your carnivorous plants. for potting soil recipies, you can search on here and get plenty of different ideas. a 50/50 mix of spagnum peat and perlite is a very good (although very generic) soil mix for most cp's. a lot of people use this mix with very good results, and it's good for most cp's. peter d'amato's book "the savage garden" also has a lot of good info on cp's in it. put it on your christmas list (you should be able to find it at your local Borders book store.), as most growers will agree that everyone needs a copy of it on their book shelf. pure water is a must with carnivorous plants (distilled, reverse osmosis, or rain water). unless your tap water is very low in total dissolved solids and chemicals, you will be buying water.

peace,
tech...
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Understudy @ Dec. 04 2005,1:33)]Maybe I am wrong maybe sphagnun is a type of peat moss?
Really showing my ignorance here.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

Basically, I think that the 'dirt' peat moss is the older, decomposing form of the 'moss' peat moss. The 'moss' peat moss grows on top of thousands of layers upon layers of 'dirt' peat moss.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Drosera36 @ Dec. 04 2005,8:36)]Basically, I think that the 'dirt' peat moss is the older, decomposing form of the 'moss' peat moss.  The 'moss' peat moss grows on top of thousands of layers upon layers of 'dirt' peat moss.
exactly. "peat moss" is "long fibered sphagnum moss" that has decomposed. i use lfs in all of my potting mixes now, sometimes only putting a small layer of it at the bottom of my pots for keep the dirt from running out the drainage holes.

tech...
 
here is my general rule with potting nepenthes, up to 4 or 5 inch pot pure LFS is great. when you start hitting the 6 and above inch pot, especially 8 inches and up, you have a hard time keeping LFS fluffy and it compacts which is bad for nepenthes roots. so i start adding between 30 and 50% orchid bark or coconut husks to keep the mix airy, down side is i have to water them more often than pure LFS pots in my setup but i really dont have much choice cause compacted LFS is very bad.

good luck with your plants
 
Hi there Understudy

First off...NO question is stupid when you are just starting out. Everyone has the same types of questions and it won't be long before its all old-hat to you.
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The basic CP soil mix can be pure peat, pure long-fibered sphagnum or either of those mixed with sand or perlite. Everyone eventually decides on what works best for them with their growing conditions and the particular plant they are growing. Many people, including myself, have custom mixes for different plants.

My basic mix is peat moss mixed with sand. Silica sand is best (many people recommend sand-blasting sand). And its also a good idea to rinse your peat and sand before using. That will help remove some of the impurities and nutrients. Just swish the media around in some water and then drain/wring it out. Do that several times and then use pure water with your last rinse or two.

Just make sure whatever you use has no fertilizer in it. And of coursen no regular potting soil. What you want is a nutrient-poor substrate.

Any of the plants you got from Lowes would probably benefit from some pot flushing with pure water. I just rescued a Sarracenia (unlabeled) and a D. adelae. I will be flushing those before repotting. Whatever you plan to use in your pots, you can just add the whole plant with its rootball still in the Lowes medium. I think all the vendors for the "cube plants" do use pure peat or LF sphagnum but they most likely have been tap watered. You do want as little root disturbance as possible so you can just plop the root ball into your new pot and fill in the gaps with fresh media.

After repotting, just give the plants the appropriate light. How much light the 'dew gets depends on what kind it is. If it is a D. adelae, they prefer a little bit lower light levels and very high humidity. I grow my D. adelae in pure long-fibered sphagnum kept very wet.

If your VFT is in a pot at least 3" big, then its probably OK for now. Since its new and most likely a tissue-cultured plant, you are probably OK skipping dormancy this year.

Keep asking questions as much as you want. You are now entering a new addiction...
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  • #10
The bag says 100% Shagnum Peat Moss.
So I should mix this with some perlite and be able to grow healthy plants.
Will this work with S. Flava seeds and darlintona seeds?

Sincerely,
Brendhan
 
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