New to gardening, New to carnivorous plants

9 years ago

Hello! I'm brand new to this whole gardening thing. I've never had much luck in the past with growing things that don't remind you that they need sustenance. Recently, I was declared disabled and effectively retired at the ripe old age of 38. So, besides caring for my multitude of children and pets, I find myself in need of filling up some time. So, I kept hearing that gardening is quite the rewarding activity. Now, I've only had one plant that survived in my entire life. I had an African violet that lived for a year, until my then two year old (he's 14 now)decided to see what was inside, effectively killing it. I tried my hand at carnivorous plants last summer, and they all died within the first month of having them. Turns out that tap water is bad. Who knew? So, I'm giving it another shot. This time I have seeds. Since I'm in the Pacific Northwest, I decided to go with cobra lilies, since they grow in the wild here. I also decided to give another one a shot, that being the purple pitchers. They are native to the Minnesota area, so I figured they might fare well here.I bought the book "The Savage Garden." I have seeding pots on the way. I ordered sphangum moss, and long fibered sphangum moss. I also found something called Individual Brick - Coconut Coir Fiber - Coconut Peat. I read that it can be a suitable, less expensive replacement for perilite. I'm hoping this is the case. I'd like to know if this is true. If not, I need to know asap, so I can cancel my order and order the perilite. I would like any advice you can offer, as I am a total newbie at this. I'm really excited to make this work. Thank you so much for your time and wisdom!

Comments (4)

hunterkiller03
9 years ago
Here's a site for before using coir or coconut husk, coir must be desalinate to remove any trace of salt.

Despite what the manufactures claim, coir still contains salt & people who have used it end up with dead plants. Carnivorous plants cannot tolerate salt in their growing medium like other plants.

I have not tried coir myself but others have used it to grow the tropical pitcher plants Nepenthes. I would go with the true & tried 50/50 sphagnum peat moss & perlite. Another thing, make sure the peat moss & perlite have no other ingredients like fertilizer or wetting agents. Some manufactures have been adding food plants & other stuff to their products to supposedly help gardeners.

Good luck!

This post was edited by hunterkiller03 on Fri, Oct 3, 14 at 22:38
tommyr_gw Zone 6
9 years ago
Yes, DO NOT use Miracle grow products for CPs! They contain fertilizer. I use the bail sized packages or peat moss and right now Esphoma Perlite. Hoffman's perlite is good as well.
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Embothrium
9 years ago
Yes, they're carnivorous in the first place because the peat bogs etc. they grow in in nature have unusually few minerals in the soil. Trapping insects enables them to live in such places.
Tiffany_loves_plants
9 years ago
I agree with the previous posts, and I've found that perlite is less expensive that coir and helps with soil aeration more efficiently. Growing those two from seed is a big step, most people start with established plants. That being said, it's not impossible. I too live in the pacific northwest and I have two purpurea, purple pitcher plant, that do very well here. I have not tried my hand at the cobra lily, but I've heard it can be picky. I was told by a nursery owner that trickling water helps more than standing water and since in the wild they are often found near springs that makes sense. They are both native to N. America, so if you start your seeds now, you might see growth by the spring. They are both slow growers so don't be discouraged. Another good plant to try is nepenthes, or Asian pitcher plant which can be grown as a house plant all year round. There is a website, growcarnivorousplants.com that is located in this region that sells plants, has monthly care guide podcasts and care instructions on all the CPs. The book you got is also a great one. Good luck!