Dude, you're literally a life saver! I tried making my own substrate, but my flytraps were dieing mysteriously. It wasn't until I found your channel that i realized i wasn't using enough perlite. You've definitely earned a subscription 😊
Thank you! I plan to do a follow-up video. It's just a matter of finding the time while I juggle being a nurseryman and a videographer. But, glad the video was helpful for you. Make sure to also watch our monthly video. We show you how to care for flytraps throughout the year. www.growcarnivorousplants.com/monthly-carnivorous-plant-care/
I recently replanted all of my fly traps and sundews with 50/50 peat / perlite. It all molded and now the plants are all dying! Any idea why? I am thinking of going to sand and sphagnum moss...
@@supertrixie3029 do you mean to soak it and drain it? If so, I did not do that. Maybe that is the problem? I did replant them with a mostly sphagnum mix and they have all recovered now.
@@supertrixie3029it should be a little wet when potting. I like to mix a little water into the media before potting that way it can suck the water up faster and it doesnt go down as much when setteling
Great use of scientific methodology to answer the question. Excellent video. It confirms what I've been observing: lower amounts of perlite don't seem to create the aeration/drainage that everyone says it does. In fact, it seemed to cause water retention at lower percentages! I was finding that I had to use a lot of perlite (around 50%) to get the aeration and drainage effect I wanted. So it's great to see your experiment confirming what I was seeing. I thought I was going crazy or doing something wrong 😂
Maybe it's because the perlite physically blocks the drainage holes at all percentages (cause it's non permeable, even if it's very porous), and you need a sufficient percentage in the mix to counteract that and make the it overall have better drainage? idk, it's an interesting phenomenon though.
Always good to see empirical investigation when anecdotal 'evidence' is so rampant in the hobby. I use a composite mix: 1/2 inch of pure coarse pearlite at the bottom, 60% coarse pearlite in the middle, and a top dressing 1/2 inch deep of 50% pool filter sand. I've found that using all the extra silica minimizes my peat usage and I don't have issues with wicking. The top dressing helps moss colonize more quickly and hides the perlite, which I hate looking at. I use even higher silica percentages for rot prone plants like tuberous drosera and south American drosera and there's still enough capillary action to keep soil moisture homogeneous.
I did some testing on a variety of locally available silica materials a few years ago and posted my findings on the Facebook groups. Measured TDS of initially zero ppm DI water when mixed with different sand and rock samples. I found that masonry sand was an acceptable media, but only when rinsed at least twice. It'd be interesting to see what you come up with.
Yeah this makes sense. If you want an airy mix you need enough of the chunky material to actually create air pockets. With only 10% chunky material, each particle will be entirely surrounded by the fine material, not giving you any of air pockets you are looking for. What you actually want is to reduce the fine material until it doesn't fill in all the gaps. Great video! I really like the scientific approach.
Perlite is porous but not permeable. Adding small amounts of perlite is adding impermeable material without increasing porosity. I agree with your explanation of the higher concentration of perlite. The higher percentage of perlite increases the chance of grain to grain contact creating greater pore networks resulting in greater permeability. Nice video and experiment.
I am so glad i came across your channel. This is exactly what i need Petite information. I see why my plants pot soil are compacted an i keep watering more and more to the point some of my plants died. I did understand why it's compacted when i know i use good soil. I see water draining but the inside deeper down the pots was still soaked and wet. I was being cheap and thought my planted will do just fine without Perlite. Boy i was wrong. I did not know the benefits of Perlite. Thank you very helpful infor!
Have you ever looked at higher grades of peat, like Pro-Moss TBK peat? When you get this crazy about the air/water balance, then you're ready for the next level. It can hold more air in the mix while having an even better capillary response than any normal peat, which just makes growing so much easier. It is more expensive, but if you try a batch for your premium plants you'll be addicted. Thank you for the awesome video!
Thank you for watching. We try to use products the average grower can readily obtain. We tend to avoid highly specialized products, which can often be cost-prohibitive for us and many growers with large collections. We know other growers have used that product with really great results. Unfortunately, none of our local suppliers carry it.
Awesome video! Great explanations. I feel lucky to have found that chanel early in my "career". Would you also use it for Nepenthes? I've read they do well in sphagnum moss only but mine has sunken/compressed as you mentonned. I'm afraid it will instigate anaerobic bacteria.
Very interesting video. I would be interested in an experiment that measures the wicking action as opposed to the draining action. I suppose it could be done with some sort of wick buried from the bottom of the pot to the top and then allow the pot to be put in a tray of water and see how long it takes for the top of the wick to get wet. This could also determine the correct amount of water that needs to be added to a tray to get perfect wicking action. For my plants I always do a 50/50 mix with a thin layer of sphagnum moss at the bottom to prevent peat and perlite from falling out and allowing the sphagnum moss to wick up water to the peat and perlite.
Thank you for watching! And thank you for that recommendation. I thought about your experiment. It can be a fun experiment, but you can likely extrapolate that info from established properties of soil drainage. I also have to weigh the effort of doing a video against potential practical application. We haven't found any issues with soil health as long as we were using 50% perlite and kept the water level below the halfway point of the pot. We also don't use any sphagnum moss on the bottom since we've had no issue with soil spilling out. But, I'll keep this in mind as I prep other videos.
This is a great video. Thanks for doing this! Are you planning to eun a similar experiment on your nepenthes mix? I’d love to see how LFS behaves with lower/higher% of perlite.
@@SarraceniaNorthwest What is your recommended Nepenthes soil mix? Do you use any pine bark in it? Also do you never add any sand into your soil mixes? I usually add peat moss, perlite and a 1mm sand. Not sure how much sand I should add if I increase the perlite to 50% tho.
Fantastic experiment and report. I would love to see the sister trial of placing the various mixtures in a known quantity of water and calculating the absorption rate. I'll definitely be checking our your other videos!
Thanks for watching the video! That's a good idea about absorption, but did you mean wicking action? I think you can extrapolate that info by drainage time, which also translates to water holding capacity. 60% holds less water than 0%, so we can infer that 0% will wick water at a slower rate than 60%. From past experience, we've also seen 60% dry out faster than 50%, possibly from increase evaporation. But, it might be worthwhile to see how fast water evaporates from a saturated soil mix. Yeah, I can devise an experiment like that!
My friend who lives down near Clinton NC and owns 20 acres of mostly hay, but has a half acre bog area on his land that has a bunch VFT and Sarracenia and it doesn't have any flow as it is covered in plants. Plus there is nowhere for the water to flow to. A couple of times he has had to pump ground water into the bog because of drought. The whole area had been a bog at one time, but his land wasn't good for anything except growing native grass, too acidic for commercial varieties. Sadly he had to put up an alarm system to prevent poachers, who cut his fence to get to the plants.
being a long time cephalotus grower for over 40 years i can say over the years perlite and sand become valuable assets to success. just to eyeball my large batches when in production, i will go with a 1:1:1 ratio which gives plenty of run off drip to match the cliff environment along coalmine beach at Australia if anyone here has been there
Thanks for sharing that info! Yes, the soil conditions in that area is very sandy and porous with very little organic matter. (I have friends who have traveled there and had a chance to observe the Cephalotus natural habitat.)
really like catching your vids very helpful to all getting great info for a successful hobby, business or casual first time grower@@SarraceniaNorthwest
i grow succulents and soil aeration is something we talk about.. i describe it like this.. if you have a bowl of pudding and you put water on top it just sits there.. if you have a bowl of gravel and you put water on top it flows right through so you think if you put the gravel in the pudding it will be perfect so you do and stir it up good then pour some water on top and it just sits there because the pudding has enveloped the gravel. i tell people to layer their materials on a diagonal in the pot giving the water a route to flow through, that or just mix the ingredients with one or two stirs.. this method works really well out in our garden where we have thick clay (which is very nutrient rich). a diagonal layered approach allows drainage and the plants love it.
Thanks for the pudding analogy! That's a good one. I'm not sure if layering a diagonal pattern for a potted mix is feasible, especially with the amount of plants we work with. We also need a technique that is easy for a new grower to do. But the French drain technique is very useful in the yard to divert water.
Hi John. Thanks for watching the video. Flytraps can't go in the ground unless the soil conditions are acidic and free of nutrients. In their native habitat, the soil conditions are just right for them. Other parts of the country, not so much. So, we have to care for them as potted plants.
Glad it was helpful! But, stick with what is already working for you. It'll give you less stress in the future if something pops up and you have to figure out what the heck is causing it.
Thank you for watching! Yes, this information is useful across the board. I see other gardeners recommend 10% perlite for drainage. Doesn't quite cut it. Hope you have a great spring!
So interesting, thank you! I tend to use 50/50 but now I'm going to investigate different sizes of perlite. Stuff I have is very small; a lot of it practically dust. Not good presumably. However, perlite available to amateurs will not be as good (bigger particles) as commercial buyers can purchase for their business. What do you think? Also, what is the best time to repot my sarracenias, droseras and flytraps to refresh the soil? (With better perlite!) It's Autumn now. Would Spring be best, when they start up again? I am in Buckinghamshire, England. Thank you!
Really interesting results to say the least. That said its not very relevant for CP as the amount of top watering is limited, and the vast majority comes via wicking from the bottom tray. Would love to see that type of comparison done, but of course it would take more time and a lot more complexity. My guess though would be that the sweet spot of 10-30% perlite would also correlate into better wicking and more consistent moisture levels throughout the pot. Great video thanks for sharing your thoughts and results!
That would be a good experiment too, does too much perlite hinder watering from the bottom? Will too much perlite keep the water from wicking up to the top.
Thanks for watching the video! As mentioned, we don't recommend going above 60%. In our experience, we haven't had any issue of soil drying out (at 50% perlite) when plants are left in small amounts of water.
I have different types of indoor plants, not carnivorous plants, and I decided to try a 60% perlite mixture. I'm really sick of root rot. My plants were not happy in the pumice-perlite-peat mixture. I think it's pressing because the pumice is heavy. I hope my plants will be happy this time.
I would be interested to see a sinking test. Same pots & mixes, set into a small bucket of water & see how long it takes each mix to soak up the water and submerge. I feel it would be very valuable since you (& I) recommend bottom watering from the tray.
I remember reading in a horticultural textbook than there’s little point in adding less than 15did you sift the peat and perlite to a uniform size first? I’ve noticed huge variability between brands and bags of the same brand. I always sift everything.
Very well done and interesting video. I was going to switch to sand instead of perlite, combined with the peat of course. Have you guys ever done tests on sand? I would be interested in those findings as well, and if it has similar aeration properties to the perlite.
I bought stuff from California carnivores and they tend to use a 20% mix I think. I got my leukaphyla from you and I simply like how the soil looks better so I use a 50% mix when replanting.
Thanks for sharing!! Make sure to give the soil the sniff test. You can cover the soil with one hand, turn the pot upside and remove the pot from the soil. Sniff the soil. If it smells funky, time to repot!
@@SarraceniaNorthwest I just reported them after the first couple years I had them. They were multiplying and needed more space, especially the fly traps. And I put the leuk in a much bigger pot along with a couple of fly traps I split off from the originals. My cape sundews each got their own pots. They looked good over the winter but they look pretty bad right now. Barely growing. Might just be the heat here in Fresno,ca but it’s starting to cool off. Though I’ve started to wonder if I may have had them sitting in too much water. The saucers I have the small pots in are nearly as deep as the pots themselves.
Ur plants are all so beautiful but what do I use for flytraps my son has gotten into these plants and I want to help him but I am clueless these plants seem perfect for him since he has hyper active disorder it helps him calm and gives him something to focus on he has one flytrap and wants more so why not but no clue what dirt it needs ur video helps a lot
Thanks for watching! We got tons of information on our website. Start with the Grow Carnivorous Plants playlists on our website. www.growcarnivorousplants.com/carnivorous-plant-videos/
I live in NC and I used 50/50/50 (peat moss, perlite, and pool filter sand) and every winter some of my Venus fly traps develop root rot. They don't sit in water bc I realized the winter usually rains a lot more. Do you think sphagnum long fiber moss would help?
LOL! So, you use half peat moss, half perlite, and half sand? We would love to help you out with your flytrap. Submit your question to Ask the Growers on our website. Supply all of the requested information and one of our growers will get back to you. www.growcarnivorousplants.com/ask-the-growers/
Please advise, I have a problem with perlite. When the solution makes a full turn through the buckets to the tank, the ph rises to 7.5, and at the beginning it was 5.5. The perlite was washed at the beginning and has been used for 15 days.
We would be glad to assist you. However, we don't answer growing questions in this format. Please visit our website to submit your question. Supply all of the requested information, and one of our growers will get back to you. www.growcarnivorousplants.com/ask-the-growers/
Just watched this video, great info! My largest mixed bog container has had some stunted growth as summer hit and I’ve noticed the rotten egg smell. Is it better to repot all of them now or wait until dormancy?
Glad it was helpful! If you suspect the soil is bad, it's best to change it now. The longer the plant sits in the soil, the more it may be prone to rotting.
Do you have a video on how to properly hydrate and rinse peat moss and perlite before repotting? I have heard to hydrate/rinse your mix way before repotting to flush it, but when I do this my peatmoss ends up just being over soaked. Clearly too much water. How often should we repot our plants? Also, when its winter and raining do you recommend removing the saucers and let the rain just run through the pots? For all carnivorous plant types?
Thank you for watching. We don't think it's necessary to rinse your peat moss and perlite. We've never done that. We just add water to hydrate the substrates to their proper moisture level. Watch these videos for more information. th-cam.com/video/p9afvI0QKCQ/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/VNnZnyQWPMA/w-d-xo.html
Hi, Intesting video. I have an Autopot system 4x 15L . I will be using coco and perlite. They recommend using a 50/50 mix. That would be 15L of coco and 15L of perlite for each of the 4 pots right ?
The drainage properties and moisture retention for coco peat is different than peat moss. Until I experiment with that product, I can't comment on how much perlite to use, if any. I'll see if I can run some experiments this winter.
The 40% you suggested is for watering from the tray. How about for watering from the top with no water in the tray. Is it still 40% at least? Thank you
We still recommend 40%. It's still important for water to pass through quickly enough to pull sufficient air into the soil. If the water flows too slowly, you may not get the aeration you need to maintain soil health.
I’m curious what your thoughts are on using sand instead of perlite, because sand doesn’t float in water making it easier to avoid messing up the mixture when watering
You can use silica sand or washed river sand. If you're concerned about erosion when top watering, watch our video about using top dressings. th-cam.com/video/LWZNAdViRag/w-d-xo.html
@@SarraceniaNorthwest I appreciate the advise. I watched the topdressing video, but I live in SoCal where peagravel as a topdressing could burn the plants.
Awesome experiment! The difference is clearly visible depending on the content of perlite. :) Even if the proportions are the same, does the water drain of the pot differ depending on whether the shape of the pot is square or round?
Thank you for watching the video! The shape of the pot doesn't matter with drain time. What matters most is size, or more specifically, ratio of volume to surface area. I'm actually going to do another video that addresses that issue.
@@SarraceniaNorthwest I have an additional question. What size peat moss particle size do you use? The proportion of pearlite seems to vary depending on the particle size of peat moss. I remember that the coarse peat moss drained very well even with 0% perlite.
Thanks for watching! It depends on your watering method. We recommend long-fiber sphagnum only when top watering rather than bottom watering. For some reason, sphagnum gets slimy when it's constantly wet. If you're bottom watering, stick with peat moss and perlite.
Got my Sarracenia last christmas as a present & it's grown quite well but it's coming up to needing to be split or re-potted. It's been in the original pot & soil since I got it & looks like it needs more space. I've looked into a little & all the sources I've found have said to split or re-pot it in the October to April months. Not sure if I should replace all the soil when giving it a larger pot, or mix in & reuse the soil it has. Any tips would be appreciated.
Thank you for watching! Chopped up sphagnum moss, commonly referred to as milled sphagnum moss, can work. However, it is often cost-prohibitive when growing a large collection of plants. For this reason, we don't use it or recommend it.
Thank you for watching the video! Yes, you can use pumice instead of perlite. We recommend perlite because it's lighter and easier to work with. But if all you can find is pumice, that will do the same job.
The video is very nice and very well done, congratulations. I have been growing carnivorous plants in central-northern Italy for 40 years, I can say that I have tried every type of substrate and every possible mixture with perlite and / or sand. What I feel like saying is that the presence or absence of perlite in the substrate of carnivorous marsh plants is irrelevant. There are no SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES between clones placed in the same cultivation conditions over the years. I will say a big banality, but the real difference is given by the quality of the peat and water. I have cultivated Dionaea muscipula for over 10 years in the same pure peat substrate, with osmosis water, without noticing any signs of suffering; same speech I can take it for sarracenia grown 15 years, in pure peat beds, without anything else. What changes the setup is the quality of the water and the peat, these must be at the top. Obviously, the presence of perlite helps when you don't have optimal water values or the presence of poor peat, that's for sure. But believe me, the presence of perlite is not necessary when only perfect peat and water! Thanks for your always interesting content, I follow you with a lot of interest and curiosity! Greetings from Italy! 😍😍🤗🤗
Ciao! Grazie per le gentili parole. I wish I could continue in Italian, but I forgot most of it when I studied at university (over 30 years ago). Your experience hasn't been the same as ours. We have very good peat moss with no contaminants coming from Canada, and we filter our water with a reverse-osmosis unit. For us, peat moss by itself often turned sour after a few months. We noticed this mostly with plants grown in the greenhouse where it was warmer and less top watering. Yes, some growers will use only peat moss with no perlite with no adverse effects, but we find that to be the exception rather than the rule. We base our recommendations on testing different growing situations. Our customers also report to us their experience in their particular region of the country. Peat moss by itself, along with 10%-30% perlite, proved to be the least versatile. 50% perlite is much more versatile in a variety of growing conditions and climates found among our customers throughout the United States. This morning I was listening to a Puccini aria and thought about learning Italian again. I miss it. Your message inspired to do so. Perhaps one day, we can converse in person. In Italian. In Italy!
@@SarraceniaNorthwest You studied in Italy! How wonderful! I'm glad to hear it! And I would love to meet you, here or there, to talk about carnivorous plants, cultivation or other! I am very happy with this. Returning to the subject, I think your experiment is interesting, but it should be integrated with two important observations: the temperature and the growth of plants over time, using the different mixtures. I am convinced that you would have a more complete wiew and you would have a different vision. I invite you to reflect on this thing: think about when you forget a piece of sarracenia rhizome division in some box with only peat and water, just so as not to throw it away, and the following year you find it giant! 🙂 Another thing: I have grown sarracenia in pure water for three years, without any difference with those grown in the traditional way. Try to think about these variables and tell me what you think! I greet you dearly, I send you a hug and I wish you a good day!
I actually studied Italian here. I graduated from University of Oregon. We had wonderful instructors from Italy. One of them secretly taught us street language! Because we have a large customer base over the past 25 years, we used their experience to gain an idea of what works and what doesn't. Being in the USA, we have a large diversity of climates. We help lots of our customers tweak their growing methods to suit their microclimate. We know that pure peat moss doesn't work in a desert climate. It retains too much heat and moisture. One grower in Utah was having trouble with his plants until we suggested adding 60% perlite to improve evaporation, which helped lower soil temperature. At this time, I can't recommend 100% peat moss because we've seen growers fail with it, including us. It didn't work in our particular growing conditions and methods. We understand some growers are successful with it. But, we have to go with what will work for at least 90% of our customers. Straight peat moss didn't meet that threshold. 50% proved to be more versatile in a variety of climates and growing conditions. Overall, it produced the least amount of frustration among our customers. I'd be happy, though, to visit you someday and see how you made it work for you! It'll also give me a great opportunity to relearn Italian.
@@SarraceniaNorthwest Yes, yes, in fact the concept is exactly this: the temperature factor certainly affects the outcome of the cultivation result. In the Italian climate, even in areas with a warm-Mediterranean microclimate, there are no particular problems with the use of pure peat. Indeed, the rhizomes of sarracenia grown in pure peat are larger and more vigorous than those grown with a "peat-perlite" mix. The higher humidity of the substrate causes them to develop more consistently. This is true for sarracenia and dionaea, obviously, not for other plants which, on the other hand, find ample benefit from the use of perlite in a good percentage. In short, there is no definite and certain rule, it is necessary to find the right blend based on the climate of a specific area. For me it would be a great pleasure and a great honor to have you as a guest here, I would make you visit many growers in this area and it would be great to help you speak Italian! I really hope that in 2023 you can come and visit me, to show you my plants older than almost 40 years and talk with you about cultivation and Italian food! A hug my friend, see you soon!
LOL! You got me with food! I love Italian food. I even made carbonara last night! I watch Pasta Grammar a lot, too. I'm not sure about 2023 because I have some commitments going on that year. 2024 is most likely. It also occurred to me that you might have a different grade of peat moss than what we have here. The grade we have is very fine, like dust. There is a course grade that comes in large chunks. Unfortunately, for us, it's expensive and not always available.
Thanks for watching the video. You can go to our website for information about Pinguicula. But, the best place to go is the nursery from whom you purchased your plant. They should provide you some support about growing the plant.
We have a video in the works to test mixes with peat, perlite, and sand. In general, however, we don't see the need for sand when you have perlite of various sizes. Sand is very heavy and can be daunting to work with when you have a very large collection of plants. A large bag of perlite, like what you see in the video, weighs only 35 pounds. Sand of similar volume would weigh over 400 pounds.
Thanks for watching the video! Can't use 100% perlite in the long term because the pH would only be that of water. You need a lower pH for better root health. Peat provides the acidity.
Proposal: Redo experiment, but measure how much water was retained in the pots. Also "open up" the substrate to see if the water actually evenly spread in the pot. In my experience, even when using pure pumice of 4mm-grain-size, water will avoid the center of the substrate. My hypothesis is that it is either trapped air or as you guess water tension.
Thank you for the suggestion. We are already planning at least two follow-up videos to this one. But, drainage is also directly related to water retention. Whether it's trapped air or water tension, the factors are relatively consistent between the set-ups. The primary change I'll make is using only 6-inch pots or larger to reduce the ratio of volume to surface area of the pot.
Great video. When I first saw the slow down of the 10% - 20% mix, it reminded me of a Practical Engineering video on subsurface drains. We are getting slightly different interactions with the lighter than water particles, but the finer particles encasing the perlite/water surface tension tracks with his results. You can jump to his giant drain model and see what happens with different sized rocks for drain "filters". Anyway, keep up the good work! And here's the link to that video: th-cam.com/video/aFZM_BY6jBw/w-d-xo.html
To make this experiment peer-reviewed, when others replicate the experiment do they get the same results? Also I had a situation where I potted a plant but I could only add a tiny amount of water at a time because it always sat on the top of the soil. It was a real pain. I mixed in a handful of sand and suddenly it flowed. I haven't run into that situation again so that I could try it again. I can totally see how sand is not ideal if you're thinking about shipping cost lol.
Thanks for watching the video! I can't tell you if others will get the same results until someone actually does it. I know that we got similar results in five trials and four different setups. That's the most I can say about consistency. I'm open to doing the experiment again because in retrospect, ratio of soil volume to pot surface area does affect results, which you extrapolate from the graphs. That didn't occur to me during editing. As for sand, many growers use it. Yes, we don't use it because of shipping weight. I plan to do a video about different soil substrates, though.
Dude, you're literally a life saver! I tried making my own substrate, but my flytraps were dieing mysteriously. It wasn't until I found your channel that i realized i wasn't using enough perlite. You've definitely earned a subscription 😊
Thank you! I plan to do a follow-up video. It's just a matter of finding the time while I juggle being a nurseryman and a videographer. But, glad the video was helpful for you. Make sure to also watch our monthly video. We show you how to care for flytraps throughout the year.
www.growcarnivorousplants.com/monthly-carnivorous-plant-care/
I'm all in on the 50/50, it's been absolutely the best mix for me.
Awesome! Thanks for watching the video.
I recently replanted all of my fly traps and sundews with 50/50 peat / perlite. It all molded and now the plants are all dying! Any idea why? I am thinking of going to sand and sphagnum moss...
@@natural2112scienceid you pre moisten the peat and perlite?
@@supertrixie3029 do you mean to soak it and drain it? If so, I did not do that. Maybe that is the problem?
I did replant them with a mostly sphagnum mix and they have all recovered now.
@@supertrixie3029it should be a little wet when potting. I like to mix a little water into the media before potting that way it can suck the water up faster and it doesnt go down as much when setteling
Thank You Professor Jacob. Charts always help when it comes to stats and numbers.
Yes it does! It reminded me of chemistry and biology labs in college.
I kept guessing and asking questions "Yes but! ..." and then they would be answered. One of your best videos. Loved it.
Great use of scientific methodology to answer the question. Excellent video. It confirms what I've been observing: lower amounts of perlite don't seem to create the aeration/drainage that everyone says it does. In fact, it seemed to cause water retention at lower percentages! I was finding that I had to use a lot of perlite (around 50%) to get the aeration and drainage effect I wanted. So it's great to see your experiment confirming what I was seeing. I thought I was going crazy or doing something wrong 😂
Thank you! Yes, it was fun to do. Reminded me of lab experiments in biology and chemistry classes in college. I kind of miss it!
Maybe it's because the perlite physically blocks the drainage holes at all percentages (cause it's non permeable, even if it's very porous), and you need a sufficient percentage in the mix to counteract that and make the it overall have better drainage? idk, it's an interesting phenomenon though.
50% Peat , 30% Perlite, 20% Silica Sand.
My go to ❤
This is the best-explained video I've seen. Thank you for sharing the experiments. Your plants look awesome.
Thank you! Glad you found the video helpful. We plan to do a follow-up video in the upcoming months. Subscribe for notifications.
Always good to see empirical investigation when anecdotal 'evidence' is so rampant in the hobby.
I use a composite mix: 1/2 inch of pure coarse pearlite at the bottom, 60% coarse pearlite in the middle, and a top dressing 1/2 inch deep of 50% pool filter sand.
I've found that using all the extra silica minimizes my peat usage and I don't have issues with wicking. The top dressing helps moss colonize more quickly and hides the perlite, which I hate looking at.
I use even higher silica percentages for rot prone plants like tuberous drosera and south American drosera and there's still enough capillary action to keep soil moisture homogeneous.
Thanks for watching the video. I'm glad you found it helpful. I plan to do a video about sand. Not sure when, but it's on my list of upcoming topics.
I did some testing on a variety of locally available silica materials a few years ago and posted my findings on the Facebook groups. Measured TDS of initially zero ppm DI water when mixed with different sand and rock samples. I found that masonry sand was an acceptable media, but only when rinsed at least twice. It'd be interesting to see what you come up with.
Scientific approach, professionalism, interesting... Excellent ! Good growing !
So nice of you! Thank you!
Yeah this makes sense. If you want an airy mix you need enough of the chunky material to actually create air pockets. With only 10% chunky material, each particle will be entirely surrounded by the fine material, not giving you any of air pockets you are looking for. What you actually want is to reduce the fine material until it doesn't fill in all the gaps.
Great video! I really like the scientific approach.
Thanks for watching! We plan to do a followup video soon. Hopefully it'll be ready by spring.
Thanks for putting the time and effort into this. These vids are really appreciated. 💯💯💯
Glad you like them!
Wow! Such great details. But, now I have to go re-do my plants. I was a 20 percenter. 🙄😄
Perlite is porous but not permeable. Adding small amounts of perlite is adding impermeable material without increasing porosity. I agree with your explanation of the higher concentration of perlite. The higher percentage of perlite increases the chance of grain to grain contact creating greater pore networks resulting in greater permeability. Nice video and experiment.
Thank you ao much for putting the time into running the experiment and sharing the results
Thank you for watching! I'm glad you found the information useful. I keep meaning to do a follow-up video on this topic. Stay tuned!
I use the 50/50 mix. Works great for me.
Thanks for watching the video!
I am so glad i came across your channel. This is exactly what i need Petite information. I see why my plants pot soil are compacted an i keep watering more and more to the point some of my plants died. I did understand why it's compacted when i know i use good soil. I see water draining but the inside deeper down the pots was still soaked and wet. I was being cheap and thought my planted will do just fine without Perlite. Boy i was wrong. I did not know the benefits of Perlite. Thank you very helpful infor!
Thanks for watching our video! Glad it was helpful. Hope your plants start to grow well for you.
Excellent testing methodology and great presentation! Off to get some of your 50-50 mix, thank you!
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching.
Have you ever looked at higher grades of peat, like Pro-Moss TBK peat? When you get this crazy about the air/water balance, then you're ready for the next level. It can hold more air in the mix while having an even better capillary response than any normal peat, which just makes growing so much easier. It is more expensive, but if you try a batch for your premium plants you'll be addicted. Thank you for the awesome video!
Thank you for watching. We try to use products the average grower can readily obtain. We tend to avoid highly specialized products, which can often be cost-prohibitive for us and many growers with large collections. We know other growers have used that product with really great results. Unfortunately, none of our local suppliers carry it.
Awesome video! Great explanations. I feel lucky to have found that chanel early in my "career". Would you also use it for Nepenthes? I've read they do well in sphagnum moss only but mine has sunken/compressed as you mentonned. I'm afraid it will instigate anaerobic bacteria.
Great video Jacob. I also use a 50:50 mix, always does the job
Cool, thanks!
Very interesting video. I would be interested in an experiment that measures the wicking action as opposed to the draining action. I suppose it could be done with some sort of wick buried from the bottom of the pot to the top and then allow the pot to be put in a tray of water and see how long it takes for the top of the wick to get wet. This could also determine the correct amount of water that needs to be added to a tray to get perfect wicking action. For my plants I always do a 50/50 mix with a thin layer of sphagnum moss at the bottom to prevent peat and perlite from falling out and allowing the sphagnum moss to wick up water to the peat and perlite.
Thank you for watching! And thank you for that recommendation. I thought about your experiment. It can be a fun experiment, but you can likely extrapolate that info from established properties of soil drainage. I also have to weigh the effort of doing a video against potential practical application. We haven't found any issues with soil health as long as we were using 50% perlite and kept the water level below the halfway point of the pot. We also don't use any sphagnum moss on the bottom since we've had no issue with soil spilling out. But, I'll keep this in mind as I prep other videos.
Vary useful information, interesting group of plants
This is a great video. Thanks for doing this! Are you planning to eun a similar experiment on your nepenthes mix? I’d love to see how LFS behaves with lower/higher% of perlite.
That's the plan!
@@SarraceniaNorthwest What is your recommended Nepenthes soil mix? Do you use any pine bark in it? Also do you never add any sand into your soil mixes? I usually add peat moss, perlite and a 1mm sand. Not sure how much sand I should add if I increase the perlite to 50% tho.
Thanks Jacob for explaining im from the Netherlands n use 40% perlite in mix with the peat
Fantastic experiment and report. I would love to see the sister trial of placing the various mixtures in a known quantity of water and calculating the absorption rate.
I'll definitely be checking our your other videos!
Thanks for watching the video! That's a good idea about absorption, but did you mean wicking action? I think you can extrapolate that info by drainage time, which also translates to water holding capacity. 60% holds less water than 0%, so we can infer that 0% will wick water at a slower rate than 60%. From past experience, we've also seen 60% dry out faster than 50%, possibly from increase evaporation. But, it might be worthwhile to see how fast water evaporates from a saturated soil mix. Yeah, I can devise an experiment like that!
My friend who lives down near Clinton NC and owns 20 acres of mostly hay, but has a half acre bog area on his land that has a bunch VFT and Sarracenia and it doesn't have any flow as it is covered in plants. Plus there is nowhere for the water to flow to. A couple of times he has had to pump ground water into the bog because of drought. The whole area had been a bog at one time, but his land wasn't good for anything except growing native grass, too acidic for commercial varieties.
Sadly he had to put up an alarm system to prevent poachers, who cut his fence to get to the plants.
Great experiments!!
Thank you 🤗
This just made stash of moss peat last a lot longer. Great vid .
being a long time cephalotus grower for over 40 years i can say over the years perlite and sand become valuable assets to success. just to eyeball my large batches when in production, i will go with a 1:1:1 ratio which gives plenty of run off drip to match the cliff environment along coalmine beach at Australia if anyone here has been there
Thanks for sharing that info! Yes, the soil conditions in that area is very sandy and porous with very little organic matter. (I have friends who have traveled there and had a chance to observe the Cephalotus natural habitat.)
really like catching your vids very helpful to all getting great info for a successful hobby, business or casual first time grower@@SarraceniaNorthwest
i grow succulents and soil aeration is something we talk about.. i describe it like this.. if you have a bowl of pudding and you put water on top it just sits there.. if you have a bowl of gravel and you put water on top it flows right through so you think if you put the gravel in the pudding it will be perfect so you do and stir it up good then pour some water on top and it just sits there because the pudding has enveloped the gravel. i tell people to layer their materials on a diagonal in the pot giving the water a route to flow through, that or just mix the ingredients with one or two stirs.. this method works really well out in our garden where we have thick clay (which is very nutrient rich). a diagonal layered approach allows drainage and the plants love it.
Thanks for the pudding analogy! That's a good one. I'm not sure if layering a diagonal pattern for a potted mix is feasible, especially with the amount of plants we work with. We also need a technique that is easy for a new grower to do. But the French drain technique is very useful in the yard to divert water.
I appreciate content like this, keep 'em going. 🤙🏼
Thanks! More to come!
Great info. Now to try overwintering my fly traps. Never could.
Put them in the ground where they belong.
Thanks for watching the video! Read our digital download. We have info about winter care and common mistakes that growers make.
Hi John. Thanks for watching the video. Flytraps can't go in the ground unless the soil conditions are acidic and free of nutrients. In their native habitat, the soil conditions are just right for them. Other parts of the country, not so much. So, we have to care for them as potted plants.
VERY interesting Jacob! I always do 50:50 but have been thinking of doing a little less. Maybe 40%. Thanks for these kinds of videos! Hi to Jeff!
Glad it was helpful! But, stick with what is already working for you. It'll give you less stress in the future if something pops up and you have to figure out what the heck is causing it.
Great experiment !
Thank you! We plan to redo this experiment later this summer. Stay tuned!
Excellent video! I can’t believe how brilliantly you demonstrated this in such a scientific approach. THANK YOU!! Great job!! ❤
Glad it was helpful! I hope to do a follow up video this spring (or summer). Stay tuned!
this is quite interesting even for other plants like aroids
thank you very much for this well narrated video
Thank you for watching! Yes, this information is useful across the board. I see other gardeners recommend 10% perlite for drainage. Doesn't quite cut it. Hope you have a great spring!
So interesting, thank you! I tend to use 50/50 but now I'm going to investigate different sizes of perlite. Stuff I have is very small; a lot of it practically dust. Not good presumably. However, perlite available to amateurs will not be as good (bigger particles) as commercial buyers can purchase for their business. What do you think? Also, what is the best time to repot my sarracenias, droseras and flytraps to refresh the soil? (With better perlite!) It's Autumn now. Would Spring be best, when they start up again? I am in Buckinghamshire, England. Thank you!
From what I have heard, the best time to repot is when they're in dormancy or waking up. End of autumn to the start of spring.
excellent experiment, multiple trial, good interpretations and conclusions
Thank you! I'm glad you appreciate how the info was laid out.
I was using long fiber sphag moss but that is getting too expensive. Thanks for this information, think I will go to peat/perlite mix.
Glad the video was helpful. We plan to do a follow-up video sometime this season, so stay tuned!
That was REALLY interesting! Thank you for posting. Some of mine need repotting so watched this just at the right time!
Glad it was helpful!
I use cocopeat and perlite in 50:50. Is it ok?
Hi would you use same mixture with pure sphagnum moss / perlite for Highland Nepenthes ?? Thank you 😊
Thanks for watching our video! Our general mix for Nepenthes is 50/50 of sphagnum moss and perlite. We plan to do another video about Nepenthes mix.
Thank you for your kind reply
Thank you for so many educational videos.
Glad you like them! We got more to come!
Real science. Love it.
I always get good plants from you and great advice to. Thanks !
Glad you like them!
Really interesting results to say the least. That said its not very relevant for CP as the amount of top watering is limited, and the vast majority comes via wicking from the bottom tray. Would love to see that type of comparison done, but of course it would take more time and a lot more complexity. My guess though would be that the sweet spot of 10-30% perlite would also correlate into better wicking and more consistent moisture levels throughout the pot. Great video thanks for sharing your thoughts and results!
That would be a good experiment too, does too much perlite hinder watering from the bottom? Will too much perlite keep the water from wicking up to the top.
Thanks for watching the video! As mentioned, we don't recommend going above 60%. In our experience, we haven't had any issue of soil drying out (at 50% perlite) when plants are left in small amounts of water.
I have succulent not Saracenia in 50/50 gravel and soil based JI2 compost, that mix still wicks water from the base to the top in half an hour.
10/10 great information
Great video. A lot of easy to understand, useful information here. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful! We plan to do a follow-up video later this year.
I have different types of indoor plants, not carnivorous plants, and I decided to try a 60% perlite mixture. I'm really sick of root rot. My plants were not happy in the pumice-perlite-peat mixture. I think it's pressing because the pumice is heavy. I hope my plants will be happy this time.
Thanks for watching our video! Yeah, we used to use pumice, but quickly switched to perlite exclusively.
I would be interested to see a sinking test. Same pots & mixes, set into a small bucket of water & see how long it takes each mix to soak up the water and submerge. I feel it would be very valuable since you (& I) recommend bottom watering from the tray.
Great video! Happy Autumn From Alberta
I remember reading in a horticultural textbook than there’s little point in adding less than 15did you sift the peat and perlite to a uniform size first? I’ve noticed huge variability between brands and bags of the same brand. I always sift everything.
Excellent video!
Amazing Info. Thank you for being so thorough.
Glad it was helpful!
Very well done and interesting video. I was going to switch to sand instead of perlite, combined with the peat of course. Have you guys ever done tests on sand? I would be interested in those findings as well, and if it has similar aeration properties to the perlite.
Thanks for watching the video! We plan to do a video about sand. I'm not sure when it'll come out, but it's on our list.
@@SarraceniaNorthwest great, I’ll look forward to it
Best videos! I love that you get right to it.
I bought stuff from California carnivores and they tend to use a 20% mix I think. I got my leukaphyla from you and I simply like how the soil looks better so I use a 50% mix when replanting.
Thanks for sharing!! Make sure to give the soil the sniff test. You can cover the soil with one hand, turn the pot upside and remove the pot from the soil. Sniff the soil. If it smells funky, time to repot!
@@SarraceniaNorthwest I just reported them after the first couple years I had them. They were multiplying and needed more space, especially the fly traps. And I put the leuk in a much bigger pot along with a couple of fly traps I split off from the originals. My cape sundews each got their own pots. They looked good over the winter but they look pretty bad right now. Barely growing. Might just be the heat here in Fresno,ca but it’s starting to cool off. Though I’ve started to wonder if I may have had them sitting in too much water. The saucers I have the small pots in are nearly as deep as the pots themselves.
Ur plants are all so beautiful but what do I use for flytraps my son has gotten into these plants and I want to help him but I am clueless these plants seem perfect for him since he has hyper active disorder it helps him calm and gives him something to focus on he has one flytrap and wants more so why not but no clue what dirt it needs ur video helps a lot
Thanks for watching! We got tons of information on our website. Start with the Grow Carnivorous Plants playlists on our website.
www.growcarnivorousplants.com/carnivorous-plant-videos/
Very informative~
Thanks for sharing, that was great info 👍
Glad it was helpful!
Very informative! Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you SO much!
Great video guys!
great info sir thank you
Very nice content. I wish you do same experiment for Dried Sphagnum moss & cocopeat.
Thank you for watching! We plan to do more videos about substrates.
Awesome video thank you so much for your time and effort it's well appreciated
I live in NC and I used 50/50/50 (peat moss, perlite, and pool filter sand) and every winter some of my Venus fly traps develop root rot. They don't sit in water bc I realized the winter usually rains a lot more. Do you think sphagnum long fiber moss would help?
LOL! So, you use half peat moss, half perlite, and half sand? We would love to help you out with your flytrap. Submit your question to Ask the Growers on our website. Supply all of the requested information and one of our growers will get back to you.
www.growcarnivorousplants.com/ask-the-growers/
What quality of water do you use in your plants, what characteristics does that water have?
Please advise, I have a problem with perlite. When the solution makes a full turn through the buckets to the tank, the ph rises to 7.5, and at the beginning it was 5.5. The perlite was washed at the beginning and has been used for 15 days.
We would be glad to assist you. However, we don't answer growing questions in this format. Please visit our website to submit your question. Supply all of the requested information, and one of our growers will get back to you.
www.growcarnivorousplants.com/ask-the-growers/
Is it a good idea to grow sarracenia purp in pure vemiculite (almost the same as perlite)?
Great content as always!
Glad you enjoyed it
Just watched this video, great info! My largest mixed bog container has had some stunted growth as summer hit and I’ve noticed the rotten egg smell. Is it better to repot all of them now or wait until dormancy?
Glad it was helpful! If you suspect the soil is bad, it's best to change it now. The longer the plant sits in the soil, the more it may be prone to rotting.
Do you have a video on how to properly hydrate and rinse peat moss and perlite before repotting? I have heard to hydrate/rinse your mix way before repotting to flush it, but when I do this my peatmoss ends up just being over soaked. Clearly too much water. How often should we repot our plants? Also, when its winter and raining do you recommend removing the saucers and let the rain just run through the pots? For all carnivorous plant types?
Thank you for watching. We don't think it's necessary to rinse your peat moss and perlite. We've never done that. We just add water to hydrate the substrates to their proper moisture level. Watch these videos for more information.
th-cam.com/video/p9afvI0QKCQ/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/VNnZnyQWPMA/w-d-xo.html
Thank you
Do you recommend any specific brands of perlite? It seems like the bags I buy at the store seem crushed and are mostly dust. Thanks!
Thanks for watching. We don't have any specific recommendations. You can try ordering online. Look for a medium course size.
Hi, Intesting video. I have an Autopot system 4x 15L . I will be using coco and perlite. They recommend using a 50/50 mix. That would be 15L of coco and 15L of perlite for each of the 4 pots right ?
The drainage properties and moisture retention for coco peat is different than peat moss. Until I experiment with that product, I can't comment on how much perlite to use, if any. I'll see if I can run some experiments this winter.
The 40% you suggested is for watering from the tray. How about for watering from the top with no water in the tray. Is it still 40% at least? Thank you
We still recommend 40%. It's still important for water to pass through quickly enough to pull sufficient air into the soil. If the water flows too slowly, you may not get the aeration you need to maintain soil health.
I’m curious what your thoughts are on using sand instead of perlite, because sand doesn’t float in water making it easier to avoid messing up the mixture when watering
You can use silica sand or washed river sand. If you're concerned about erosion when top watering, watch our video about using top dressings.
th-cam.com/video/LWZNAdViRag/w-d-xo.html
@@SarraceniaNorthwest I appreciate the advise. I watched the topdressing video, but I live in SoCal where peagravel as a topdressing could burn the plants.
There were other top dressings we talked about. You could explore those options as well.
Awesome experiment!
The difference is clearly visible depending on the content of perlite. :)
Even if the proportions are the same, does the water drain of the pot differ depending on whether the shape of the pot is square or round?
Thank you for watching the video! The shape of the pot doesn't matter with drain time. What matters most is size, or more specifically, ratio of volume to surface area. I'm actually going to do another video that addresses that issue.
@@SarraceniaNorthwest I have an additional question. What size peat moss particle size do you use? The proportion of pearlite seems to vary depending on the particle size of peat moss. I remember that the coarse peat moss drained very well even with 0% perlite.
What grade was the perlite used in this test? fine / medium / coarse?
Thank you for watching. We used medium grade. We plan to do a follow-up video using sand. Stay tuned!
Can I use long fiber sphagnum in this mix? 25% sphagnum + 25% peat + 50% perlite? Would this mix work well?
Thanks for watching! It depends on your watering method. We recommend long-fiber sphagnum only when top watering rather than bottom watering. For some reason, sphagnum gets slimy when it's constantly wet. If you're bottom watering, stick with peat moss and perlite.
Is it okay to use silica sand instead of perlite?
Like 60% silica sand
And 40% peatmoss
I’ve got a question how long does it take for Heliamphora to make a pitcher?
And does one cup of perlite make 50% and one cup of peat moss make 50%?
@@gamingandgardening7729 By volume (of dry slightlly compresed peat) roughlty yes. By weight, I don't think so.
Got my Sarracenia last christmas as a present & it's grown quite well but it's coming up to needing to be split or re-potted.
It's been in the original pot & soil since I got it & looks like it needs more space. I've looked into a little & all the sources I've found have said to split or re-pot it in the October to April months.
Not sure if I should replace all the soil when giving it a larger pot, or mix in & reuse the soil it has.
Any tips would be appreciated.
Thanks for watching our video! We'd be glad to assist you through our website.
www.growcarnivorousplants.com/ask-the-growers/
Is using chopped up lfs superior to peat?
Thank you for watching! Chopped up sphagnum moss, commonly referred to as milled sphagnum moss, can work. However, it is often cost-prohibitive when growing a large collection of plants. For this reason, we don't use it or recommend it.
can we have same experiment with sphagnum ?
Thanks for watching. I plan to do a follow-up video this season, so I'll consider it.
Hi from UK. Do you have any suggestions for an alternative to peat moss? I don't want to use peat for environmental / ecological reasons🤔
Thank you for watching the video. We plan to release another video about substrates. I'm not sure when that will happen, but it's on our list.
Can I replace the perlite with pumice stone or lava rocks?
Thank you for watching the video! Yes, you can use pumice instead of perlite. We recommend perlite because it's lighter and easier to work with. But if all you can find is pumice, that will do the same job.
The video is very nice and very well done, congratulations.
I have been growing carnivorous plants in central-northern Italy for 40 years, I can say that I have tried every type of substrate and every possible mixture with perlite and / or sand. What I feel like saying is that the presence or absence of perlite in the substrate of carnivorous marsh plants is irrelevant. There are no SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES between clones placed in the same cultivation conditions over the years. I will say a big banality, but the real difference is given by the quality of the peat and water. I have cultivated Dionaea muscipula for over 10 years in the same pure peat substrate, with osmosis water, without noticing any signs of suffering; same speech I can take it for sarracenia grown 15 years, in pure peat beds, without anything else.
What changes the setup is the quality of the water and the peat, these must be at the top.
Obviously, the presence of perlite helps when you don't have optimal water values or the presence of poor peat, that's for sure.
But believe me, the presence of perlite is not necessary when only perfect peat and water!
Thanks for your always interesting content, I follow you with a lot of interest and curiosity!
Greetings from Italy! 😍😍🤗🤗
Ciao! Grazie per le gentili parole. I wish I could continue in Italian, but I forgot most of it when I studied at university (over 30 years ago).
Your experience hasn't been the same as ours. We have very good peat moss with no contaminants coming from Canada, and we filter our water with a reverse-osmosis unit. For us, peat moss by itself often turned sour after a few months. We noticed this mostly with plants grown in the greenhouse where it was warmer and less top watering. Yes, some growers will use only peat moss with no perlite with no adverse effects, but we find that to be the exception rather than the rule. We base our recommendations on testing different growing situations. Our customers also report to us their experience in their particular region of the country. Peat moss by itself, along with 10%-30% perlite, proved to be the least versatile. 50% perlite is much more versatile in a variety of growing conditions and climates found among our customers throughout the United States.
This morning I was listening to a Puccini aria and thought about learning Italian again. I miss it.
Your message inspired to do so. Perhaps one day, we can converse in person. In Italian. In Italy!
@@SarraceniaNorthwest You studied in Italy! How wonderful! I'm glad to hear it! And I would love to meet you, here or there, to talk about carnivorous plants, cultivation or other! I am very happy with this.
Returning to the subject, I think your experiment is interesting, but it should be integrated with two important observations: the temperature and the growth of plants over time, using the different mixtures. I am convinced that you would have a more complete wiew and you would have a different vision.
I invite you to reflect on this thing: think about when you forget a piece of sarracenia rhizome division in some box with only peat and water, just so as not to throw it away, and the following year you find it giant! 🙂 Another thing: I have grown sarracenia in pure water for three years, without any difference with those grown in the traditional way.
Try to think about these variables and tell me what you think!
I greet you dearly, I send you a hug and I wish you a good day!
I actually studied Italian here. I graduated from University of Oregon. We had wonderful instructors from Italy. One of them secretly taught us street language!
Because we have a large customer base over the past 25 years, we used their experience to gain an idea of what works and what doesn't. Being in the USA, we have a large diversity of climates. We help lots of our customers tweak their growing methods to suit their microclimate. We know that pure peat moss doesn't work in a desert climate. It retains too much heat and moisture. One grower in Utah was having trouble with his plants until we suggested adding 60% perlite to improve evaporation, which helped lower soil temperature.
At this time, I can't recommend 100% peat moss because we've seen growers fail with it, including us. It didn't work in our particular growing conditions and methods. We understand some growers are successful with it. But, we have to go with what will work for at least 90% of our customers. Straight peat moss didn't meet that threshold. 50% proved to be more versatile in a variety of climates and growing conditions. Overall, it produced the least amount of frustration among our customers.
I'd be happy, though, to visit you someday and see how you made it work for you! It'll also give me a great opportunity to relearn Italian.
@@SarraceniaNorthwest Yes, yes, in fact the concept is exactly this: the temperature factor certainly affects the outcome of the cultivation result. In the Italian climate, even in areas with a warm-Mediterranean microclimate, there are no particular problems with the use of pure peat. Indeed, the rhizomes of sarracenia grown in pure peat are larger and more vigorous than those grown with a "peat-perlite" mix. The higher humidity of the substrate causes them to develop more consistently. This is true for sarracenia and dionaea, obviously, not for other plants which, on the other hand, find ample benefit from the use of perlite in a good percentage. In short, there is no definite and certain rule, it is necessary to find the right blend based on the climate of a specific area. For me it would be a great pleasure and a great honor to have you as a guest here, I would make you visit many growers in this area and it would be great to help you speak Italian! I really hope that in 2023 you can come and visit me, to show you my plants older than almost 40 years and talk with you about cultivation and Italian food!
A hug my friend, see you soon!
LOL! You got me with food! I love Italian food. I even made carbonara last night! I watch Pasta Grammar a lot, too. I'm not sure about 2023 because I have some commitments going on that year. 2024 is most likely. It also occurred to me that you might have a different grade of peat moss than what we have here. The grade we have is very fine, like dust. There is a course grade that comes in large chunks. Unfortunately, for us, it's expensive and not always available.
I have 50/50 mix. Will it benefit a ping to add 10% river sand to the mix? My ping gigantea is being shipped at the moment bareroot.
Thanks for watching the video. You can go to our website for information about Pinguicula. But, the best place to go is the nursery from whom you purchased your plant. They should provide you some support about growing the plant.
@@SarraceniaNorthwest Thank you, I'll ask them as well. I ended up putting some river sand. And afterwards sprinkled some lime on top of the soil.
I would also add silica sand to the mix. so 50% peat. 40 % perlite and 10% silica sand
We have a video in the works to test mixes with peat, perlite, and sand. In general, however, we don't see the need for sand when you have perlite of various sizes. Sand is very heavy and can be daunting to work with when you have a very large collection of plants. A large bag of perlite, like what you see in the video, weighs only 35 pounds. Sand of similar volume would weigh over 400 pounds.
What about 100% perlite?
Drys way to fast
Thanks for watching the video! Can't use 100% perlite in the long term because the pH would only be that of water. You need a lower pH for better root health. Peat provides the acidity.
What is the substitute for perlite??
Thank you for watching. You can use silica sand, river sand, or pumice.
你这用的是哪国的珍珠岩？
Which country's perlite are you using here?
Our perlite comes from a local source, only 30 miles from our nursery.
How does coconut coir work?
Thanks for watching! I imagine that coir works similarly to peat. We haven't used it in our nursery for over a decade, though.
Proposal: Redo experiment, but measure how much water was retained in the pots. Also "open up" the substrate to see if the water actually evenly spread in the pot. In my experience, even when using pure pumice of 4mm-grain-size, water will avoid the center of the substrate. My hypothesis is that it is either trapped air or as you guess water tension.
Thank you for the suggestion. We are already planning at least two follow-up videos to this one. But, drainage is also directly related to water retention. Whether it's trapped air or water tension, the factors are relatively consistent between the set-ups. The primary change I'll make is using only 6-inch pots or larger to reduce the ratio of volume to surface area of the pot.
Can I use sand?
Yes! Silica sand or washed river sand are appropriate substitutes for perlite.
@@SarraceniaNorthwest oh ok I have to mix Sand and peat moss 50 - 50.
Considering getting into Perlite, but then I also think "how much perlite exists in nature?"
Thank you for watching! Perlite doesn't exist in nature. It's volcanic rock that's superheated.
Great video. When I first saw the slow down of the 10% - 20% mix, it reminded me of a Practical Engineering video on subsurface drains. We are getting slightly different interactions with the lighter than water particles, but the finer particles encasing the perlite/water surface tension tracks with his results. You can jump to his giant drain model and see what happens with different sized rocks for drain "filters". Anyway, keep up the good work! And here's the link to that video: th-cam.com/video/aFZM_BY6jBw/w-d-xo.html
To make this experiment peer-reviewed, when others replicate the experiment do they get the same results?
Also I had a situation where I potted a plant but I could only add a tiny amount of water at a time because it always sat on the top of the soil. It was a real pain. I mixed in a handful of sand and suddenly it flowed. I haven't run into that situation again so that I could try it again. I can totally see how sand is not ideal if you're thinking about shipping cost lol.
Sand is also not ideal when it comes to acquisition and prep
Thanks for watching the video! I can't tell you if others will get the same results until someone actually does it. I know that we got similar results in five trials and four different setups. That's the most I can say about consistency. I'm open to doing the experiment again because in retrospect, ratio of soil volume to pot surface area does affect results, which you extrapolate from the graphs. That didn't occur to me during editing.
As for sand, many growers use it. Yes, we don't use it because of shipping weight. I plan to do a video about different soil substrates, though.
Stop wasting money on perlite dust clogging soil, 60%, you may as well go with none or 100%