Carnivorous plant soil recommendations

If I'm using Turface MVP - what would I mix it with? Or are people using it straight?

I did notice some mention of 50/50 Turface MVP and perlite - but I'm confused why the perlite? Is that to add extra aeration to the soil and make it less packed? Or some other benefit?

Or what else would people mix Turface MVP with - assuming you hated the mess of peat moss or sand...lol. LFS? Or other things?

jeff said:
see also this info in french desolate
Click to expand...
Aha - thanks!

I'm not Canadian, hence I don't read French..*embarassed* - anyway, google translate for me:

P1010007 (1).png
 
victorhooi said:
Would you suggest trying 100% Turface for them, or what else would I mix it with? (I'm trying to avoid all the mess from peat moss/sand, in particular).
Click to expand...
For Mexican pings, just use 100% fine pumice (thanks @Smilodonichthys!) if you want to keep it simple and low maintenance. I switched to this pumice only, bottom watering setup 6 months ago and all of my Mexican pings have never been happier. The pumice should be about 3-4 inch deep, sitting in 1-2 cm 0ppm water (I filter mine with zerowater filter). The only modifications I did were adding a 0.5 to 1cm layer of 1) sand on the top for those very small pings, or 2) small crushed lava rock on the top for those pings that are more prone to rot and prefer the surface to be dry.
 
victorhooi said:
If I'm using Turface MVP - what would I mix it with? Or are people using it straight?

I did notice some mention of 50/50 Turface MVP and perlite - but I'm confused why the perlite? Is that to add extra aeration to the soil and make it less packed? Or some other benefit?

Or what else would people mix Turface MVP with.
Click to expand...

Turface on its own doesn't wick water up all that well and drys fast. That is unless you're using a very shallow pot like 2 inches and you bottom water frequently. I've grown a pot of ehlersiae like that, and they were happy.

That's why I use it in my top layer only. Stays dryer on top, but the roots can access the moisture in the peat based layer in the middle of the pots.

It is a little flat so the pieces can kind of settle, so mixing it with something else of a different shape would be beneficial for aeration. I personally wouldn't use perlite and instead would try to find something like pumice to mix with it. If you're trying to go for a full mineral mix.

I don't have a good source for pumice here... So if I want substantial quantity I'm paying about a hundred bucks for 20 l
 
kcskou said:
For Mexican pings, just use 100% fine pumice (thanks @Smilodonichthys!) if you want to keep it simple and low maintenance. I switched to this pumice only,
Click to expand...
Haha - don't tell me that - I've already ordered two 40L bags of Turface MVP last week...:eek:

I was under the impression that Turface, Perlite, Pumice etc were somewhat interchangeable - as in, they served similar purposes as soil additives, but just with slightly different properties in terms of particle sizing, aeration, water retention etc?

Although then I see people mixing Turface/Akadama with Perlite, and I'm curious why?

Anyway - I'm still trying to figure out what to do - it seems like the Pinguiculas might do OK in 100% Turface MVP, which gives me something to use it for.

I also happen to have a lot of LFS (i.e. dried sphagnum moss) around as well.

Would a 1:1 mix of LFS and Turface MVP mix work, for things like VFTs, Droseras, and Nepenthes?

Or is it still worth heading out to buy some bags of perlite from the hardware store as well?
 
victorhooi said:
I was under the impression that Turface, Perlite, Pumice etc were somewhat interchangeable - as in, they served similar purposes as soil additives, but just with slightly different properties in terms of particle sizing, aeration, water retention etc?
Click to expand...
I don’t have experience with Turface so I can’t speak to that. But I actually switched from using perlite to pumice for my Mexican pings and will never go back. I have lost a few pings to perlite due to water management issues (either too dry or too wet even when I monitor it daily and only top water when it is almost dried out, as confirmed by poking a wooden stick through to the bottom then feeling for moisture between the fingers). Pumice on the other hand seems more forgiving as it wicks and retains water and air more consistently than perlite - I did not need to monitor it closely and even when I let the tray dry out completely for a couple days, the pings are still happy and I have not lost any to pumice yet. There are other reasons why pumice is superior to perlite: 1) More durable and reusable, 2) Not as dusty (health hazard), 3) Heavier so harder to tip over pots, 4) Does not float to the top easily when you water, 5) Looks more natural as background for pings, 6) Less algae growth to remove/clean. 7) Less likely to cause salinity issue due to its low CEC (One time I measured the EC for those cheap bags of MiracleGro perlite and it was way higher than any carnivorous plants can tolerate). If it is available and reasonably priced where you are, it is a no-brainer to get pumice instead of perlite.
 
Last edited:
Turface isn't inert, so some minerals will leech from it. Fine for Pinguicula and maybe a few Nepenthes mixed with other stuff but I'd say not good for Drosera and VFT.

I still use peat and perlite for Drosera, VFT, some Heliamphora, some Utricularia and Cephalotus, so if you are growing those, good old perlite is nice to have around.
 
Last edited:
kcskou said:
I don’t have experience with Turface so I can’t speak to that. But I actually switched from using perlite to pumice for my Mexican pings and will never go back. I have lost a few pings to perlite due to water management issues (either too dry or too wet even when I monitor it daily and only top water when it is almost dried out, as confirmed by poking a wooden stick through to the bottom then feeling for moisture between the fingers). Pumice on the other hand seems more forgiving as it wicks and retains water and air more consistently than perlite - I did not need to monitor it closely and even when I let the tray dry out completely for a couple days, the pings are still happy and I have not lost any to pumice yet. There are other reasons why pumice is superior to perlite: 1) More durable and reusable, 2) Not as dusty (health hazard), 3) Heavier so harder to tip over pots, 4) Does not float to the top easily when you water, 5) Looks more natural as background for pings, 6) Less algae growth to remove/clean. 7) Less likely to cause salinity issue due to its low CEC (One time I measured the EC for those cheap bags of MiracleGro perlite and it was way higher than any carnivorous plants can tolerate). If it is available and reasonably priced where you are, it is a no-brainer to get pumice instead of perlite.
Click to expand...
Just btw, MiracleGro perlite has added fertilizer. Any other brand should be good for CPs. I use 100% perlite(+ sand topdressing) for cephs and it works great
 
Miracle grow puts a bit of fertilizer to every product they make.

I think this is their branding motto and justify their high pricing. One note. I saw a vft nusery in South africa adding a couple of slow release osmocote fertizler balls to each little venus flytrap they mass produce and sell..it is dropped at the bottom of the root when the make up the little selling pot.This is their trade secret the guy says. I did do the same this year on a few expenadle vfts and it did no harm...maybe even help with better growth
 
King Karnivores said:
Just btw, MiracleGro perlite has added fertilizer.
Click to expand...
Thanks for pointing that out - no wonder my Drosera is dying even after I triple rinsed the substrate after I potted it up. I only realized I forgot to wash the perlite after I had mixed it with the peat moss and thought passing some filtered 0ppm water through it is enough to get rid of the salts.
 
jackie quan said:
Miracle grow puts a bit of fertilizer to every product they make.

I think this is their branding motto and justify their high pricing. One note. I saw a vft nusery in South africa adding a couple of slow release osmocote fertizler balls to each little venus flytrap they mass produce and sell..it is dropped at the bottom of the root when the make up the little selling pot.This is their trade secret the guy says. I did do the same this year on a few expenadle vfts and it did no harm...maybe even help with better growth
Click to expand...
Did you try to apply the fertilizer at vtf seedling roots ? they are so small...
 
I once sold a drosera paradoxa, substrate was a mix of peat/perlite. The buyer had difficulties to keep the plant thriving, so she put the paradoxa on stratum and there were some improvement, enough for her to be able to sell it !!!

Any of you use stratum on droseras ?
 
coconut said:
Any of you use stratum on droseras ?
Click to expand...
I'm actually using 100% Fluval Stratum for a lot of my plants at the moment - I have a mixture of Droseras, VFTs, Nepenthes, Sarracenias and Darlingtonias in them. Heliamphora and Cephalotus are meant to do well in them - but I've had a few hits and misses with those plants, not sure if it's the medium or something else.

(Yes, the Fluval Stratum is a bit dry at the moment - it's around 30°C in Sydney, and very dry...)

PXL_20250927_001124277.MP.jpg


PXL_20250927_001120574.MP.jpg


PXL_20250927_001114694.MP.jpg

I think I did measure the water runoff from the Fluval Stratum at one point - it was possibly 50ppm? (Although it wasn't a very scientific test - I only took a single sample. I should repeat it again).

The main drawback (for me) with Fluval Stratum is that it does tend to break down, or crumble a bit over time. If you knock over a pot of the stuff, it's better than knocking over peat moss or sand, as you can pick up some of the intact granules - but if you accidentally crush those granules...ugh....black dust everywhere. On the whole though, I find it easier to work with than soil etc.

That's why I was looking into the Turface MVP - I figured it would be a bit more durable, and not crumble into dust if you crush it. But yeah, the opinion on that seems to be mixed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top