kristerh
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Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:40 pm

how to prepare spaghnum moss to my venus flytrap ?

Not sure if this is the right section,

I have just bought a venus flytrap to hopefully minimize the flies in my growth area.
and it came in a very small pot , so thought I woould repot it .

So I have been to my forest and collecting some very pure spaghnum moss,
my question now is how to use this moss.

I have read so many ways people do so I'm quiet confused.

should I use it raw as it is , or should I dry it , or freeze it , or pour cooking water over it
to kill eventuell microorganism in it ?

the plan is to mix it with cacti soil and perlite.

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

If the venus fly trap is still small it is probably fine where it is. It does not grow all that quickly.

Wild collected sphagnum moss usually has a lot of rubbish in it so it will need to be cleaned. Then pour hot water over it to sterilize it and dry it again by spreading it out in a thin layer. Once it is dried it can be bagged and stored. I put boric acid in the bag because ants like to nest in it.

To reuse it take out only as much as you need. boil some water. pour it over the moss and leave it until the water is cold or overnight. Wring it out and whatever you don't use can be kept in a bag for about 6 mos. You don't want moss to grow on it. Spagnum moss is hard to wet so it is always dampened and wrung out before repotting.

P.S. Because sphagnum moss often has fungal spores in it. It is always recommended to use waterproof gloves when handling it.

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hendi_alex
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Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

I've grown Venus flytraps for several years. My containers are filled about 3/4 full of peat moss. The fly traps are placed and then sphagnum moss is used to fill in all around the plants and the space in between. My plant containers are always placed over bottom trays which are lined with small gravel. I think that the biggest enemy to the plants is build up of salts. Never use chlorinated water and flush with copious amounts of water several times during the growing season. Every couple of years replenish the potting material. I usually do this by adding rather than totally replacing.



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