Where can you get substrate for carnivorous plants?
You can get so-called carnivore soil in many hardware stores, but also in specialist garden centers. Sometimes it is also offered under the name Earth for carnivorous plants.
also read
- Repot carnivorous plants regularly
- Better never fertilize carnivorous plants!
- Care for carnivorous plants in the jar
If the trade does not have a substrate for carnivores in stock, orchid soil can also be used if necessary. However, this should not be fertilized if possible. Mix in some quartz sand (€ 14.90 on Amazon *) to loosen up the soil.
Put together soil for carnivorous plants yourself
Those who spend a little longer with breeding carnivores will quickly switch to mixing the substrate together themselves. Some materials are suitable for this:
- Peat (white peat)
- Peat moss
- Quartz sand
- gravel
- Expanded clay
- Coconut fiber
- Styrofoam balls
It is important that the substrate stores a lot of water, is nice and loose and offers the plants enough support.
The right mix
The basis for carnivore soil is always peat, preferably white peat. Peat is poor in nutrients, contains no lime and can store water well. At least half of the substrate should be peat.
Peat collapses over the months. That is why it makes sense to mix in quartz sand, small pebbles and some expanded clay (€ 17.50 at Amazon *). These materials keep the earth nice and loose.
To avoid the risk of the roots drying out, it is advisable to use some expanded clay as well. It stores the water particularly well.
Pour only with rainwater
The irrigation water for carnivorous plants is even more important than the substrate. They do not tolerate any lime, neither in the earth nor in water.
You should therefore always water carnivores with rainwater. If there is no rainwater at all, you can use still mineral water or distilled water.
Tap water is almost everywhere too hard and is therefore not suitable as irrigation water, even if it has been stale or boiled.
Tips
If you put together the soil for your carnivores yourself, make sure that you use unfertilized white peat. Often only pre-fertilized varieties are offered in the hardware store. These are not suitable for growing carnivorous plants.
