Question
Hello. I purchased perlite to repot my plants & just noticed it was Miracle Gro brand. The fertilizer analysis is: 0.04-0.01-0.06. Is this safe to use with pitcher plants, several (not rare)varieties? And at what percentage to mix with peat for repotting.
Thanks!

Answer
Miracle-Gro brand adds plant food to most of their products, including perlite and sphagnum peat moss, so the general feeling within the carnivorous plant community is to avoid Miracle-Gro products completely. Unless you can find a way to rid the perlite of the added fertilizer, it may be best not to use it.

When you find some other brand of perlite that does not have any additives, a standard proportion of perlite to sphagnum peat moss is 1:1, or 50% sphagnum peat moss to 50% perlite, by volume.

I prefer to use silica sand instead of perlite because I like the texture of the growing medium (and Venus Flytraps grow a little better in my opinion in mixes that include silica sand). But perlite is a fine ingredient in a carnivorous plant mix, so long as it has no nutrients added or has virtually all nutrients removed.

Please consider asking such questions at a carnivorous plant forum such as the two listed below.

FlytrapCare.com Forum
http://www.FlytrapCare.com/phpBB3/

CPUK Forum
http;//www.cpukforum.com/

Best wishes and happy growing!