Question
Dear Sarracenia Northwest,
About a year or two ago, I ordered a drosera capensis regular form from you guys.  It's growing great and it's time for me to repot my plant.  I went to our local plant nursery and got the ingredients for the soil (1 part spaghnum peat moss to 1 part perlite) that you reccomended.  I bought horticultural Perlite and Spaghnum Peat Moss.  when I got home, I realized the bag with the Peat Moss in it said that it was fortified with Miracle Gro fertilizer. It says the ingredients are Spaghnum peat moss and miracle Gro fertilizer.  I took a look at the analysis of the soil on the bag and found that it only contained 0.05% total nitrogen (0.02% Ammoniacal Nitrogen and 0.03 Nitrate Nitrogen), 0.02% available phosphate, and 0.04% Soluble potash.  It also said at the top of the bag to add Dolomitic Limestone with each mix for P.H. control.  Can I use this Peat Moss for my plants and do I need to add Dolomitic Limestone to the soil when I mix it?
                           Thanks,
                                 Kendall

Answer
Hi Kendall,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but these will kill your plant.  It's best to save those for some regular plants.  Dolomite lime increases pH and carnivorous plants like their media acidic.

To mix your own media you need to buy peat moss in small bales.  If you can't find unfortified perlite, use washed sand or pumice.  For a Cape Sundew, pure peat would be ok too.  You can also order pre-mixed soil from carnivorous plant dealers such as us or others.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com