Question
Is miracle gro sphagnum peat moss and perlite safe soil for me to grow my Sarracenia pitcher plants.  I just bought my plants and went to Walmart to get the soil requirements...I noticed that the miracle gro blends are enriched with miracle gro plant food.  Will this harm my plants?

Answer
Hello Mahadji,

Yes, any kind of fertilizers will harm carnivorous plants and will kill them eventually according to species and concentration of fertilizer. The best sphagnum peat mos to use would be the bales of plastic wrapped dry moss that comes in 1 or 2 foot cubes found in nurseries and garden centers. Those bales usually have lettering like Premium Canadian or Black Gold on them and are unfertilized sphagnum peat moss. The perlite could pose the same problem if it is a brand name like Miracle Gro that places fertilizer in most of their products. Check out the perlite information and call their company up and ask if they have fertilizer in the perlite. If they do, use it only for non-carnivorous plants. If the perlite does not contain fetilizers, then you will be able to use it with your carnivorous plants. A 1:1 ratio of perlite and sphagnum peat moss is a good mix for Sarracenias. You can also go the sure route and buy premixed soils from online companies specializing in carnivorous plants. Two good companies would be cobraplant.com and californiacarnivores.com.

Christopher