Question
 Hello,
  I recently received two Mexican Pinguicula's,         P. moctezumae and P. moranensis both were shipped in live sphagnum moss. I've planted them still in the live sphagnum moss in 2 parts perlite , 1 part silica sand, 1 part vermiculite, and 1 part peat moss. I've since read that mixing live sphagnum with more coarse inorganic mixtures will cause the sphagnum to rot leading to the death of the plant, any advice? Currently both specimens are doing well,and are kept indoors under lights.

  thanks,
   Guy


Answer
Hi Guy,

I tend to avoid using live and dried sphagnum moss with Mexican butterworts.  With live sphagnum, the butterwort can quickly get smothered by the sphagnum's rapid growth.  With dried sphagnum, the butterwort will rot out from too much moisture retention.  (Live sphagnum doesn't have the same issues of holding too much water and harboring fungal spores as dried sphagnum.)  The soil mix we use is 1 part peat moss, 1 part vermiculite and 2 parts perlite.

It's OK if you have a small amount of live sphagnum around the roots. If it grows rapidly, just pull it out.  Other than that, I don't see any potential problems.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin