Question
I have a question about perlite.  I have noticed that in your standard soil mixture that you use 1 part peat to 1 part perlite; however, I have read others suggest using 1 part peat and 1 part sand.  Why do you like perlite better?  The reason why I am asking is because I just bought a few venus flytraps, one sarracenia purpurea, and one drosera (?) from Lowe's which I am trying to harden off in their plastic cubes.  I have nearly a full bail of peat and several bags of play sand and was wondering if that would make a suitable planting medium for my new plants.  I'm having trouble finding perlite that is not contaminated with Miracle Grow.  Could I use the sand and peat mix or will finding good perlite make a big difference?

Answer
Hi Chris,

We recommend perlite over sand because of several reasons:

1) Perlite is much easier to work with.  Four cubic feet of it weighs only 30 pounds.  Four cubic feet of sand weighs 400 pounds!  Growers who have a lot of plants, like we do, simply need a lighter product.

2) Perlite offers better soil aeration than sand.

3) Perlite is inert and doens't impart any minerals into the soil.  Since sand is really a generic term for any finely ground rock, it isn't always inert and may contain too many contaminants.  The only sand that regard as safe for carnivorous plants is silica sand.  Play sand is too generic and can sometimes be beach sand or desert sand, both of which are not appropriate types of sand for plants.  Unless the package says silica sand, I'd avoid using it.

If you can't find perlite that is free of fertilizers, then use small pumice instead.  Pumice is inert and offers soil aeration and drainage.  Like sand, however, it's very heavy.  But it's almost always free of contaminants.  

Good growing!
Jacob Farin