Walked through the bog garden at Kew and ditched my clay pots forever

Was at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London last Thursday and saw how they kept their carnivorous plants in pure sphagnum in plastic nursery trays. Then I noticed the roots on a sundew were way healthier than any of mine sitting in terracotta. Has anyone else had better luck switching to plastic or mesh for bog plants?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_kai1d ago

Just switched all my sarracenia to those cheap mesh pond baskets and they went nuts within a month. The terracotta was probably leaching minerals into the soil and killing the fine roots. Pretty funny how we all think clay pots look nicer but the plants clearly don't care about aesthetics.

richardk2613h ago

My buddy Rick from the nursery tried terracotta for his sarracenia a couple years back and they just sat there doing nothing for months. He switched to those mesh baskets you're talking about and within 3 weeks they were putting out new pitchers like crazy. Honestly I think the airflow around the roots makes a bigger difference than people give it credit for, not just the mineral thing. Ngl I still keep some of mine in glazed ceramic just cause I like the look on my patio, but the baskets definitely win for growth.