QUESTION:My wife came home with perlite infused with Miracle-Gro. Is it safe to use for my Venus fly traps?(Submitted in May 2019.) RESPONSE BY JEFF DALLAS:No. What you can do, however, is take that perlite and rinse it several times in a bucket. The fertilizer is water soluble and will dissolve out. Pi

QUESTION: Why are the growing tips of my Nepenthes Deroose Alata basel cutting turning brown? I made this cutting in mid-March. It's in peat moss, and I water it with reverse-osmosis water. Is there anything wrong like a black stem rot or something else? It is on the windowsill. (Submitted in April 2021.)

QUESTION:I was trimming off last year's dead pitchers on my Sarracenia and noticed small black ants on the plants. They appear to be living IN the plant pots. Several came out of the peat when the sides of the pots were tapped. These plants are several years old and I plan to upgrade their pots this year.