Question
Group Shot
Hello there! I have been growing nepenthes for about a year now. My question here is regarding the soil mixture that I am currently using. I use a mix of almost equal parts of each of the following. sphagnum peat moss, perlite, fine vermiculite, orchid coco chips. I live in the Republic of Panama. My plants grow outside year round, 85 - 90 degrees C during the day and down to 74 degrees C at night. Humidity here is very constant, 55-70 during the day, 85+ during the night. The reason I am writing this is because I don't really know if my soil mix is airy enough. When I look at nepenthes websites or at forum pictures I notice that people use much airier mixes for their neps that have no "dirt like" appearance whatsoever. I'm talking about mixes that include sphagnum moss, coco chips, orchid bark, charcoal, pumice, lava rock, and such. These mixes look like they drain very quickly and maintain a moisture and airiness that the plant really enjoys. It also seems to me that this way one can water the plants more often refreshing the roots more constantly. With my plants I don't think I can water that often, my mix drains well, but it seems to hold a lot of water and it will stay moist for days upon days at a time. I do not water them that much. Do you think it would be a smart thing to repot all these plants into a mix that allows for more air to get to the roots? Take your mix for example, I have bought several plants from you guys and your mix is much faster at drainage than mine is, it holds moisture but also allows for more constant watering. I just worry sometimes that my plants roots are not getting enough air and that the soil mix I'm using can cause root rot. So far nothing bad has happened but I was just wondering what advice you had on this.
Another question regards repotting. Young nepenthes tend to have thin stems, and as they grow their stem gets thicker and thicker. However, as their stem gets thick, the lower part stays thin and will probably not be able to hold the plant. I'm afraid that it can snap due to the weight of the rest of the plant. How do I tackle this? Should I repot and bury the stem? I really am clueless.
I hope my questions and comments are clear, thank for reading and I hope to get a reply from you guys soon.
Have a nice day.
Ricardo
AnswerHi Ricardo,
I want to commend you for thinking this through. As you've noticed, your watering schedule depends a lot on the type of soil you're using. If you're accustomed to watering less frequently, then you will need a soil mix that has higher water retention. We use a very airy and well draining mix because we tend to water more frequently, especially during the summer months. Our humidity drops as low as 12%, so we need a soil mix that will withstand daily top watering.
Your soil mix is fine for your particular purpose. Judging from your photograph, your plants are also growing very well. They have nice healthy leaves and pitchers. None of them exhibit the classic signs of excessively wet soil (blacking growing tips).
If anything, I'd amend your soil mix by eliminating vermiculite. Vermiculite is used mostly as water retention. You're already accomplishing this by using sphagnum peat moss.
Overall, I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to soil. I don't think it's necessary to have lots of ingredients as some growers do. Four ingredients is the most I'd put into a mix. Most of our soil mixes have only two ingredients. A friend of mine in Hawaii grows his Nepenthes in just coconut husk and pumice. He lives in an area that rains almost every day. His Nepenthes are some of the largest and most beautiful I've ever seen, so his soil mix is appropriate.
I recommend that you at least experiment with various soil mixes if you wish to amend your current mix. We must have gone through at least 5 different soil mixes before coming up with the our current mix (1 part dried sphagnum moss and 3 parts coconut husk). For us, the soil mix had to have moderate water retention, provide optimal aeration, stand up to top watering and be light enough to ship through the mail.
So if you're happy with your mix and your watering schedule, keep it. There's no need to fix what is already working well for you. Otherwise, select a few plants to try out your own soil recipes.
When repotting very young plants, you can bury the lower portions of the stem to provide more stability. We do this frequently with our plants. Overtime, the plant will produce roots along side of the buried stem. In any case, you don't need to worry about stems breaking. I've never seen a stem break from large overgrowth. Nepenthes produce tendrils that will wrap around nearby objects to support itself.
Good growing!
Jacob Farin
