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Post by NavyBrush on May 28, 2011 2:01:36 GMT
I recently acquired a bare-root N. Rajah. I was wondering what the best soil mix is. I was thinking a combination of the following: long-fiber sphagnum moss, perlite, vermiculite, charcoal, peat, red lava clay, silica sand, orchid bark, etc.
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Post by peterhewitt on May 28, 2011 12:26:00 GMT
That mix seems OK, if a little over done. It is not neccessary to add sand or Charcoal unless you really want to. Charcoal is used to keep the medium"Sweet" and is usually only needed if you use a lot of peat in your mix. (something I would recommend against)
A mix of LFS, Red lava clay and Orchid bark in equal parts should work well. I find N.Rajah likes a fairly high percentage of LFS in the mix.
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Post by Jeremiah on May 28, 2011 17:49:19 GMT
I have always just grown all my N. rajah in pure LFS if you can get some live growth on top they seem to love it.
I do like charcoal in other mixes since it lasts so long in damp conditions.
-Jeremiah-
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Post by hcarlton on May 28, 2011 23:19:29 GMT
That reminds me: what size would you say it is okay to repot a Nepenthes rajah? Mine is only about 3 1/2 inches across, but has been in the same pot for over a year now. It also hasn't changed size much at all. Is that normal?
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Post by peterhewitt on May 29, 2011 9:28:45 GMT
I'm sure Jeremiah will know better than I, but i think Rajah prefers to be in a large pot.
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Post by Jeremiah on May 30, 2011 3:42:59 GMT
When they are small I would repot once a year into a pot about the same size as the diameter of the plant. If it looks like the LFS as started to brake down then you know its time to repot. As long as you are gentle and just remove whatever soil just falls off it should not go into any shock.
-Jeremiah-
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Post by hcarlton on May 30, 2011 3:56:01 GMT
Will do. The plant is in a pot probably a bit overly large for the size (a foot across and about 15 inches deep, heh heh), but the LFS definitely appears to be breaking down. I'll try to find time to change the soil.
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Post by Jeremiah on May 30, 2011 3:59:44 GMT
Sometimes if the pot is way to big and you are using LFS the soil seems to stay overly wet depending on your growing conditions. If you are getting Sphagnum to grow on top then you are probably fine.
-Jeremiah-
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Post by hcarlton on May 30, 2011 5:47:29 GMT
 Does the sphagnum look healthy enough in this picture? Some of it has blackened since the pic was taken, though quite a bit is still green. |
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Post by Jeremiah on May 31, 2011 20:21:59 GMT
Hi,
If it were me I would repot it asap into a 4 to 6 inch pot and use 4 parts really high quality LFS with 1 part perlite.
it looks like it might like a little more light if possible.
If you ever get a chance and are down in the Springs and would like to see my greenhouses let me know.
-Jeremiah-
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Post by hcarlton on Jun 1, 2011 3:01:24 GMT
By the way, I should have mentioned that underneath the sphagnum on top is an airy peat moss mixture, not dead sphagnum. But even so, I'll try to find time to repot it into a smaller pot for now. Also, will do if I happen to head down to Colo. Springs!
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Post by hcarlton on Jun 2, 2011 1:56:57 GMT
I repotted the N. rajah today. Here's the picture below  The pot is about 8 inches wide, and the soil is now pure sphagnum |
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Post by nepenthes99 on Jun 4, 2011 15:06:01 GMT
Nepenthes Rajah is very slow growing. Don't be surprised if it seems to not to grow.
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Post by hcarlton on Jun 4, 2011 22:29:48 GMT
I think I'm already used to that. The plants scares me by "shrinking" every other month or so, but then grows out the leaf even more. There's been a fair share of halts in growth too.
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Post by Dave Evans on Jun 10, 2011 14:24:39 GMT
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