Repotting Nepenthes

[cvistisen]

When repotting small Nepenthes into larger pots, is it better to try to remove the old soil or keep the original root ball intact as much as possible. The new soil I plan to use will be a substantially different mixture than what they are currently growing in.

[maraxas]

If the plant is one I bought potted, or if it has been in it's current pot a very long time, I remove most of the old soil. I do this because either I dont like the medium it was planted in when I got it, or becasue the soil has become compacted and is not as airy as it used to be.
Just be careful when handling the roots, especially on younger plants. (Which probably dont need to be repotted anyway.)

If it is a plant that is growing quicker than I imagined and I am just giving it a bigger pot then i try not to disturb the roots as much. (I.E. hasn't been in its current pot very long)

I haven't lost one after repotting yet.

[cvistisen]

Thank you. These plants were bought potted in coco fiber and I just don't care for the material. They are currently in three inch pots and are growing rapidly so I would like to plant them in pots that are more suitable for their size. I have a couple N. madagascariensis that I bought bare root and I am groing them in a mixture of roughly equal parts of fine orchid bark, perlite, vermiculite, long fiber sphagnum, sphagnum peat and sand and they are doing well. I also transplanted
a N. ventricosa and N. sanguinia into the same mixture (without removing the old media) and they are growing like crazy.

I guess when I repot this time I won't bother trying to remove the old media as long as it is still in good condition.

[rsivertsen]

I remove the old media only if it has become infested with pests such as snails, slugs, millipedes, etc., or if it has become anaerobic, and detritus has set in, (reducing the media to rotting compost); this is almost always lethal to plant's roots, and not always obvious.

I then spray the bare roots with distilled water to clean off any harmful remains, and possible eggs. If you can observe healthy white tipped roots on your seedlings, then I would advise to keep the roots as undisturbed as possible.

I use a similar size pot (in which they are grown) to make a form in the new pot, by firmly packing the new potting media around the empty pot, and then lifting it out to reveal a perfectly matched pit into which you can place your seedling (into this newer, larger pot). I also prefer to water the plants, especially seedlings with warm room temperature water, (about 85-90F) instead of the cold water right out of the tap, if possible.

[Michael Catalani]

Most of the neps I received were bareroot, but the few that were potted or had soil I usually replaced the soil, especially if they contained sand.

Someone shipped me a potted nep one time that was growing in a peat and sand based medium. The plant didnt look great, so I went to repot it. The problem was that the peat and sand mix around the roots was in a solid chunk that would not re-wet, causing water to drain past the root are very quickly. The medium had probably been allowed to dry out a bit too much in the past, and the peat/sand mix became like a piece of concrete. Since then I have always replaced the medium completely any nep that was shipped to me in a peat/sand based medium.

[Clint]

I remove the old soil and repot it like any other plant. Unless it's some extra sensitive species like N. bellii or N. bicalcarata.

[maraxas]

Yeah, I personally don't like it when my plants come in a mix containing sand, or when they come with nothing but a mulch looking substance as a certain grower uses.

[trimen1000]

maraxas said:

Yeah, I personally don't like it when my plants come in a mix containing sand, or when they come with nothing but a mulch looking substance as a certain grower uses.

Ya... I just finished repotting a few Nepenthes that had some bad mediums... Removed almost everything. One thing I wasn't happy about though was that there were some very long pieces of wood in it. It was difficult to remove some it.

[maraxas]

Yes that's what I'm talking about. Now imagine that it is entirely planted in long pieces of wood. Some of the wood even had a white mold on it! Luckily the mold wasn't near the roots.


One word of caution: If you get the plants potted and not bare root I would put them in your tank/greenhouse/windowsill for at least a week to a month to let them adjust before you re-pot them.

[cvistisen]

Thanks to you all for your advice. I've only been growing Nepenthes for only about nine months now. To be honest, the thought of trying to grow these plants was rediculous to me. However, I received a N. ventricosa as a free plant and because of the success I've had with it I'm totally hooked. I now have 15 plants of 13 different species and all but one are thriving i.e. producing healthy looking new growth and pitchers with good levels of digestive fluids and nectar.