Repotting nep seedlings

[ivopereira]

I have these Nepenthes splendiana x (spathulata x veitchii) seedlings that germinated in late April/early May, and they were not sown in the most correct way. They took a few months to germinate and in the times I sown them, I made some mistakes that I didn't realize at the time. I didn't have nothing besides pure peat to sow them and nothing to mix, and worse, when I sown I had the habit to compact the top soil a bit for the overall look of the pot to "look good" As a result, some of the seedlings died as the roots couldn't go deeper and started to grow upwards instead...
Now I'm about to move them under lights for the winter (I grew them at the windowsill so far) and I was thinking to repot them before the move before they get even worse. I have peat, dried lfs and some aquarium grit. The main mix I'm thinking of is peat and lfs, favouring lfs in it.
What do you think? Advices apreciated

This is their last group photo in October 21st, now there are a few more dead leaves

[Dave Evans]

There are severals ways to improve the health of these seedlings. 1) increase the humidity. 2) Lower the wetness level of the soil. 3) lower the lighting level slightly.

Spraying Nepenthes seedlings is not a good idea, unless they are out in the open and can dry off. Like you mentioned, compacting the soil is not good either. BTW, neither is spraying the soil down when sowing the seed. Instead, fill the pots up with damp soil and compact it, not by pushing on it from above, but by dropping the pot downward slighty so the soil at the bottom of the pot compacts, not the soil at the top. Sprinkle the seed on the soil surface and push each seed into the very loose soil so that it makes good contact with it. Do not spray them down at this point, instead set the pots in water and the soil will draw up the right amount of water because it is not compacted and it will also hold a lot of air providing the roots with enough oxygen to grow strong and quickly. Keep the soil surface at about 95% humidity until the seedlings have grow out two or more leaves. Then they can be transplanted.

Your's look like they were ready for tranplanting, but you said they have been getting weaker... Not sure if they would transplant well in a weakened state...

[Brian Barnes]

Hi! Your roots are growing upwards because they are looking for air! I notice you have them in a pure peat mix that appears to be VERY compacted. I germinate all of my Nepenthes in finely chopped live spaghnum which is pretty "airy". Then, once there's three to four leaves, they go into a half peat-half perlite mix. This "airy" mix seems to work well for me here in Florida, promoting a very healthy root system and hence....a happy plant! :)If i were you, I would try to transplant maybe two of them to see how they handle it first.