Acclimating your new Nepenthes

[nepsaroundthehouse]

This thread will discuss and provide information for acclimatizing new Nepenthes upon purchasing. Nepenthes can arrive fresh from fragile tissue culture up to bullet proof hardened adults. Properly potting up your new Nepenthes and acclimatizing it can make all the difference from good growth to quick death.

[nepsaroundthehouse]

When acclimating Nepenthes, the less disruption of their roots and environment the better. A common problem for me is transplant shock from new arrivals. Greenhouse hardened off Nepenthes that are well established generally show little, if any, transplant shock. What is common is pitcher loss. Because I grow outdoors in lower humidity, new arrivals will let the pitchers brown and die as the plant adjusts. The emergence of the new leaves are usually thicker and waxier and the tendrils thicker. Then once acclimated the plant will go to the task of producing pitchers.

Sometimes Nepenthes arrive to a distributor from over seas and then sold before they have had months to settle in to their new environment. While the Nepenthes still look good, they can go into shock upon potting them up. Leaves wilt and the edges darken and the whole plant looks sad. Increased humidity will help until the plant adjusts to its new location. Sometimes the plant will never recover and die. Other times it will look sad for a few weeks then adjust with new growth. It may not pitcher for a few months but the plant will be alive and well.

One way to avoid transplant shock is to buy well established Nepenthes shipped in pots or with minimal root disturbance. Usually if they're not in a pot, the rootball is well wrapped in sphagnum moss in a ziploc baggie to hold humidity. Then when I get the plant, I pot it up with as little root disturbance as possible.

Finally, some Nepenthes don't ship well regardless of what precautions you take. I've purchased multiple plants of the same kind and 1 will die from shock while the other two are fine. So loss does happen. If shock does occur, don't give up. Nepenthes are pretty tough and bounce back even if they look beat up.