Nepenthes Cultivation 101

[rainforest]

This will begin a thread to introduce nepenthes cultivation as viewed as just another ornamental. Viewers are to leave behind the idea that these plants are carnivorous and treat all growing aspects as if these were African Violets or even orchids.
Photos will accompany as much text as possible to illustrate ideas and concepts. No where will there be any discussion of what your nepenthes likes to eat. These are plainly chlorophyll-base angiosperm life forms and should be treated as such.

Michael

[rainforest]

Let's begin this topic with soil. Nepenthes come from a wide variety of growing situations, from marshy wet soils to hot humid sunny regions with roots almost submerged in water below, to xerophytic limestone crevices and epiphytic culture with roots embedded in moss, to growing in soils of ultramafic to limestone and even coral. To copy these conditions in a singular media would be impossible.
But we should first look at what a nepenthes soil media should do. In all of these situations, the soil is where roots are placed down and for some degree used as a support to anchor the plant until established for vining or creeping and so on. The media for juvenile plants must be able to be easily saturated evenly and thoroughly, allow some water to remain to give nepenthes time to absorb moisture, and also dry out somewhat either seasonally or daily. And while most literature cites that nepenthes come from low nutrient soils, I am going against this philosophy. I am of the belief that nepenthes, while their soils are not rich, do contain nutrients either periodically or radically hit and miss. Many come from volcanic soils which may initially be sterile soon becomes habitat for other plant-algae-lichen colonies which do attract higher forms of vegetation that adds nutrients to the landscape.
The roots of nepenthes is very fine and distichous and branches out encompassing everything it can wrap over. Their roots intermingle every crevice and grabs onto every particle and outline of where it is growing. This trait is not that of a plant growing in a nutrient poor region, but rather a trait for a plant to be opportunists at every expense given to them. The additional benefit of "carnivory" is just an "additional" means to get nutrients, primarily nitrogen, which may be the least available nutrient present. And while nitrogen is important as a building block for growth, the plant doesn't require large amounts of this for proper growth. Phophorus is an important nutrient for stem development, as is also used for fueling anthocyanins for making colors in their leaves, pitchers, and is an important fuel for flowering and seed-setting.
The fine network of roots also suggest that these filter very fine particles of nutrients in the form of a soluble liquid solution, evident in many regions where water flows freely due to periodic rainfall. Rainwater is often acidic and this also aids in dissolving nutrients that makes absorption from these fine feeder roots possible. These important traits help us get these nutrients to the plant for absorption. Aside from nutrients being washed by rainfall, oxygen is also very high in rainwater. Did you ever notice how plants just perk up and look alive when it rains? Like their stems, leaves and shoots just erect or in odd formations that is not usually seen on a daily basis or even after hand watering. Water from a rain is also ionized, charged with electricity and I believe this also helps plants absorb nutrients in very low quantities so that the plants get every drop of nutrient available.

Back to choosing a soil.
Your media should be able to last. Since nepenthes can live for a very long time, it should be able to withstand soil compaction and erosion. A media comprised of organic and inorganic components work best. The use of a bark extract compost (bark mulch, bark chips, fine dust of outer tree skin, or mixed compost) is a good beginning. This should be well moistened and perhaps in a beginning phase of decomposition. Fresh media out of a bag is usually not a good idea as it may be impermeable to water and or contain items present that is not beneficial for nepenthes.
Be sure your bark source is reputable. Bark from some myrtaceae tend to produce toxins which is present in their plant parts that prevent other species from establishing properly. To be safe, avoid medias made from eucalyptus, guava, paper bark and other bottle brush species. Bark from Grevillea also have properties that may depress growth from nepenthes too.
All bark medias should contain some inorganic components such as cinders (volcanic ash) or river sand to loosen the mix. Avoid beach sand, although some species do thrive in it, for the most part these is too much salt present for nepenthes to grow well.

LFS (Long Fiber Sphagnum) for many is the preferred media. This has some benefits as it retains moisture without being overly saturated. The downfall is where fertilizing and nutrients are considered. The salts and chemical properties can wipe out live moss instantly. And added nutrients can also decompose this media rapidly. LFS is best used in a container that has adequate aeration and able to wet, and drain freely.

Coco bark is frequently used, but may contain high quantities of sea water salt or even other compounds present. This media comes in various grades from chunks to fine dust (coir or coco peat). This should be well wetted and stored moist before use. This media really decomposes rapidly and will either need to be replaced periodically or amended at regular intervals. The addition of perlite-pumice will greatly help break up the poor quality, but on some, these particles settles to the bottom while the coco muck floats above it like an odd jello-mold.

I am of the opinion that the false staghorn fern, if grounded and composted will make an excellent media. Nepenthes in habit are always growing best near or with this fern and the fern itself may house some important microbial action in the roots.

M