Acidity for nepenthes

[raymond]

I have read that nepenthes prefer neutral to acid conditions. I have a nepenthes sanguiena growing in 100% LFS. Is this OK or will they grow better in more neutral conditions. Also, does my growing medium drain well enough. Its has recovered very quickly in its current conditions so I am not worried, I just want to clear up some confusion that I have.

 

[BigBella]

Most Nepenthes enjoy an acidic environment, often as low as pH 4 and some highlanders -- especially as seedlings -- succumb above pH 6; though there are some species which actually prefer alkaline soils.

Whether or not your media drains sufficiently is entirely up to you; but a mix to make your compost more porous may be helpful (the addition of pumice, cedar bark, coir, etc.) . . .

 

[nightsky]

I've found that in my conditions, the single best media mix is just half and half LFS and perlite. I do have to water a lot, every 2 days, but it works well. Pure LFS might tend to stay wet and break down/compact which will surely kill the plant, but once again it depends on your conditions. To be safe, I personally would do as big bella says and mix some porous media into it.

 

[thez_yo]

Pour coffee through your neps pots 2ish times a year.. that ought to bump the acidity up. Careful to flush it afterwards though because it might make the lfs rot, and definitely agree with BigBella that you should include something inert and chunky to provide some lightness to your potting mix so it doesn't clump up and choke out the roots by being too dense. Roots need both water and air so you don't want it completely water-logged.

 

[raymond]

How do I mix in the aggregates?
I thought repotting will stress the neps.

 

[31drew31]

You will have to repot. It's better to upset the plant for a few months, than to have clogged media which will be the end of the plant.