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Does potting mix actually matter?

It does not seem too. I pot in any one of the following:
LFS
1:1 sphagnum peat moss to sand or perlite.
1 part sphagnum to one part perlite ot one part sand.
I get virtuallyt he same results. Some plants just like LFS or the the 1:1 ratio best.
 
I grow all my plants in either pure LFS or 50/50 LFS and orchid bark, and I've had no problems so far.
I certainly wouldn't consider faffing about with the equal-parts-of-eight-ingredients 'deluxe' mix recommended in a well-known book.
smile_m_32.gif
 
LFS and fine orchid bark for me, but it depends on the plant sometimes as well. I put my bical and truncata in more of a peaty mis with like LFS OB, peat and sand...
 
I use pure LFS, the new zealand kind or live sphagnum. Usually I just use LFS with live as top dressing. Works really good with my lowlands, two years and not a single problem.
 
I noticed no alge, mold or anything else seems to grow on LFS. (I noticed this for seed).
 
I've heard that live sphagnum moss has anti-fungal properties, which may account for that.
 
If the air is stale too long then it will grow mold and algea.
 
One forum member has had success in a somewhat controlled experiment using pine needles in the mix.
 
As long as your Nepenthes soil mix is aerated it should be happy, and of course nutrient deficent and somewhat acidic. So a mix of LFS and perlite would be great if it were a bit more acidic, so some folks in almost any CP mix must use a handful of peat moss to compensate. But of course, after time peat mosses acidity gets drained and you must repot, as is the case will any plant.
 
  • #10
charcoal should increase the ph.
 
  • #11
I have all my Neps in a "deluxe style" mix except for N. burbidgea x edwardsiana which is in live LFS. All the neps seem to do well.

The mix I use is approximately equal amounts of:

LFS
Peat/Sand mix
Perlite
Vermiculite
Smashed Lava rock
Horticultural Charcoal
Orchid Bark

For N. villosa, I also added smashed granite chips as recommended by Phil Faulisi.

I have a N. (maxima x fusca) x (spatulata x spectabilis) grown in this mix - now the plant has 10 inch pitchers and it was just a seed in January 2002. It's more likely the robustness of the hybrid than the mix, I imagine. I brought it to the recent NECPS meeting and I will link a photo here once Nathan updates the NECPS site.
 
  • #12
[b said:
Quote[/b] (lol @ May 16 2005,11:13)]charcoal should increase the ph.
Sorry, I think you got it mixed up there.
Peat 1, acidifies water and 2, softens it. Tanic acid.
charcoal 1, does not affect hardness of water 2, MaY to certain extend bring pH to neutral, in any case, does not do much harm.

Yes I agree soill mix should include peat for that type of environment. but 1 thing i'm not too sure about, is peat slightly too nuitritious a media as it consist of decayed plant matter doesnt it?
Also, for those who use 50% - 100% LFS, do you have problems with root rot or when the LFS decays. or do you use basket like containers with more aeration. I tend to use smaller %tage of LFS because My media tends to get slightly soggy...
 
  • #13
As one of the people who uses a lot of LFS, I've never had problems with root rot or the Sphag breaking down. I've heard of people having problems with Sphag going slimy, but I suspect that this happens either because of poor drainage or the water used not being as pure as it might be.
Although peat will acidify water, it can't soften it.
Also, I'm not not sure what the benefit of using granite chips in addition to lava chips is, as they're essentially the same substance. Lava rock is just molten granite that's been cooled quickly.
And finally, a question for those who use complicated mixes, do you find that the ingredients separate out, with the sand/lava/granite sinking and the perlite/vermiculite coming to the surface?
 
  • #14
WildBill soon as I have enough money I should try using your mix. Some of those ingredants are expensive (because you have to buy so much.
 
  • #15
I have some growing in pure LFS, and some growing in a 1:1 ratio of Orchid Mix (a mixture of bark, pebbles, and charcoal) and LFS.

Any nutrient-poor mix with excellent drainage seems to be fine.
 
  • #16
Here ya go, Wild Bill:

N.(maximaxfusca)x(spatulataxspectabilis)

20050514-CP-N.(maxima%20x%20fusca)x(spatulata%20x%20spectabilis)-pitcher.jpg


And there
20050514-CP-N.(maxima%20x%20fusca)x(spatulata%20x%20spectabilis).jpg


Although i don't doubt that you can grow a Nepenthes that large from seed in less than three years, Bill, i personally think you lost a year or something. First sign of senility is forgetting a year of your Nep's life.
smile_n_32.gif
 
  • #18
I double checked, I have 2 of these - hoping one is a male and one is a female. Both tags say, 'from seed Jan 02'. I wish all my neps would grow this fast. I just put that baby outside in an 18 inch coir lined hanging basket - in the "Deluxe Mix", of course.....

Oh yeah, that's my Ceph Hummer's Giant in the background.

Thanks for posting the pics Nathan!!

WildBill
 
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