Nepenthes Net Pots

[NemJones]

With it being Black friday and all, Im gonna go and see if any of the remaining garden stores
around town will have anything worth a look. However, Ive been really curious to see how
these netted Hydroponics pots work for nepenthes. Does anybody use these/have any information
on using them for tropical pitchers? MY pots are constantly moist and with every new day,
I fear that the IRS will come for my plants. (Insidious Rot Syndrome.)
Will the net pots help/are they good for these plants?

 

[CephFan]

Hi,

I use these for Cephalotus. 5"-6" sized pots sold for ponds rather than hydroponics. They are pretty expensive in UK garden centres but I buy mine from eBay suppliers.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[corky]

Looks like exactly the same as I use,also from a hydroponic supplier. Wish I had got square ones so that small plants took up less room apart from that I am happy with them

 

[Ngantnier]

Yes they work and should cut down on rot. I use these almost exclusively and I need to water every day or two.

 

[SubRosa]

There are hanging baskets intended for certain orchids that are constructed in this fashion.

 

[Welshy]

Well they do say nepenthes should be planted in an open airy mix, and these pots certainly allow air to get round the roots which surely has to be a good thing ? All my nepenthes are potted in 23cm square mesh pond baskets, which are cheap on ebay, and i've had no problems so far.
What i have noticed though, is American growers seem to have access to much more open pots, like in the photo above, and square ones too. But in the UK, all i can seem to find are the much finer mesh pond baskets which restricts airflow a lot more.

 

[rdlsreno]

That is what I use!

Ramon

 

[saturniid]

I have had a N. x ventrata in a 6" mesh pot (similar to the original post) for over 5 years. It sits on the bottom level of a 4 level light tower and has one shoot (of several) that is over 6' long winding though the shelf slats and lights. It does tend to dry out rather quickly so to deal with this, it sits in a tray that holds the excess water after a typical once a week soaking. Usually 1/2" or so. When i see the tray dry I water again. Because of how well this plant has grown and my need to rely on tray watering I plan to shift over more of my Neps into mesh pots as I transplant them.

 

[corky]

Welshy they are available at growell hydroponics they have three holes in the rim (if not drill em) and are easily converted into hanging baskets I have done this with a couple.

 

[Welshy]

Ah yeah so they do, shame they don't do the square ones though as they are much better space savers. Although i may get a few round ones for hanging, so cheers for the heads up mate.

 

[NemJones]

What would be the best size? It sounds like 5" or 6"

 

[RSS]

I'm using some 4" pond filter baskets for my Neps, basically a net pot just not labeled as one. Water does not cause root rot, lack of airflow + a few other things is the issue. Open mediums help with all this, I've grown many Nep seedlings in 2 oz solo cups with a few drainage holes in the bottom for example without any issues. I've had every Nep in the setup below grow its roots down into the water. In that photo the flood/drain tank is currently flooded shortly after the photo was taken the water level was returned to just above the white egg crate platform leaving all those Nep roots UNDERWATER forever just like they grew there of there own will.

I will likely move over a few seedling over the next year to some homemade semi-hydroponics pots for a test run (the exact opposite of the direction you are going).

One of the reasons I love the CP hobby, so many correct ways to grow them.


DSC_0772 by randallsimpson, on Flickr

 

[Sashoke]

Nem, may I suggest you simply make your own pots? Itll be cheaper and you can make it any color/shape/size you like.
Im considering making some pots out of PVC pipe, it looks very simplistic and contemporary, but for this occasion you could simply drill/burn a lot of holes in any pot really and get the same desired effect. It could look quite artsy if done correctly, you could even make some patterns in the holes that go up the pot.

 

[Sashoke]

So I drew a thing in GIMP as an illustration/example of what I mean. You could do something like this all over the pot for good aeration while keeping the aesthethics of the pot elegant.(And yes I got carried away drawing the Hamata )

 

[DragonsEye]

In addition to hydroponic stores, some orchid vendors/suppliers carry such pots. Don't know whether that would be cheaper than a hydroponics store as I have never checked. I tend to buy pots like that when I'm at orchid shows. I know I've mentioned these folks before but ...
Roberts Flower Suppy -- http://www.orchidmix.com/cat7.htm

 

[NemJones]

Thanks everybody, I definately think im going to upgrade to net pots when I find them.
And sash, I would love to drill holes and such, but Im not gonna risk root drilling and plastic shards lol.

However.. the resemblance is STRIKING.

 

[Sashoke]

LOL. They must be siblings! ;D

I meant a new pot lol, I dont suggest drilling into a pot your plant is already in!
Here is a tip, if your drill sucks like mine does (its from like 1995) and the plastic pots just shatter or crack when you try to drill, burn holes in it with a screw driver. I just set the tip of it on the stove burner for a minute or so then take it off and it melts through the plastic like butter. Careful not to inhale the fumes if you do this.

If you have an induction oven I imagine a candle would work just as well, just might take longer.

 

[theplantman]

In a pinch, I will often take standard plastic nursery pots and slash them vertically with a razorblade/boxcutter/exacto knife. As long as the cuts are vertical, they won't interfere with structural integrity.

I definitely prefer as much aeration as you can get with Neps, orchids, antplants, or any epiphyte. Since the downside is drying out, you can adjust your watering, humidity, and the organic matter in your media to compensate for this.

Let me also add that the Atlanta Botanical Garden is quite famous for its collections of Nepenthes, orchids, and epiphytes. I noticed that plastic net pots are all they use.

And here's a kicker--on D. adelae, too!

 

[NemJones]

In a pinch, I will often take standard plastic nursery pots and slash them vertically with a razorblade/boxcutter/exacto knife. As long as the cuts are vertical, they won't interfere with structural integrity.

I definitely prefer as much aeration as you can get with Neps, orchids, antplants, or any epiphyte. Since the downside is drying out, you can adjust your watering, humidity, and the organic matter in your media to compensate for this.

Let me also add that the Atlanta Botanical Garden is quite famous for its collections of Nepenthes, orchids, and epiphytes. I noticed that plastic net pots are all they use.

And here's a kicker--on D. adelae, too!

Wow thank man. I didnt think of vertical cuts. I may have to do this. My soils are ALWAYS
Über moist. And seriously? Adelae?