Tropical drosera and nepenthes together

[LLeopardGGecko]

I'm thinking about putting together a 10 gallon classic terrarium that will house both tropical Drosera and a few Nepenthes. I know that typically Drosera require a different soil mix than Nepenthes, so how can I pull this off? Should I just divide the terrarium soil up so that some of it's Drosera mix and some of it's Nepenthes mix?

Also, does anyone have some good Nepenthes candidates for this kind of terrarium?

 

[Tony Paroubek]

I would keep the Nepenthes in pots and bury them so they are just hidden.

N. gracilis would probably be a good candidate.

 

[The Griffin]

I agree with Tony. The local children's zoo had a cp terrerium with a sad looking bical in it. The constant dampness the Utrics and Drosera were enjoying were not to it's liking-and it's probably one of the wetter growers of that genus.
It kind of depends on the Drosera, but many will grow in any peaty compost or with sphagnum-which your Nepenthes mix is likely to have one or the other.

Cheers,

Joe

 

[jimscott]

Hard to follow Tony and Joe, but my instinct is to acommodate the Nepenthes first, since they are more picky about conditions than tropical sundews.

 

[Outsiders71]

You would probably have to have 3-4 inches of pea gravel on the bottom to let the water sit. On top of that would go a mix of 50/50 perlite/lfs. I think that would work.

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Now when you refer to pea gravel, are you talking about just the regular stuff you'd use for say a dog pen? Would you wash it first or what?

 

[chloroplast]

Many drosera and neps can be grown in similar potting media, the key difference between them being how wet the medium should be. Most dews can tolerate being sat in water, while most neps cannot.

That said, you could probably get away with using 1:1 LFSerlite or LFSrchid bark for both types of plants and, as mentioned, use thoroughly-washed pea gravel to sit the neps on higher ground than the dews. The pea gravel can be bought at home depot/lowes and should be washed well to remove the salts/dust/minerals that cakes the pebbles.

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Would I be mixing the gravel with the LFS and perlite, or would I be planting the Neps directly into the gravel? How would I set the Neps higher via the gravel? I'm a bit confused on how I would pull this off...

 

[Outsiders71]

The pea gravel acts as a drainage area for the water. This way the water doesn't water-log your media (which neps hate). If your setup is going to be flat, then just place a 3-4inch of pea-gravel on the bottom. On top of that place your normal lfs/perlite mix. Then plant your plants. To finish it off top it with some plain old LFS, so you don't have to look at the perlite. This way when you water your terranium, your media will be moist and your neps won't be sitting in water.

The only concearn I would have would be how deep your media is going to be. You wouldn't want your nep roots to go all the way down to the pea gravel layer. It would be defeating it's purpose. So use atleast 6inches of media, unless you plan on altering the setup later.

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Ah, thanks Outsiders. I'm guessing to do that I would need a tank bigger than 10 gallons.

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

Well, I've decided to use my 10 gallon tank after all. I'll be going to Home Depot tomorrow to pick up some pea gravel and possibly some more CPs if they have them. Does anyone have any extra advice before I put together my Nepenthes/Tropical Drosera classic terrarium?

 

[jimscott]

Elarwhis, who happens to be logged in at the moment, knows quite a bit about it.

 

[Takahashi]

im looking forward to doing a similar type thing in the future so im all ears as well. *throws a ninja star prior to exiting*

 

[LLeopardGGecko]

*catches ninja star in teeth and spits it onto the ground*

*laughs*

 

[chloroplast]

Quote[/b] ]Would I be mixing the gravel with the LFS and perlite, or would I be planting the Neps directly into the gravel? How would I set the Neps higher via the gravel?

You would use the gravel as a drainage layer. The plants themselves would be rooted in the LFSerlite mix which would lie atop the gravel layer.

Quote[/b] ]I'm guessing to do that I would need a tank bigger than 10 gallons

Not really, though a typical 10gal tank is ~12" high so you would have to consider purchasing slow-growing species. Simply place 2" gravel at one end of the tank and slope it until it is 4" at the other end. Next, place 3" of your potting medium over this and plant your drosera in the low-lying area and the neps in the high-lying area. Put in a fan for circulation (if you're closing your terrarium), place under lights and your done. Adding a reflective suface to the sides is optional. A cheap digital temp/humidity reader is also nice but optional.

If the drosera roots/rhizomes penetrate the gravel layer, it probably won't harm them if the species is a tough variety or likes wet feet. If a few nep roots penetrate the layer, it shouldn't be too much of an issue as long as the plant has a large healthy root system within the LFS mix. There are many positive trophic factors that promote root formation and negative trophisms that inhibit it--so the plant often is in control over where it's roots will go, assuming it's not rootbound and forced to put them out anywhere and everywhere.

Good luck.