Truncata Potted in Bark?

[Nepenthesis]

I'v had my little 3" Pasian Highlands truncata baby for a month now. I ordered it from a terrarium supply website, so it wasn't strictly carnivores, so they may or may not have been knowledgeable. Oddly to me, this nep was potted in strictly small, thin pieces of bark. Is there a reason for that? Should it be repotted in a mix with more sphagnum, while still using the bark for drainage? It's not very moisture retentive. However, I should add that it settled into my environment nicely and just put out a new leaf which immediately started to create it's first pitcher in my care, so it may be happy as it is.

So what is the reason for it being potted in bark?

 

[Exo]

In a greenhouse, where plants may be getting sprayed down on a daily basis...such a loose soil is perfect and cheap.

 

[Cthulhu138]

I know exactly where you got it and Exo is correct. It's cheap and they had it laying around. It's cypress mulch btw.

 

[Nepenthesis]

I haven't been watering it daily, so it's been drying out... I mean, not bone-dry, but it stays moist due to the 80-90% humidity. In the greenhouse, it's not too humid, maybe 60-70% on humid days, but I'm working on that issue. I guess repotting it in a bark/sphagnum mix would be best?

 

[Cthulhu138]

Yeah, I would. It's ok to leave some of the bark in your mix if you'd like but, get it into a medium that will hold moisture better.

 

[Nepenthesis]

Yeah, I would. It's ok to leave some the bark in your mix if you'd like but, get it into a medium that will hold moisture better.

Will do! Right now, it's creating a new pitcher. I don't want to interrupt that, so once the pitcher is formed, I will repot it. By that time, it will be warm enough to move all the neps into the greenhouse.

 

[Brie]

I used a mix of cut up LFS, coarse bark, fine bark, pumice and charcoal for my robcantleyi... so far so good.. Its also in a terrarium...

 

[Nepenthesis]

I used a mix of cut up LFS, coarse bark, fine bark, pumice and charcoal for my robcantleyi... so far so good.. Its also in a terrarium...

I have Mosser Lee sphagnum which isn't 100% fluffy and perfect, but it does it's job of holding moisture. Its brown, opposed to the other sphag my neps are planted in, which are light tan. Kind of odd, but it works!

 

[dsrtfox1942]

I used that stuff for years until I found out how wonderful Chilean and NZ sphagnum is. Your right, it does it's job. Also, instead of repotting fully, a top dressing of sphagnum would help it retain moisture.