Ultramific/serpentine soil?

[UnstuckinTime]

The guy has not logged in since 2008...

Oh, well... nevermind I guess, huh? What a shame...

 

[philiptdotcom]

Does anyone here have a recipe for "ultramafic" soil mix (hopefully based on readily-available materials) for neps?
Thanks! Aloha, -pt

 

[Grey Moss]

I use 1:1 large grain akadama and perlite for nepenthes that like a mineral mix. I've also found 1:1:1 akadama, perlite, fluval aquatic plant soil to work equally well.

 

[herenorthere]

This thread started almost 20 years ago, but so much info is packed into this one and it's great that someone revived it instead of starting a new one. I went back to the original post but didn't try to read everything in between.

I have a comment based on a long-ago geology degree: ultramafic rock and probably soil too should be expected to have a lot of magnesium relative to the calcium. Akadama seems to qualify: what I see online shows it having 2.5x as much Mg as Ca. Limestone, etc. won't have so much Mg. It might make no difference to many plants found in such soil but it's a factor to keep in mind. One other thing, ecologically speaking, is that plants found in challenging habitats might prefer other conditions but are out-competed in those other places and tend to be found in places where they might not be entirely happy but are better able to cope than their competition.

 

[bluemax]

One other thing, ecologically speaking, is that plants found in challenging habitats might prefer other conditions but are out-competed in those other places and tend to be found in places where they might not be entirely happy but are better able to cope than their competition.

A good example of this is Darlingtonia californica. These plants grow mainly in serpentine soils in the wild but do well in just peat/sphagnum-based soils in cultivation. Because they grow in very moist areas they would probably be overrun if not for the toxicity of the serpentine soils to many other plant species.