Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Not being a wet blanket but there ain't any perfect soil for Nepenthes other then those found in the wild where the plants are already growing. Even then, those plants there would have adapted to the conditions they are in.

So what we need to do to is to understand the needs of the species, look at our own growing conditions and tweak the proportions of available types of media, in order to find what the plants grow best in.

Let me elaborate on just the growing conditions...

Borneo Exotics grows most of their plants in cocopeat. Why? Because cocopeat is readily available. Secondly, being a nursery, the humidity, temperature, air circulation is made near ideal for Nep cultivation. Therefore, the type of media used does not affect the plants very much as long as it is not basic (alkaline) in nature.

I use LFS/perlite (50:50) for nearly all my plants and pure burnt earth for cliff/granite/limestone growing species like N. northiana. I get good light and wind at my balcony. So LFS works well to retain moisture. I tried cocochip but it dries up too fast for me. Too fast even for species like N. albomarginata which likes the media drier. I have perlite in pots which are 5 years old. I don't see any decline in the plants.

One friend uses peat/perlite (30:70) for many of his plants. He has a garden with constantly high humidity and he waters them often. Some plants don't do well for him when potted in the same LFS mix as mine because they tend to suffer from root rot.

Your plants will tell you what you need to add to the mix. Either LFS or peat to increase the water retentive property, or fern bark or perlite to provide more drainage. My "best" mix is not going to your best mix unless you live with me in the same apartment. ;)

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Sorry, Cindy, Alienfx, I guess I could have chosen a better title, I didn't mean perfect literally. I was thinking more of in the ways of a mix that would be low maintenance, and would work well for most common intermediate-growing neps.

(Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil just sounds like some sort of action/adventure movie title though, doesn't it?)

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Well, I think Cindy really nailed it with her comments! I tend to have lots of plants with water trays under them because it's just too hard to keep up with watering when we get a hot, dry, windy spell. I notice that I have to match my mix to the method, as the hanging pots won't do as well in the same mix as my water tray plants.

I had been using just coco cubes for a long time as I could not source perlite or pummice stone anywhere around here. Now that I've finally found bulk sources I've incorporated both into my mix when I transplant because of the same problems of breakdown of the coco cubes that everyone else seems to have come across.

David, we just had a festival here Sunday called the "Global Mala" which was focusing on the environment, especially as applied to a small island such as our own. One of the displays was put together by a local hotel and concerned the floral foam. I was not aware of its toxic qualities and the fact that there is no way to safely dispose of it. I don't think they were implying that it is toxic to the plants themselves but rather that it is an entirely artificially made product with no safe way of disposal. As an alternative (to hotels and florists for their uses) they found a science project done by a couple of high school students who created a wooden frame and press into which the put coconut fiber and clay soil and compress it into brick sized blocks. They set up a demonstration showing how to produce a good alternative. They told me that their experience was that the foam did eventually get 'mushy' whereas the alternative lasted far longer. I was brought to meet them by a friend who thought it might be useful to me for my plant propagation. While the clay doesn't sound that good for the neps, it will probably work for some other species.

Good to hear of your experiences with the wood bark as one supplier here in Thailand has just started offering it in bulk quantities. Actually, what they are selling is "Pine bark", here's the link to a thread on it; http://forum.iloveferns.com/index.php/topic,195.0.html

And the quest for 'perfect' media continues!

By the way, Cindy's comment about particular species' tolerances and likes/dislikes suggests a great idea for an ongoing thread for us all to add input to. I have yet to find any such data base.

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Shawn,

Thanks for the information. I think it is good to experiment with this new alternative to floral foam. So this coconut fibre and clay material is in a block or cubes? Is it soft as well? Does it hold water etc. But is this new product in the market yet?

I think the clay should not be a problem for nepenthes.

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Nah, no need for apologies, Marigold. Did you see the ;) at the end of my post? Seriously, thanks for being able to accept my opinion. It takes a certain level of maturity for forum members to agree to disagree. :1thumbup:

I believe the rest like myself, have consciously sought after the "perfect mix". It took some of us shorter time and others, a longer time to realise that there are many other factors involved. What I put forth to you and other members here is to help you all cut the chase. Hope no one minds me being candid. :smile:

Floral foam is just styrofoam. I don't use it for my plants because I don't like my food in styrofoam too. LOL

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

I have been using flora foam since Adrian said he is using it also.Quite some time already.So far no problem but what i do is i mix many material in the same ratio.

flora foam: perlite:coconut fiber:black soil:clay:river sand:moss:coal:wood chips

So,far i find its ok for my neps.It drains very fast and quite airy.Its healthy to let some small plants to grow with our nep cause their roots can keep the soil airy and absorb any nutriens in the soil.

Flora foam releases toxic if we burn them,so must not burn them.Once we are not using it for the nep,we can mix with normal soil and use for other plants.

Im using flora foam:moss: perlite mix for my other cp's like drosera,sarra and recently ping.So far no problem.

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Hi David, unfortunately, it is a 'do-it-yourself' product which they were promoting to the other hotels. The Thai high school students put it together as a display presentation for a science fair and this hotel picked it up from the internet and trained their own staff in the process. I have made plans to take my foreman to their hotel so he can do it with them once and then come back and train my own staff in the process.

You can make the mold in any shape you want (they used a very simple wooden box with no top or bottom). The freshly made sample I saw was still soft and very wet. It appeared to hold water quite well. They had a proportion of 3 parts coco/1 part clay soil (I think!). The finished product did not appear to be too 'clayey' as it is just spread throughout as a binder.

I'll try to take pictures and get more info when we do the 'training', but that may take me a few weeks yet - too busy at the moment!

The other thing that struck me was that it probably needs a 'frame' of some sort to keep it from falling apart in heavy rains. I was considering building some raised beds (raised above the surrounding ground level for drainage purposes) and then hollowing out long trenches which were just the width of the individual blocks so as to hold them in place. Perhaps placing dividers between the blocks so that its easier to lift the plants when ready to transplant - I'm always looking for an alternative to buying thousands of plastic pots! :tongue:

Hey, what about that 'species like/dislikes' data-base idea? :blush:

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Shawn, the idea is great. But I am still thinking how to input the info. Not an IT person, you see... :laugh:

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Thanks for your reply alienfx!

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Shawn,

Will wait for your updates on that alternative media.