Inorganic media for Nepenthes

[Delwin]

Rockwool would be nice to help to lock the moisture

[David]

Not sure where to get this and in what form?

[NepNut]

Rockwool was use to pot aquatic plants but heard it might be harmful... They usually comes in cube form much like the flora foam.

[Boris]

Rockwool proofed in several tests that it can be the cause for cancer. But also I've read that there are several generations of it. The newest forms seem to be sure. I've never bought any basal cubes but they should be signed as new generation form and guaranteed that they aren't unhealthy.

[Delwin]

Infact, i am selling rockwool sheet, you can find them at builders shop.
Dont buy the cube form, they are harmful, rather buy those sheet form.

[David]

Originally Posted by Delwin

Infact, i am selling rockwool sheet, you can find them at builders shop.
Dont buy the cube form, they are harmful, rather buy those sheet form.

If I get the rockwool sheet, do I cut it into smaller pieces or how?

[Boris]

Originally Posted by David

If I get the rockwool sheet, do I cut it into smaller pieces or how?

yes and you should wear gloves or it could happen that you get skin irritations. I've read some more articles about it: So it's not absolutely sure that it's carcinogen. Some say it is ... some say it's not
I haven't any experience with it so I read further: It doesn't take the water so easy like sphagnum or peat. So you should totally saturate it with water before putting it in your mixture. It has a ph of 7 - 8,5. So it might be also very usefull in a high ratio in the mixture for campanulata, northiana ...

[Delwin]

Boris,
i think your rockwool is different with ours in asia. For those rockwool made in malaysia, the ph is ard 6-7. Yes you are right with the fine particular that cos skin irritation, that is because the fine strain of wool poking on your skin, so gloves are a must. Also after handling the wool, use strong detergent to wash also help. As for me, i use masking tape to paste on the part that is irritate then peal it off, it does help Also, rockwool absorb water very fast if you buy those low density type, i would suggest your to buy 1inch 2pound type.
Yes David, just use a paper cutter to cut it to size.

[jgriffin]

I quickly scanned this thread so sorry if I end up being redundant.
Here is a CPN article from 2000 on this subject.

http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cpn...NepInorSub.htm

I tried it once, but my problem was I got lax in watering , and obviously with a mix like this, you water much, much more often then usual mixes.
Note the authors use Osmocote to mack of the breaking down of organics.
I have been using a mix of garden center mulches here in the US. I like using different ones together, as they have different shapes and make it a little more open. I am using pine bark mulch, cedar mulch, fir bark and cypress. I also put in charcoal, perlite, lava pebbles , coco husk chips and um, a little sphagnum. This is equal parts, so the lfs is only 1/9th of the mix(even at such a small dose, the cedar smells really good!)
I am not sure if the sphagnum is needed, as this mix seems to hold water very well and drains freely.
Obviously, this is not inorganic with all the wood products, but mulch is used by the tons for landscaping, etc, and is more renewable than lfs and peat. I would imagine there are a lot of local tree products that would work in Nepenthes mixes anywhere.

Cheers,

Joe

[Vincent]

i find vermiculite to be even successful by itself for nepenthes really, but a little orchid bark and perilite would add more air pockets.