potting material?

[Thazo]

Well I thought that sphagnum peat moss was supposed to hold moisture, but it looks to me that the water just drains right out of the hanging basket, requiring me to re-water?
Now granted it is a one of those coco-fiber hanging baskets, but still. I need to find someway to slow the drainage, so that it doesn't dry out so fast.

[kentosaurs]

If you watered till the water comes out below i think its okay cos the peat already absorbed some water....If you're using pure peat than in my experience don't water to much...I had a plant which had its growing tip brown when i water too much..And the plant was in pure peat

[David]

In my exoperience, sphagnum peat moss (s.p.m.) when dry does not absorb water readily. If you are using pure s.p.m. that would explain the water flowing right through. You are using a coconut fibre basket which would dry out your s.pm. very quickly as well because air can just flow right through. If the s.p.m. is kept continueously wet then there is no problem. It would absorb alot of water everytime you water. But using just s.p.m. for Neps media is not so good as there is little air for the roots.

I would suggest mixing your s.p.m. with sphagnum moss. It is also best to have some coarse material in the media like coconut chips, polysterine pieces, coarse perlite, etc.

Just what I think from my experiece.

[Thazo]

Originally Posted by kentosaurs

If you watered till the water comes out below i think its okay cos the peat already absorbed some water....If you're using pure peat than in my experience don't water to much...I had a plant which had its growing tip brown when i water too much..And the plant was in pure peat

Well ok. I guess I can always just water them at night in the sink, and hang them back up in the morning for two-three days, then repeat.

Say I was thinking about getting a Brita filtering pitcher to water them. Do you think it would be enough to filter out some salts, fluoride, and chlorine?

[Thazo]

Originally Posted by David

In my exoperience, sphagnum peat moss (s.p.m.) when dry does not absorb water readily. If you are using pure s.p.m. that would explain the water flowing right through. You are using a coconut fibre basket which would dry out your s.pm. very quickly as well because air can just flow right through. If the s.p.m. is kept continueously wet then there is no problem. It would absorb alot of water everytime you water. But using just s.p.m. for Neps media is not so good as there is little air for the roots.

I would suggest mixing your s.p.m. with sphagnum moss. It is also best to have some coarse material in the media like coconut chips, polysterine pieces, coarse perlite, etc.

Just what I think from my experiece.

Thanks. I am going to try and do an intense soak of the SPM. Hopefully the moss will start to absorb better. I was hoping that the cocofiber planter was going to provide more gaseous exchange and prevent root rot. My neps are indoors and don't get a lot of circulating air. I didn't count on my very dry/dusty spm on being reluctant to take water. I guess I will just have to experiment a bit. If the plant starts to look a bit pissed then I will change out the potting material.
Either way it is a N. Miranda which is pitcherless. I bought for quite a bargain at Calloway's. I haggled 50% off. It was flowering at the time, so when I got it home I chopped off the flowers and left it in its origenal state for about 3 weeks. I see new growth and the leaves look healthy, so i decided to replant. Hopefully it will rebound from the flower cycle and give me some pitchers.

[arvin555]

For me, may it be Sphagnum moss, peat moss or coco peat. I make it a point to soak the medium in water for at least half day to make sure they have absorbed water. Do not worry too much about rot because after using them to pot, then you can start regulating the water. But frankly I'd be more concerned about drying up than rot (in my case only) I have killed some small Neps from lack of water than too much watering.

Please note that cocopeat or cocochips act the same way as dried LFSM they cannot absorb water easily if dried up.

In your case, as suggested by fellow members, dunk the whole thing in water till you see darkening of color and you know they have absorbed water, the water will drain quickly anyway and then just water as often as you want.

you didn't mention what species of nep you are keeping, because as we found out while we are updating the nepenthes care sheet database, some nepenthes want wet roots and some can take or likes drier or airier medium.

TTFN
Arvin

[arvin555]

About water...

I heard that some parts of texas the water is "hard" neps like soft water, so that is the most important thing you have to consider. Chlorine, just leave water in the open for a day or two.

Some households have water softener devices at home I believe.

TTFN
Arvin

[Thazo]

Originally Posted by arvin555

For me, may it be Sphagnum moss, peat moss or coco peat. I make it a point to soak the medium in water for at least half day to make sure they have absorbed water. Do not worry too much about rot because after using them to pot, then you can start regulating the water. But frankly I'd be more concerned about drying up than rot (in my case only) I have killed some small Neps from lack of water than too much watering.

Please note that cocopeat or cocochips act the same way as dried LFSM they cannot absorb water easily if dried up.

In your case, as suggested by fellow members, dunk the whole thing in water till you see darkening of color and you know they have absorbed water, the water will drain quickly anyway and then just water as often as you want.

you didn't mention what species of nep you are keeping, because as we found out while we are updating the nepenthes care sheet database, some nepenthes want wet roots and some can take or likes drier or airier medium.

TTFN
Arvin

Thanks Arvin. Its been soaking in a sink full of water for two hours or so.. I'll let it drain a bit over night and hang it up tomorrow to see how it turns out. Oh it is a Nepenthes Miranda. My Ventrata seems to like the top of the peat to just about dry out, before I water it again. At least I haven't killed it yet, and it seems to be quite satisfied. Boy does that sucker grow!

[arvin555]

Both my Miranda and Ventrata do like the mix to become a bit dry... well I don' know about like, but both are in an airy mix than my other neps. So maybe that is the way to go. The only thing you have to watch out for is when you do water, make sure that the medium gets soaked again (maybe 10 minutes or so), or the water just flows out the bottom. For me my Miranda is sitting in a water tray, but the top layer of the mix gets dry between watering.

TTFN
Arvin

[Thazo]

Originally Posted by arvin555

Both my Miranda and Ventrata do like the mix to become a bit dry... well I don' know about like, but both are in an airy mix than my other neps. So maybe that is the way to go. The only thing you have to watch out for is when you do water, make sure that the medium gets soaked again (maybe 10 minutes or so), or the water just flows out the bottom. For me my Miranda is sitting in a water tray, but the top layer of the mix gets dry between watering.

TTFN
Arvin

Thanks