Nepenthes composts

[The Griffin]

I was wondering what people used for composts for their Nepenthes, whether people had any do's or don'ts or whatever. I noticed Tony mentioned in one post that he preferred coco husk over fir bark because it breaks down more slowly.
What are people noticing out there about composts and their components?

Regards,

Joe

[GEORGE-CP]

well i use 2 type of mixes
lowland neps. the mix is peat moss,sand,lfm,vermiculite,perlite

highland neps. the mix is orchid bark,charcol,peat moss,vermiculite,sand,coco fiber,lfm,perlite & sometimes rocks

[mindmaze128]

peat, coco husk/fiber, LF sphagnum, Lots and lots of sand, and some dirt from the yard.

[Tim]

I've lived in several different countries and I am always amazed at how local people with locally available material can make great potting soil.

So I have a question of my own, would a simple mixture of peatmoss, small lava rock and perilite work? Or should I do like the above poster suggests and add sand as well?

It would be quite valuable for people like me who are beginners to have a variety of choices, perhaps different catagories, like X for drainage, Y for airation and Z for moisture retention, with several possibilities for each catagory.

[Pyro]

I used to use D'Amato's "delux mix" as he calls it in SG but I have now moved to a mix of LFS, clay pellets (2-4mm) orchid bark and charcoal which I top dress with live sphag. No real ratios other than the charcoal and the orchid bark together only make up about 25% of the mix.

Tim,

For drainage I would recommend orchid bark or perlite. I have used lava rock and these clay pellets I am using now are real nice. These materials also work for aeration.

I like using LFS for moisture retention as it seems to "hold" moisture longer and release it more gradually.

[Tony Paroubek]

I like a fairly well drained open mix that holds alot of moisture also. My basic mix is fine coconut husk chips, medium perlite, Sphagnum moss cut up a bit, and some peatmoss to hold it together a bit. Sorry I don't have ratios.. I just mix it till it feels right. Some times I vary it a little by adding more Sphagnum for some highland plants or more peatmoss for some lowlands, and plants which I feel would like a more 'soil like' mix.

You could make a list of ingredients and class them in categories like aerator, moisture holder, etc. .. maybe an idea for the website. Keep in mind though that the same mix for two different people will give different results because environmental factors, watering habits, and such play a huge role in how the plants respond. Ultimately every grower should play around with their mix to find what works best in their own situation.

Tony

[rajah]

Hi !!
My favourite compost is:

Peat moss, perlite, lava rock, bark, silica sand, and for some species living sphagnum on the surface.

I have a question:

For those species that live in iron rich soils (ultramafic) wich materials can I use to increase its level ? what do you think about laterite or lava, are they useful for these purpose ? Others advices ?

Kind regards

rajah

[eplants02]

My media consists of:
50% Peat Moss
50% Perlite

[Pyro]

Rajah,

I have used lava rock in the past as part of my mix and never found it to cause any problems so you can probably try it. Not sure if it will meet your iron requirement but you never know

[Tim]

Thank you much to all who gave advice about soil mixtures. This is truely a very important website!

As far as iron, it is very common in most soils, and it's lack is generally due to the fact that as the pH rises, the availability of iron decreases.

If you have an acid mix, which all of the examples on this thread are, nothing could be easier than to simply add some high iron micronutrient fertilizer to your mixture. I say micronutrient mixture because, as I have learned here, you wouldn't want to heavily fertilize with a general sort of iron fertilizer which has too much nitrogen.

If you deside to incorperate some regular soil from your garden into the mixture, there will almost surely be enough iron.

I am sure you know this, but the symbol for iron is "Fe" when you are looking at the label of a fertilizer.

Regards, and I hope I haven't ranted!

Tim