Full-sized growth?

[Anoxos]

I'm looking at my little rescued nep from Lowes, and it seems to be happily recovering from past abuse. It is generating new leaves and its first pitcher is now open. This pitcher, along with a few others developing are hanging well over the edges of the 4" pot it is currently in... I would say the whole diameter of the plant is probably closer to 7-8".

My question is what rough pot size should I expect this little fella to eventually need? I'm not sure what type it is, probably a ventrata hybrid of some sort. How much 'ground support' do they need for the big leaves and eventual vines? How extensive do root structures get? Are the lower pitchers supposed to rest on the ground, or is letting them hang over the pot edges ok in the long term?

I'm trying to figure out if the little guy needs transplanting into a bigger pot right now; I think I need to get it out of the cube bottom into something with better drainage anyway, so if I'm gonna 'upsize' now would be a fine time.

 

[seedjar]

I'm no Nep expert, but I've heard stories of certain lowlanders (vietchii l/l, or maybe rafflesiana) growing to two+ foot diameters in a little 4"-5" pot like yours. Others aren't as accomodating and will want bigger pots - some pics I have from Borneo Exotics clearly show young plants in big foot-deep nursery pots, and I can only think that it's because they'll eventually need pots that size.
I think you should be able to find help in one of these:
CP FAQ Nep page
Neps For Everyone
Nep University
Neps Around the House
If you think about it, Neps are really jungle vines, some of which climb all the way up trees. They're no daisies. They get big.
Best luck,
~Joe

PS - My Neps have done fine without significantly larger pots, but most of my collection has been with me for only about a year - they haven't had enough time to really come to need anything bigger. I do have a few plants that I know would appreciate it.

 

[jimscott]

Like Joe, I'm no Nep expert and am learning right alongside you. What I have done is gone to our favorite home improvement stores (Home Depot, *cough* Lowes) and purchased the hanging baskets.

In spite of all the transplanting and moving from lab to townhouse to outside to lab to new home, they survive the jostling. They do very well at window sills and watered 5X per week. Mine are almost as large in diameter as yours and are sharing media / pot space, to give you an idea of what they can tolerate. But one 7" plant in an ~10" diameter basket is more than enough to accommodate below and above ground growth. The pictures illustrate the pitchers hanging over the edge.