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Nepenthes sitting in water

Since I've downsized and redone my entire collection, I'm taking extra care and caution to grow my plants right, especially when it comes to my Neps.

To this day, I've never quite managed to "get" Nep watering. My latest method is this: I keep all my Neps in terrariums with indiviual water trays under each. Each water tray can hold no more than an inch or two of water at any given time, so after I water it's usually that deep. I'll typically let my plants sit in the water until it evaporates (within the week usually) and wait to water again until the medium is a tad bit dry.

My Neps don't seem to mind this method so far, but I want to hear all of your takes on this. I really would like to hear from growers who have Neps in tanks since this is how I grow mine.
 
Raff and Bicals like to sit in water all the time. I know that for a fact, I dont know about any others though.
 
They can sit in like 2-3 cm of water...thats about it, no more. Raff and bical as copcar mentioned can sit in all the water you can give em. Mirabilis too is a good candidate for the swampy conditions.
 
So is it a general rule that they can sit in water, but just not DEEP water?
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (nepenthes gracilis @ Aug. 29 2006,7:38)]They can sit in like 2-3 cm of water...thats about it, no more. Raff and bical as copcar mentioned can sit in all the water you can give em. Mirabilis too is a good candidate for the swampy conditions.
and amps!
 
I find that certain neps are more sensative than others. I agree with the mentioned neps that like sitting in water - however be carefull if you have truncata - I killed TWO that way.
 
When I water my outdoor Neps I usually top water till the tray beneath pools with water. Then I go about watering the rest of my outdoor plants... which usually takes about 30-45 minutes. When I finish that I dump out the pooled water in the trays. This allows the media to fully hydrate, without leaving my plants sitting in standing water for any significant length of time.

Cheers
Steve
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (vft guy in SJ @ Aug. 29 2006,8:32)]When I water my outdoor Neps I usually top water till the tray beneath pools with water. Then I go about watering the rest of my outdoor plants... which usually takes about 30-45 minutes. When I finish that I dump out the pooled water in the trays. This allows the media to fully hydrate, without leaving my plants sitting in standing water for any significant length of time.

Cheers
Steve
This seems like a great way to do things, but I hate having to water my terrarium plants and then move them all around so I can dump out the excess water. I'm kind of a perfectionist that way! Haha! I like all my plants organized and in the same place all the time.

I went ahead and measured some of the water in my Neps trays earlier today and it was less than 2 cm, so maybe that's ok. I think I'll wait until all the water evaporates and then next time I'll put less water on my Neps so that the trays aren't so full and evaporate quicker.

Thanks for all the great info guys. Keep it comin'!
 
All the Neps that I grow here at the lab sit in trays. I water about once a week (every Friday) and the water collects in the trays and hangs around until about Tuesday. None have had any issue with this. And during winter all the Neps that I keep outside during the summer get the same treatment when I move them inside.
 
  • #10
I think that as long as your ambient humidity is not extremely high, it should be alright for neps to sit in trays. For me, it's only fine during the hotter months when the RH is about 60%. During the rainy season, the RH can be 80-90% for weeks. If transpiration rate is higher, the roots take up water faster. In that manner, the roots do not rot. On the other hand, if the leaves are losing very little water and the roots do not draw it up quickly, rot sets in.

Temperature plays a part too. The lower it is, the lesser the chance of rot.
 
  • #11
You can also put your plant on an upside down pot, so that the pot with your plant in it doesn't sit in the water. That's how I keep my Neps.
 
  • #12
Good to know about raff and bical... I'll have to try that the next time I rearrange my lowlanders.
If you're using trays, a little gravel in the bottom might help those species that like it drier. Also, I've been recently experimenting with net pots in trays, and so far I've had good results. If you can get some air circulating through the pots while they're wet, your plants will probably appreciate it. Media probably plays a factor too - something rich in solid aerators like perlite, pumice or rockwool could easily sit in water and continuously take it up without becoming so waterlogged as to not allow air in. I haven't tried anything to that end yet, as I usually just repot with whatever is handy. However, I have read that Neps do extremely well with rockwool gravel, so long as you're careful while repotting them (rockwool's solid, porous nature and Nep's brittle root structure make it a sensitive ordeal.) I bet most Neps in rockwool would be quite happy on the shallow tray method. You might have to water more, though, as rockwool wicks and evaporates water at an impressive speed.
On the other hand, I should mentioned that I haven't found it strictly necessary to keep Neps constantly wet. When I first got started, I had my terrarium on a high rack where I never wanted to take it down for watering. So I just didn't water it. I would mist the plants one to three times a day and occasionally dump a little (read: tiny) amount of water on the pots I could get to, but the soil would essentially be dry/houseplant-moist for a week to almost a month at a time. I think my plants probably grew a little more slowly as a result, but they never refused to pitcher, and seem to have developed very hardy root systems as a result. Misting and constant, moderately high humidity is probably key to this method - I make sure to always have some standing water at the bottom of my terraria (pots are kept on racks above the water line) and keep a fairly snug lid, with just two small openings to create a little air circulation.
~Joe
 
  • #13
All my lowlanders are watered about once a week but are sprayed daily. I have a bical which I've let dry out a bit once (accident) and it didn't do anything in terms of wilting or pitcher blackening. I plant them all in baskets and let the water drain freely. Haven't lost a plant so far to this method.
 
  • #14
Like Joe said it depends on your media. If you're using a media this is airy such as 50/50 lfs/perlite then it is ok to let them sit in water. I water my Neps like you described, I fill the water dish and then let it evaporate and then fill it again. Haven't killed anything yet but then again I don't have anything on the exotic side.
 
  • #15
Hi Mitch,

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]When I water my Neps I usually top water till the tray beneath pools with water.

This is how I water my neps. I wait just until I see water coming out of the bottom of the pot, then stop. I keep the water there (usually 1-2 mm) until it evaporates.

The key to growing happy neps while avoiding rot (at least for me) is keeping the medium constantly moist but not sopping wet. That said, my ampullaria and bicalcarata don't mind sitting in water so you'll find variation within the genus.

I think temperature, pot size, and potting medium are important modifying parameters. Generally, I'm more careful to avoid overly wet conditions when the temperature is cooler, when the pots are bigger, and if the potting medium is dense. FYI....I use new zealand LFS or live LFS to grow most of my neps, with some orchid bark mix thrown in pots bigger than 6" diameter.

Hope this helps clear some of the mystery.

Ken
 
  • #16
and just to be a little different...
i have all my neps in those 4" deep water trays. i water them every other week. the larger neps get filled to the top of the water tray while the 2 smaller ones only get filled half way. basically, i give them enough water so that it all evaporates in 1.5-2 weeks. they have been growing this way for about a year and a half now with no issues.

growing conditions are:
95% sealed terrarium
4-4' flourescent lights (cool white and daylight bulbs)
1-2 large computer fans for circulation
humidity varies between 70-95% measured 6" down from the top

peace,
tech...
 
  • #17
Interesting... what species are you growing, technoracer?
~Joe
 
  • #18
I use the cheap dollar 12" hanging pots from dollar general. They have a little reservour on the botom of the pots, but nothing significant. My media is peat/cedar mulch, and some of the pots are peat/perlite. I think I need to repot my amp then because its in a 4 inch pot with no reservour and outside. Its growing some slime mold on top of the media, but the plant is not affected. I just think it might do better being a little wetter. The other plants I have in 6 inch pots with the small reservour on the bottom and haning in the GH also. Almost all my nepenthes have a slight rreservour of water and I water whenever I water the orchids making sure to flush the pots when I water. By doing so I feel it helps pull air down through the roots and since it doesn't hold much water int he reservour then the media doesn;t stay sopping wet. Oh I also topdress the media with LFS or live LFS whatever is available. I think it makes the plant look more presentable and holds in moisture too. So far so good. I haven;t lost anything yet. Although alot of them are new aquires though.
 
  • #19
I have seen differences in the amount of water these plants need.
I do agree with some that lowlanders can handle more water and it's very difficult to kill a bical with too much water (of course, as long as other factors are in fact optimal for the plant). Highlanders, specially those naturally growin on high altitudes, the situation is different.

Gus
 
  • #20
Thanks for all the great info everyone.

This past week I've been keeping to my same technique. I water until it comes out the bottom of the pot into the tray, and then in several days when the water has evaporated, I water again.

The only thing that worries me is that a few of my Neps don't take water up as fast as the others which leaves them sitting in the shallow water for a bit longer than I'd like. It's usually the Neps in the bigger pots, which are planted in shredded orchid bark. Hopefully that potting media is airy enough to keep my plants happy.

On another note, I have a few Neps on the way. Most should arrive on Thursday:

- N. spathulata
- N. talangensis
- N. northiana
- N. singalana
 
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