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N. ampullaria -- to set in water tray or not?

Hi,

I got a N. ampullaria today... the instructions on the plant said that the plant prefers moist, tho not wet, soil. I understand that Neps shouldn't be set in trays for fear of root rot or somethg like that... but shld I do otherwise for this species? Just some backgrd... I live near the equator and it's tropical climate here.
 
My (limmited) experience with N. ampularia is that you should grow it on the tray method. Mine didn't grow or pitcher until I sat it in a tray of water. I let the water evaporate of the cource of a couple of weeks (it's in a VERY hi humidity terrarium, so evaporation takes a while), then I fill it with 1/2 or so of water, usually by top watering the amp and letting the water just sort of drain through.

Incidently, I'm having rather good success with my bicalcarata grown the same way (in the same water tray, actually).

Good luck!
 
N. ampullaria and N. bicalcarata grow in peat swamp forests which may be occasionally flooded depending upon the seasons so extra water is OK with these. I put mine on and off the tray method every other month or so to give it a bit of "drying" time at the roots (though I never let it actually "dry"). I've noticed some plant soils (especially if they contain a lot of peat) can get stinky if left on the tray method for a long while.
 
Swords,
my potting mix is primarily LFS based (though there is some pete, perlite and orchid mix mixed in...I think something like 55:15:15:15), so the medium is "lighter" than a traditional pete medium. Is this a problem? They seem pretty happy, but if I could improve things in anyway, why not?
 
Mine are also all nearly pure LFS. I was just making generalizations about peat, which it seems like a lot of people use cos they can't find LFS Moss. I'm lucky in that it's simple to find around here in all the garden shops.
I don't like to use peat on nepenthes if I don't have to, I think it's too heavy and doesn't breathe enough - which is why I think it begins to stink. Anoxic (oxygen devoid) pockets develop and the anaerobic bacterias start to form hydrogen sulfide gasses. I only use peat only on garden plants now, all my CPs (including utrics, sundews, VFT, etc) and orchids live in LFS based media now.
All CP's that is except my big bical. I moved it to a huge pot now (5 gallon pail-plant is 5 feet across) so I had to add peat to the new soil mix or the potting soil alone would've run me like $30 for the LFS! But I don't tray this one anymore as the larger pot size keeps the soil wetter longer at least for now. The two new little bicals are still on the tray however.
 
Long Fibered Sphagnum moss, or dried strands of sphagnum, not the same as peat moss, wich is decomposed sphagnum.
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Long Fibered Sphagnum moss, or dried strands of sphagnum have a advantage to cps over peat? Is that why you switched over and no longer use peat? So the plants can breathe better, less chance of crown rot? Maby I will switch over.
 
Unfortunately unless eBeyonder has some kind of cooled setup, LFS doesn't do very well for us here in the tropics. It dies almost straight away and then breaks down very rapidly in the heat.

I have a couple of amps that are doing well, eBeyonder if you are from Sing then you'll know these words; I use pakis all broken up mixed with arang. I water almost daily but I don't see any problem with the tray if the water level is not too high.

Cheers, Troy.
 
  • #10
Fre8train,

The peats I have tried (canadian sphagnum peat, sphagnum peat and a few other kinds) have all settled into a stinky mess after 6-12 months and caused me to have to repot any plants that are grown on the tray method. The finer/softer the peat is ground up the sooner I know it will settle and start to become oxygen devoid and I will have to replace it. With using LFS I do not have the same problems and only need to repot when the plants outgrow their pots, not because the soil has gone "sour". If you do not repot whne the soil starts to stink then you are chancing root rot and eventually crown rot.  The main problem with LFS on the tray method is that slime molds/algae can grow on the top surface sometimes but that's easy to remove if you do it carefully enough.

I also like LFS cos it comes to life after a while and then you have a cool plant with a lawn of living moss beneath it!
 
  • #11
Hey ebeyonder:

I live in San Francisco, which has a cool, somewhat humid climate. I keep my ampularia in a little glass terrarium, and I have it water itself with a timer. It waters itself for 2 minutes a day. I have the plant sitting on top of an upside down pot, which is in a small reservoir of water. The picture makes it look like the nep is IN the water, but it's not. Here's the simple setup:
N.%20ampularia%2010.JPG


The temperature goes up to about 85 during the hotest part of the day, when the 400watt MH light is augmented by the late afternoon sun. At night, the temp drops to the mid to lower sixties. The humidity is always over 75%. So far, it seems to like the conditions very well, and just produced this big pitcher, which is about three inches, not including lid:

N.%20ampularia%20big%20pitcher.JPG


Incidentally, it is potted in pure lfs.

Capslock
 
  • #12
Hmmm... that's odd, I thought I replied... anyway I was saying that my amps are clumped today with no vines... unless Caplock's pics... what can I do to make it grow those vines?
 
  • #13
This is one of those subjects where everyone has a usable medium for Nepenthes.
I have no idea what those components Troy mentioned are, but he has a great point in that there are probably some local products that can be used by themselves or mixed with peat. A peat-based mix, just means it has peat in it. You can use a mix that is only 20-25% peat and use bark, charcoal, sand, ect. And depending on high your temperatures are, Troy is correct in the sphagnum may not hold up too well. I think people in the US can get away with sphagnum, as the temps usually only sky in the Summer(I know of several growers who use exclusively LFS with no problem.

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #14
Pakis = tree fern trunks which you can buy here (in Indonesia) all broken into small pieces. It drains very well and is organic but fairly inert.

Arang = big chunks of wood charcoal NOT coconut charcoal.

The other ingredient I sometimes use is burnt rice husks. They are hard and black and, as with the pakis, they drain well and are inert too. I also mix in a bit of perlite but that I have to import myself from Australia as no-one here sells it. I know Sing is a lot better for shopping so eBeyonder will no doubt be able to get that in Sing.

Cheers, Troy.
 
  • #15
namp1.jpg


This is the pic of my nep ampullaria. I've since set it in a tray of water. As I've said, it doesn't have any long leaves/vines like Caplock's. What can be done to encourage to grow up, literally?
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