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Pot size: Does it matter?

nightsky

nightsky

Lover of Mountains
Did a search and didn't see anything on this topic. So - is it possible to overpot neps? My neps are still fairly small, the biggest has a 7" span, the smallest 2", but all of them have their own 6" pot. I figured this way they could just grow into them unrestricted, plus it allows me to water less since I'm out of town so much.

Do you think it matters?
 
It matters for some things. I just unpotted a globosa that had tubers busting through the top of the soil, and the bottom 1" of the pot was nothing but roots...somehow they displaced the soil.

I don't think you can overpot (in a negative way). Like you, many people do that to avoid watering so much.
 
I don't know if it is true, but I was told one time that for most Neps a good rule is to pot them in a pot close to as wide as the plant is across.?.???
 
i repot my plant just so i don't have to water them everyday. I water them every other day...
 
Well a nursery in hawaii she sasid that the leafs should be within the pot so I am just saying what I haerd from a reputable and knowledgable nep nursery. But they also said that large pots are neede and long leafed neps are a exeption they just say large pots are good in short. Repot every other day friday ??? Thats a little nutty ,I think every year or so. If water is a problem just get a no hole grass flat try then just put pots in there.
 
Pot size should be directly addressed to how large the root system is not the vegetative aerial portion of the plant. I'm not going to plant a Nepenthes that is 3 feet tall and 2 feet across in a 2 foot diameter pot if its root system only occupies a quarts worth of soil volume. A general rule is, whatever size the root system will fit into (pot diameter) comfortably, the grower should up the size 2 sizes. Over potting isn't necessarily good, the soil needs to breathe and dry out between waterings, consistently moist isn't really good. Most lowlanders can take that type of soil, but highlanders really appreciate the air infiltration and drying.
 
for instance...the best example.... the king likes a wide pot as possible. Its roots are comparitively shallow but wide.
 
  • #10
Precisely! Pot size should be related to the root mass, not the plant size. Now if your plant is not going to accept being in a small pot (top heavy), other methods may need to be employed to keep the plant in a normal growing situation.
 
  • #11
oh really? highlanders like drying out for a short period of time? well now i feel good about myself when i check on my plants and the highlanders are kinda dry.
 
  • #12
"Dry" in reference to Nepenthes is not DRY dry. Just wanted to clarify that.
 
  • #13
Well I am different then. I think about the plant being in the wild. It has unlimited room to grow. I have had good luck planting everything in a 12 inch pot for the most part and letting the roots fill in. I have experimented with some in slat baskets and some do good some don't. Yes it may take some time with some things, but i have also restricted some things by having them in pots that their roots could expand. So listen to the experts. they have more experience than me, but I don't think my way is bad because from what I hear nepenthes do not like to have their roots disturbed. So the bigger pots let them grow longer before transplanting and disturbing the roots. Just my opinion.
 
  • #14
That way is fine, as long as the media doesn't start to decompose and become all nasty. As long as your media stays nice, use as big a pot as you want.
 
  • #15
I think to use a biger pot is a waste, when the root sistem get big enought to fill the pot its posible the media on the lower levels of the pot will be or compacted or starting to decompose (due moisture)... and you will be forced to repot.

Im not sure, maybe Im wrong and the perlite will keep the media good for longer... this is going to be my firts time repoting Nepenthes (my ampullaria need a biger pot, so the basals can grow more :-D) so I dont think I have experience on this arts!
 
  • #16
I think to use a biger pot is a waste, when the root sistem get big enought to fill the pot its posible the media on the lower levels of the pot will be or compacted or starting to decompose (due moisture)... and you will be forced to repot.
Click to expand...
I agree.
I like to repot once a year or more, depending on how fast the stuff grows.
 
  • #17
I think it depends on the plant. You don't need to put an N. argentii in a 5 gallon pot. But an N. bicalcarata could eventually end up in a 20 gallon pot. But again you would not want to start an N. bicalcarata in a 20 gallon pot. Again, depends on plant, species, and speed of growth to determine size of pot to start with/time to repot. JMO.
 
  • #18
5 gallon for argentii? No. However, I recommend potting in something about 2-3x the width of the plant for argentii so it can anchor its tendrils in the soil.
 
  • #19
Most of the plants show a proportion between the size of the root sistem and the rest of the plant...

If I understand, the "carnivorus plants" rely on the media primarily for support and water and as a diference of many other members of the Plantae family they use the traps and digestive enzymes to obtain nitrogen, phosphorus and other crucial elemental nutrients.

So based on this I figure the root sistem will be more small on proportion with the foliage... or just the distribution will be diferent as a deep root sistem or a more wide root sistem, which one is the case for the nepenthes?
 
  • #20
Some neps can get pretty large and not have too much root mass (especially if you keep the soil pretty moist). Others however, can have a giant root system in relation to plant size (bical/viking).

Some plants have different structures too. Truncata roots tend to go pretty straight down, but rajah roots grow more laterally.
 
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