Hi Josh, a bit of a belated reply. Sorry about that.
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Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Rob, when you say you repot every six months or so do you entirely wash off the soil from the root system or simply move a plug with the rootmass (undisturbed) to a new container, basically just doing away with the bulk of old soil? Do you only repot due to the slow release fertilizer or as a rule even for un-fertilized plants?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Firstly, I never disturb the roots unless absolutely necessary. We use pure cocopeat here which breaks down completely over a period of 1-2 years. For small production plants (less than about 12" dia) we repot frequently, preserving the root ball. However, some of the older stock plants in the lowlands which are over 12 feet tall have been left alone. The potting media has broken down and almost washed from the pots entirely leaving nothing but a massive root ball. The plants just keep on going, pitchering and flowering as normal.
These plants are just strange. If all other conditions are correct they can manage with one factor entirely wrong. I have several N. bicalcaratas that grew up from seedlings in 3" diameter pots. They are still in 3" pots now and are over 4 feet in diameter. I suspect that if the humidity were to drop too low or they were not watered for a day or so they would croak immediately.
Finally, slow release fertilizers. I believe that Tony is absolutely right in saying that natural feeding is the best way but slow release has it's place. As promised, here's a horribly out of focus photo of an 6" stalactite under one of our benches.
Rob