Bical repotting

[Lauderdale]

I figure it is time to repot my little bical from a 4" pot to an 8" round x 7"deep.  I have read that there should be about 1" of  "orchid" mulch at the bottom.  What in the world is orchid mulch...ground up orchids?    

Would cypress mulch work also?
I have also been told that bicals (as opposed to other nepths)should be grown in pure LFS.  Is there a general consensus that this is the way to go?  

 

[WildBill]

Hi Lauderdale -

Everyone has their own particular mix, here's what I used for my bical & other neps:

First, I put about 1/2 inch of LFS in the bottom of the pot.

The mix is equal amounts of:
LFS
Orchid Bark (chopped to 1 to 1/2 inch size, if they came in really big chunks).
Vermiculite
Perlite
Sand
Peatmoss
Lava Rocks, smashed with a hammer
Aquarium Charcoal, smashed

It works well for me. I got a small N. bical plant last August. It's in a terrarium and now has four 2 inch pitchers on it (a little traumatized from sixty 4th & 5th graders poking it last Monday - it will bounce back just fine). It will be interesting to hear what other growers recipes are. I use the above recipe for all my neps, however, for my N. villosa I added smashed granite chips at the suggestion of Phil Faulisi of the Bay Area CP Society.

Good luck with it.

WildBill

 

[Trent]

Hi Jan and all,
I've heard good things about granite chips as an additive to Nep mixes, but have never used it. Granite chips are hard to find in south Florida.
Jan, for our south Florida climate, you could use a "traditional" Nep mix-peat, sphag., orchid bark,charcoal, aliflor, perlite, or preferably, pumice. As you have seen in our greenhouse, bicals are one of the few plants we grow exclusively in lfs. If you intend to grow the plant outside thru the summer, I'm not sure about using pure sphag because of the extended rainy season causing them to be too wet and thus prone to rot. For outdoor south Florida growing, I would suggest more the traditional mix, but without the perlite. Use aliflor (little clay balls) to help provide better drainage. Perlite with time will break down and leach Fluorides into the media-very much to the displeasure of N. bicalcarata. If you grow them under cover where you can control the water schedule, then stick to the lfsphag.
see ya around,
Trent

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Granite chips are form granite correct? The pretty metamorphic rock right? If so...I have a quarry of it behind my house, would it be in my interest to ground up the smaller granite chunk with a hammer to "chip" dimensions and use them as an additive in Nep mixes??

 

[Trent]

Hi Dustin,
I've heard only good things about granite chips. I've even heard that they leach out beneficial minerals to the plants. I know of some growers in Georgia who use granite in all their cp mixes. The chips are actually graded and sized, and sold in bags in the Atlanta area.
I'm not sure about this, but doesn't Atlanta Botanical Garden use granite chips in their Nep mix?

Trent

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Well, guess I'd better learn to use a jackhammer!

I might expieriment and crush up a rock with a sledge hammer and see what the chips do. Thanks for the info!

 

[Steve L]

Hey There,

I have two comments on this thread...

1) Granite Chips are available at feed stores and grain elevators as "chicken grit" or "Turkey Grit". The Turkey Grit is a bit coarser and is a good size for potting mixes. In case your wondering about the name, poultry rely on small pebbles to help grind up the food in their stomachs, so these products are added to their food... I have never used them in CP mix.

2) I think the best mix for bicalc is pure LF sphagnum. Other growers do well with lots of different mixes, so it’s not the only thing that will work, but for me LFS is the only thing I grow bicalc in.

Good Luck!

Steve LaWarre
Grand Rapids, MI

 

[The Griffin]

Chicket grit is pebbles? Lol, I remember an old CPN where someone used that in his seedling mix for all cp and I thought it was like hay, sawdust, ect. ow ignorant I am, lol. I might be able to find it with that knowledge. Thanks!

Regards,

Joe

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Granite is extreamly inert and composed of quartz (silicon dioxide) and feldspar.  I doubt anything would be released to the plants.  At most a little potassium or calcium might come off the feldspar portion.  I am sure it plays a larger role of improving drainage and keeping the soil from compacting.  Personally I prefer something that will do the same and is also porous.  Pumice, perlite, lava rock etc.  They will add similar benefits but also hold air which the roots like and water in reserve (little sponges) which helps balance soil moisture.

Tony

edit:
oops meant to answer the original question also.

I use a peat base mix for N. bicalcarata. Primarily peat some silica sand and a little coconut husk chips although fine fir bark would work also. Pure LFS stays too wet in my situation with nearly daily overhead watering.

 

[The Griffin]

That is a big point, Tony. I know one Aussie grower that uses 75% pine park, 20% perlite and 5% peat. That is too course for me, and the big difference is he has auto-watering several times a day coming on. I think mucho drainage with watering like that must allow a heck of a root system to develop, but I am far too lazy to water like that, and that much RO water would be too expensive anyway.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Lauderdale]

I guess I should have described my growing conditions a little better.  My bical will be hanging outside underneath an aluminum awning so I will be able to control water.  It is on the south side of my home so it will only get direct sun until 11:00 AM but will be in bright light all day.  I live near the ocean and it will be exposed to our constant on shore breeze.
Sooo, under these conditions, would pure LFS be the way to go?  And should there be anything in the bottom for drainage?  If so will cypress mulch work?

I still wanna' know what the heck "orchid bark" is.

 

[lithopsman]

Lauderdale,
Orchid Bark is what orchids are usually grown in. It it bark of a suitable type of tree in different sized pieces. This is ideal for orchids, because they typically require a very well drained medium. I hope that helps!!

 

[Lauderdale]

Thanks for all of the information guys.

Quote[/b] ]My bical will be hanging outside underneath an aluminum awning so I will be able to control water.  

Should there be any kind of bark at the bottom if I go with pure LFS?

 

[lithopsman]

Lauderdale,
As long as you control the water input, it shouldn't be neccessary... GOOD LUCK!!