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Has anyone ever mounted a nep

superimposedhope

Somewhat Unstable
Theres epiphytic Neps right?

Has anyone ever tried mounting them like other epiphytes (ex.. orchids, stagfern(?), Rhipsalis, Epiphyllum,etc....) to wood or whatever else?

Curious
Joe
 
wow... I never mounted a nep!
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(think about it for a while... it'l come to ya
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)
 
I grow my: N. inermis, macfarlanei, dubia, muluensis, gracillima and reinwardtiana in suspended net pots (plastic pots full of holes) like this: (old pic of my N. inermis):

inermis3.jpg


The soil is 50/50 long fibered spahgnum and fine grade orchid bark. It dries out quickly (a day or two) and these type of neps seem to relish this sort of wet/dry cycle. Infact, my N. inermis was just about rootless and very slow growing when it was kept wetter.

Mounting a nep directly to bare cork bark or drift wood like you can do with a phalenopsis or dendrobium orchid will not work because the roots aren't the same. When they say a Nepenthes is epiphytic it means they are rooted in a sheet of moss that is growing on the tree. The moss stays moist and thus waters the delicate nepenthes roots. Epiphytic Orchids (in general) have very thick roots with a silvery substance called velamen on them which allows them to rapidly absorb water during a downpour and still cling to a bare wooden surface (and even plastic I've found).

If you want to attempt a more true to life epiphytic situation tie some moss on a sheet of cork bark or on a LARGE driftwood branch. Make the moss layer at least 2" deep and cover a good portion of the mount. Then lay your Nep on the bed of moss, cover with more moss (so just the leaves are sticking up) and tie it down gently but firmly with fishing line. I grow all my orchids like this because I like the way it looks but I use pots for neps so they have a deeper substrate.

One caveat is that you MUST have high humidity to grow anything mounted. It will require a good watering every two days or more and daily misting.

If you have the environment for it-I say go for it! It'll look sweet!
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I meant could the roots hold on though. I know about the humidity and what-not. I have several mounted plants. Some plant roots aren't capable of holding their own wait by the roots.

Joe
 
OMG SPEC
i dont want to even think about neps after that comment...
 
Like I said, Nep roots will not attach to wood or hold their own weight against a bare wood mount because they do not have the root system or root strength that orchids do. Neps need to be rooted in something like the spahgnum moss so that their hairlike roots can spread out to distribute their weight, once properly rooted they will be OK, that nep vine I showed now is about a meter long, still planted in the 4" net pot and hanging fine!

Once rooted in the layer of moss they should be ok but ideally they'll have something to support them as they climb (like a nearby branch or plant stakes poking up from pots below the mounted plant).
I would not cut the string off that's holding the moss and Nep roots to the mount even once it's grown large. Is that what you meant to ask - if the string can ever be removed? I leave it in place on mine, just don't tie it super tight to begin with or use too many wraps. In time the moss will become alive and grow over the string anyway.
 
Thanks Josh that did answer my question. I don't know if I'll try it though cause I don't have many Neps and mounting is a delicate procedure that requires much care for many months until established. I just don't have a Nep to lose. I'm keeping it in mind though cause anything mounted to natural wood looks cool.
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Joe
 
Huh, Huhuhuhuhuuh, he said "mount"
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Joe
 
  • #10
Hi,

I mounted a lowland Nep truncata in the fork of a piece of driftwood in a terrarium. I layered the fork with spahgnum moss and other mosses to keep it moist and carefully put it in place. The only thing was when it pitchered the whole thing came off and my experiment came to an end. ANd next time I'll have to wire the vine on!.

Christian
 
  • #11
I would try a cutting from a relatively easy growing vine as a start. The roots and dormant node will grow with about the same speed, so it will have a good chance to establish. Also this way if it didn't work out you wouldn't loose a plant just one cutting.

Somewhere online there is a japanese Nep growers website which has tons of pics of many of his plants (seedling to mature) growing mounted on dead moss covered branches in his greenhouse in the manner I described. Unfortunately I can't find the link on my favorite places right now.
Just look up nepenthes on google and check the sites that end with ".jp"... it's one of them!
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  • #12
i'd select a smaller grower, like n. gracilis, campanulata, etc
campanulata even grows on rocks as a lithophyte, so you could try that out.


it just seems like a larg growng species would become too heavy eventually
 
  • #13
Interesting. So, the pitcher weight was enough to set it off balance?

Joe

I'll check that out Josh, thanks
 
  • #14
Spec, ya got some issues man
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  • #16
Just reminding everybody
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Spec, you should get together with my bud Colin, kids got LOTS of Issues
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