Last spring I ordered my first Nepenthes...Miranda. He was a little banged up when he got here ("here" being New Orleans, LA) and his pot was broken but other than that he was alive and green. I didn't want to stress him out any further by repotting right then so I just put his pot inside of another pot, trimmed off the dying pitchers and hung him outside on the patio with my small herd of aroids.
It rains here almost every day (a deluge followed immediately by a blast furnace sun...can you say H-U-M-I-D
) If it doesn't rain for a day or two I mist him with the hose. This being one of the bug capitals of the world...I don't feed him. He does very well on his own. Currently there are about 8 or 10 pitchers and all of them have "bodies" floating inside. There are new leaves and pitchers weekly and there is a resident anole who has set up housekeeping among the leaves and pops out to say hello every time I go near. Life is great.
So here's the thing... Eventually it IS going to cool off here and then what do I do? I know what the "books" say about max/min temps, etc but I need some real life info. When should he really come in? What about the lack of humidity in the house? What will he eat (not to mention the anole)? Will I have to feed him (the plant, not the lizard) and if so, what? I've read that some people fill the pitchers with water when they open? Should I be doing this? I've just been leaving it up to the rain and mother nature for them to make their own "goo". And...he's just about to outgrow his glob of moss or whatever this is he's potted in. Should I order a mix or make something myself? Is there a good time to repot vs a time when you NEVER want to repot?
I'm obsessing over all of this but he's just such a groovy little oddball plant and if he does well over the winter I could see this turning into a new addiction. Please help. I'm looking for some really practical advice.
It rains here almost every day (a deluge followed immediately by a blast furnace sun...can you say H-U-M-I-D
So here's the thing... Eventually it IS going to cool off here and then what do I do? I know what the "books" say about max/min temps, etc but I need some real life info. When should he really come in? What about the lack of humidity in the house? What will he eat (not to mention the anole)? Will I have to feed him (the plant, not the lizard) and if so, what? I've read that some people fill the pitchers with water when they open? Should I be doing this? I've just been leaving it up to the rain and mother nature for them to make their own "goo". And...he's just about to outgrow his glob of moss or whatever this is he's potted in. Should I order a mix or make something myself? Is there a good time to repot vs a time when you NEVER want to repot?
I'm obsessing over all of this but he's just such a groovy little oddball plant and if he does well over the winter I could see this turning into a new addiction. Please help. I'm looking for some really practical advice.