Nepenthes Pitcher Plant Potting Mix from Scratch

This is a visual guide to creating a potting mix for a Nepenthes pitcher plant.

See step 6 for pictures 6 months later and 20 days after repotting.

Original photos.

Step 1 Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients:

5 gallon bucket
Perlite
Peat Moss
Sand
New container for plant
Butter knife

A note before beginning: In retrospect, I wish I had watered my pitcher plant 1 day before re-potting. It turned out that it was bone dry from the plant store and the butter knife was necessary to loosen it from the original container.

For later feeding: Meal Worms and Crickets.

Comments

[Bubbler]

I have just the ideal place to hang some of these plants. I have one I purchased 18 months back, and it needs potting on. This instructable has helped me a lot, especially the pictures of of them hanging.

Ibr4h4m, thanks for your tip, I already have asbestos damage, and I will now keep away from perlite and such.

[chuckr44]

Hi, your nepenthes looks great. Just a note. Perlite is not volanic glass, it is expanded mica. They heat up mica until it pops like popcorn. So, no real danger with perlite.

[Thoth]

Vermiculite is expanded mica. Perlite is expanded volcanic glass (mainly obsidian). The dust from either is bad to inhale but perlite dust can cause silicosis

[ibr4h4m]

hii, at my country indonesia we just use rice husk burned, it's more cheaps than peat moss and perlite at hire :D

[Erik Lindemann]

I really need to get one of these plants. I currently have a Sarracenia pitcher plant, which is really nice but not nearly as alien looking as a Nepenthes. Great instructable by the way.

[dreamexplorer]

Carnivorous plants are pretty incredible. I'm happy that this one in particular seems acclimated to average humidity levels in my house -- I'll have to expand to a terrarium for some of the more fun ones. Do you keep the Sarracenia in a controlled environment?