Question
Hi Jacob,

I'm planning to repot my nepenthes since they've been in the same pots for almost three years. I've been thinking about using net pots for the nepenthes because I researched that they allow better water evaporation and cooling during night time temperatures, and allow the soil to have more oxygenation in it. Are these benefits true? Also My N. Rajah is in a 6 inch pot and has raveled many new leaves since then. Should I bump up the pot size or just change the soil?

As always, thank you for your help.

Answer
We've experimented with netted pots for Nepenthes.  Frankly, we didn't see any significant difference in growth.  Nepenthes soil is already very airy, and there gets a point where increasing aeration doesn't matter.  It's not a linear relationship.  When people see a surge of growth when first using netted pots, they mistakenly assume that the netted pots were the reason.  Simply repotting plants to fresh media is the real reason, regardless of the pot (assuming the pot has drainage holes).  So given the extra expense of the netted pots and the lack of significant difference in growth, netted pots are not cost effective.  

With your rajah, it depends.  Does it look too large for the pot it's in?  Is the soil looking "bad?"  Are you seeing a sudden die off of leaves?  These are the reasons why you may want to change the soil or increase the pot size.  It's a judgement call on your part.  I prefer to fix things only when they need fixing.  If you want to freshen the soil to prevent diseases, you can do so.  Again, this is a judgement call.  

Good growing!
Jacob Farin