Question

My Wonderful Nepenthes   In the wild, carnivorous plants will grow in one spot for their entire lives, right? They never get repotted or moved.

I was wondering, is it at all possible that, with the right conditions, a carnivorous plant of any kind could reman in one large enough container for its entirety? I'm not against repotting, I've just always wondered. I'm asking this because I've always read that the peat moss that Sarracenia and Flytraps grow in, as well as the long fiber sphagnum (and other things) that Nepenthes grow in, deteriorates over time. Now, I'm not arguing that it doesn't, I'm wondering if there is any way (maybe use live moss, or SOMETHING) that will allow the rejuvenation of the soil without ever having to repot? Has or can it be done? And could I do it? Do you recommend repotting just because it helps make the plant look healthier, or does not repotting actually kill the plant?
Thank you!
-Kevin

Answer
Hi Kevin,

First, some container plant basics.  A plant growing in a container is nothing like growing in the ground in a natural setting.  Soils in containers break down over time, leach out, build-up unhealthy levels of bacteria and fungus frequently.  Plants in a forest, bog, field, etc... have dynamic conditions going on.  There's a balance of microorgansims, rain flowing through the soil helping oxygenation, worms, decomposition on the soil surface returning nutrients.  Carnivorous plants live in a very nutrient deficient environment, but they still have all these factors happening.  Plants in pots only have a limited amount, and the added disadvantage of rapid temperature swings and often inconsistent water.

If you use large containers, you can go much longer before needing to transplant, but eventually the soil does go south.  For example, in the nursery I have an old bathtub that has lots of Sarracenia, Flytraps, Sundews and Butterworts in it.  It's going on 4 years.  Since I don't have it sitting in water, the peat is not breaking down as fast.  I should be able to go 6 years or more before I need to totally replace the media.  I've tried to keep live sphagnum growing on it, but it's just not wet enough.  For bog species such as Sarracenia, Flytraps and Sundews, having a layer of live sphagnum moss growing on the surface helps keep a more dynamic environment intact, but depending on your conditions, keeping the sphagnum live and growing can be tricky.

Because Nepenthes growing in a drier media, they can go several years, but eventually they just outgrow the pots, or the media does break down and leach out of the pot.  For all of the plants mentioned, repotting does cause them stress, but once they re-adjust, they're often bigger and healthier.

Some plants are more sensitive to transplanting.  Drosophyllum is very sensitive, and usually dies when transplanted.  Same with many Byblis species, and some annual sundews like D. indica.  With these you will just need to plan on them being in the same pot until they expire.

The bottom line here, repotting is just part of container gardening.  Most plants eventually need reppoting, but it depends on the plant as to how often that should be.

Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com