Question
Hi! I got a nepenthes ventrata from my nursery today. They dont specialize in carnivorous plants. Anyway, this plant has several growing points (maybe two plants) and I'd say only two points have any slight yellow leaves. Theres at least 15 pitchers young and small and one developing well. The growing points look good except for one small one. The woody stems and offshoots tell me it might have been growing at the nusery for a while. But I realized the soil it's in probably is not peat. It is dark but loose. I need to know if I should repot it? I've always read that a peat mixture is good, but I also remember reading that this cultivar has a broad tolerance. If I need to repot can you give some tips concerning the pitchers and their juices?  Thank you, J

Answer
Hello J,

Only the nursery knows what the plant is growing in at this point, so you may need to ask them. In any event, the best mix to use would be one part long fiber sphagnum, one part orchid bark, and one part perlite or a similar mix. So long as the mix has some acidity, from the sphagnum peat or long fiber peat, loseness for aeration and drainage, from the perlite and orchid bark, and water retention, also from the sphagnum it will be fine for Nepenthes. There are premixed soils out there for Nepenthes specifically sold for that purpose at cobraplant.com. I have never gone wrong buying soil and plants from them.

Anyways, I think you are referring to losing the liquid from the pitchers during repotting? That can occur and is no big deal. The fluid is harmless and sticky and stinky if it has any insect soup in there, but no problem to wash off. The plant will produce more fluid after repotting even if it is not at the same level as initially produced. New pitchers will grow in and the old ones will die off anyways. You could spray a little water in the pitchers if it worries you, but there is no need as the plant will only absorb the water and exude its own fluid (Nepenthes most often have lids over the top to keep rain out anyways, so best not to mess with natures design). The easiest way to repot Nepenthes would be to have extra hands to help hold the vines and pitchers upright so they don't drop their fluid. Other than that, just repot as for any plant that has rather shallow, slightly brittle roots that need a little care in handling. They might take a week or two to recover from repotting, but in most cases do not even seem to notice being disturbed.

Christopher