Question
Hi!  I got a baby nepenthes truncata queen of hearts x king of spades for christmas.  it came growing in dried (?  not living, i think long fiber if that makes a difference) spagnum moss.  With such a little plant I wasn't sure when (or even if) i should replant it into something else so I just left it.  So far it seems to like growing on my window sill, I live in Tacoma and we are just starting to have more consistent sun, it is pitchering and has grown some new leaves.  but i have noticed that the top of the moss is turning green (mold maybe!).  What do I do about that?  I tried using my sulfur based fungicide on it, but so far that doesn't seem  to do anything.  Will the mold hurt my plant?  should i just repot it to solve the problem?

Thanks!  Katie

Answer
Hi Katie,

Repotting is probably a good idea generally since you don't know how long it's been in that pot.  What I think you're seeing isn't mold, but algae, especially if the fungicide had no effect at all.  It's not directly harmful, but just kind of nasty.  This may also be an indicator that your soil media is a bit on the wet side.  

When you transplant give it a bigger pot; roughly double the size of the one it's in.  This will allow you to not have to water it as often, and the soil will stay damp, but not really wet.  The algae needs wetness and light to grow, so if the surface of the media isn't as wet it will be less of an issue.  Longer days and stronger sun will also help as we go into spring.

Good Growing!

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