Question
Hello Christopher,
 I am trying now to repot it, I think I know what soil to use for my two plants, Nepenthe(alata) and Venus flytrap. But I was wondering...how exactly do we repot carnivorous plants? Do I pull the plant out and get rid of all the earth around its root, and put it into the new pot with new soil? Do I have to "push" the earth downwards, so that it becomes tangible for the plant? And What do we mean by "mixing the soil", do we mingle it and "fustion" them into one? or putting them orderly one after the other? And the moss, do they grow by themselves afterwards? Will my plants die if I don't repot them? I mean, in Canada, I might not find "coconut husk"...

Another thing is, since i have school in the day, and I put my nepenthe next the my window in my room, it might get some hours of direct sunlight. Is it bad for the plant? Because after one day, one of the baby pitcher started to yellow...i think...it appeals to be, or it is because it is from the lower leaf and the leaf is dying.

By the way, how was your vacation? :)

Thank You sincerely
Nicol

Answer
Hello Nicol,

The best way to repot plants is to gently press the sides of their pots until the soil is loose, then cup your hand over the pot, with fingers around the plant so it does not get crushed, and turn the pot upside down, tapping on the bottom of the pot as needed to gently force the soil to pop out in more or less one clump. Some soil will stick to the roots, so you can wash the roots gently with distilled water before repotting or leave some old soil around the roots if you wish. So long as most of the old soil is removed you will generally be fine so long as the plant is healthy and the old soil is not sour and stinky.

You can use one part perlite and one part sphagnum peat moss for the Venus flytrap and it is possible to use two parts perlite to one part moss for the Nepenthes as long as you completely repot the plant once a year (Nepenthes are allergic to perlite when it gets old and breaks down so replacing the old perlite with new often is best), yes you mix these ingredients like you would cookie dough, by just dumping a handful of each at a time into a pot and then mixing it up while adding some water to moisten it. The moss is generally dead peat, but can hold a few spores or dormant sprigs of moss that could wake up and start growing in light and water. You can also use live sphagnum, but that is more expensive and difficult to obtain and can overgrow smaller plants quickly.

Once you have the soil mixed and moistened you just push a hole in the middle with your fingers until you have enough space for the roots. If you need to you can take some soil out and add it back in as needed when you get the plant placed properly. It can help to hold some soil around the roots as you put the plant in the new pot so the roots already have a solid base to hold them steady. slowly and gently push moss around the roots on each side and keep the plant standing straight up until it can hold itself up. Make sure the moss is tamped down only slightly as moss that is too tightly pressed will not drain water well and can cause problems with root aeration. Ideally the moss should be spongy so that it springs back up when you press it down with your fingers lightly. The main thing to consider is to be gentle with the roots as they can snap if too much pressure is placed on them. This is not usually fatal if only a few are damaged, but too much root damage can harm or kill any plant.

The lower pitchers and leaves of Nepenthes will eventually die off after yellowing. As long as you notice new growth on top of the vine, new leaves, tendrils, and pitchers swelling, your plant is fine. Nepenthes do great with a few hours of window sun and plenty of indirect light the rest of the day. My Nepenthes get direct window sunlight from a south-facing Texas window and are doing well. The bigger your Nepenthes gets the more light it will need in a bigger window or with additional light sources like florescent lamps.

My vacation was fine, thanks for asking.

Christopher