Expert: Sarracenia Northwest - 5/8/2010

Question
Hello, I'm planning to repot a Nepenthes Sanguinea I got from you guys a couple months ago and it looks good.  I've seen people repot sundews by removing the soil off the roots gently, dipped it in purified water, and put it in fresh nutrient free soil with the roots pointing down, and the plant did fine. I want to know if I can do that with nepenthes species.

I also got dried New Zealand Sphagnum moss that says it has high zinc in it.  Will this kill my plant and will this dried moss come back to life?  Also with Perlite, I've read before that over time this volcanic glass will release toxins that will kill my plants.  Is that true?

Thank you.

Answer
Hi Agustin,

Yes, the repotting method you've described will work well for all species of Nepenthes.  As for the sphangum moss, I'm not sure why the zinc is in there.  If it's an additive to kill spores, then you shouldn't use the moss.  The moss we use have no such additives.  We also use a couple hundred cubic feet of perlite every year, and we've been using it since 1995.  We don't see any detriment to our plants, so what you've previously read about perlite is false, at least according to our 15+ years of experience since we started the nursery.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin