Coir for Nepenthes
TANWK (TANWK@am.nie.ac.sg)
Tue, 20 Aug 1996 10:38 +0800
Dear CP'ers,
I have been using a mixture of coconut coir, river sand, and burnt
earth (all available from commercial flower nurseries here in Singapore)
for about a year as a potting medium to root Nepenthes stem cuttings,
for germination of seeds, and when transferring bigger plants to new
pots. The ratio I am using is 1:1:3 (nothing very scientific about this. I
guess that the coir retains moisture and the sand promotes drainage
and aeration). Previous to this composition, I had been using burnt
earth solely. So far, the plants do not seem to mind.
Like Ch'ien (Topic 4, CP Digest 810) I am not sure what the long-term
effects are. In the wild, the Nepenthes ( lowland types) grow in a variety
of very poor soils; I guess in domestic cultivation in the tropics sufficient
light, humidity, watering, and warmth (from both weather and CP'er) will do.
Incidentally, in CP Digest 808 Topic 10 Dave Evans mentioned
" I am no TC expert, but I've heard this question and answer many
times: Use seed. CPs are impossible to sterilise".
There is a section on CP tissue culture in Gordon Cheers' s book
(page 44 -45) "A Guide to CPs of the World" with photos of Pinguicula
and VFT tissue culture.
Cheers! TAN, Wee-Kiat