Some types of pitcher plant (Nepenthes) may take some time before you need to repot them for the first time. Other varieties, however, have to be planted in a different pot every year. What is important when repotting pitcher plants.
How can I properly repot my pitcher plant?
When repotting a pitcher plant, this should ideally be done in summer, use a new planter with a sufficient drainage hole and drainage layer, use carnivorous soil as a substrate and place the plant carefully in the new container without moving it too much.
How often does the pitcher plant need to be repotted?
How often a pitcher plant needs to be repotted depends on the species. For fast-growing species the pot becomes too small every year, for others it can take two to four years before repotting is on the agenda.
It is time to repot at the latest when the roots of the Nepenthes have completely penetrated the planting substrate.
The Best Time to Repot Pitcher Plants
As with all plants, moving to a new pot means a lot of stress for pitcher plants. The best time to repot is summer. This is when the plant is strongest and quickly gets used to the new planting substrate.
Get a planter whose diameter is a maximum of 10 to 15 centimeters larger than the old one. Make sure that there is a sufficiently large vent hole. Since pitcher plants cannot tolerate waterlogging, you should first create a drainage layer, especially if you care for the ornamental plant standing and not hanging.
Cover the drain hole with weed fleece to prevent it from becoming clogged.
How to put the pitcher plant in a new pot
- Fill the planter a maximum of one third with substrate
- Removing the pitcher plant from the old pot
- place in the middle of the new vessel
- Fill the pot with fresh substrate
- press carefully
Carnivore soil (€23.00 on Amazon) from the garden store is suitable as a planting substrate. Experienced gardeners put together the substrate themselves from peat, sand, peat moss or orchid soil.
So that the pitcher plant sits straight and is not damaged when transplanting, it is recommended that two people repot it. Then one can hold the plant upright while the other fills up the substrate.
Tip
Do not move the pitcher plants too much when removing them from the old pot. If the liquid runs out of the cans, they die. This is a digestive extract that cannot be replaced with water.