### Setup information Components: - five-gallon bucket - lid for bucket, with 5 holes drilled for two-inch mesh pot inserts - pump - ### Chronology ##### 2025-09-17 About this date is when I started the aeroponics experiment. Initial test subjects included - [[Nepenthes x ventrata|N. x ventrata]] - [[Nepenthes Poi Dog|poi dog cutting]] - [[Nepenthes ampullaria x zakriana|N. ampullaria x zakriana]] - [[Nepenthes x rokko Exotica|x rokko 'Exotica']] The ampullaria x zakriana eventually died, having grown no new roots or leaves. Maybe it was just too cool in the late fall / winter household conditions? Or was it transplant shock? At first the x rokko was the fastest grower, and it produced lots of long, new roots quickly. Then instead of changing the water + fertilizer weekly, I let it sit for two months. The plants didn't dry out, but x rokko suffered -- new growth was stunted, and all the roots rotted off. After resuming weekly water changes, it immediately put out new roots, but new growth was pale yellow & slow. The x ventrata and poi dog did not seem to suffer during the 2-month period of neglect and continued growing. At no point did their roots rot off, and foliage never turned pale yellow like the x rokko foliage. ##### 2026-06-09 About six months after the experiment started. The small plant on the left is the [[Nepenthes x rokko Exotica|N. x rokko 'Exotica']] cutting that I pulled out & potted up just a few days prior because it was growing so slowly. The x rokko is larger than any of the other cuttings were at the start of the experiment, so that should give an idea of how much growth was achieved in just 6 months. ![[Nepenthes_aeroponics_2026-06-09a.jpg|300]] ![[Nepenthes_aeroponics_2026-06-09b.jpg|300]] The two large vines are [[Nepenthes x ventrata]] and the [[Nepenthes Poi Dog|poi dog cutting]]. At some point I added [[Nepenthes x ventrata x alata|N. x ventrata x alata]] from [[Cloud Forest Flora]]. It's still small and hiding in the vines. ##### 2026-10-05 One year, one month of growth in the aeroponics system. Only three plants survived, and only two did really well. Today I terminated the experiment to transition the remaining plants to traditional growing methods in the [[3to2 PerliteToBufferedCocoPeat|3:2 perlite: buffered coco peat]] mix. I did this because as the plants became larger, the aeroponics system would require re-engineering to accomodate their larger size. I thought it easier to switch to traditional growing methods, since I'm not sure what the final arrangement will look like. And it's an experimetn to see how they handle the transition. In each paring below, the [[Nepenthes Poi Dog|poi dog, plant 2]] is on the left and the [[Nepenthes x ventrata|x ventrata]] is on the right. Lots more growth than the other cutting planted in sphagnum. No pitchers at the moment, likely due to insufficient light (it made 4 earlier in the spring). Today I potted both up into 5" square pots using [3:2 perlite: buffered coco peat](app://obsidian.md/3to2%20PerliteToBufferedCocoPeat). Hopefully they survive the transition. ![[N_poi_dog2_2026-10-05a.jpg|300]] ![[N_ventrata_2026-10-05a.jpg|300]] The roots completely filled the 2" basket cups holding them in the aeroponics bucket. First they formed into a dense mat inside the cup, and then eventually longer roots grew and trailed outside the cup. The poi dog had a denser root mass than the x ventrata, even though the x ventrata produced more foliar mass. ![[N_poi_dog2_2026-10-05b.jpg|300]] ![[N_ventrata_2026-10-05c.jpg|300]] ![[N_poi_dog2_2026-10-05c.jpg|400]] ![[N_poi_dog2_2026-10-05d.jpg|300]] ![[N_ventrata_2026-10-05b.jpg|300]] It's worth noting how large the plants are compared to their root masses. --- [[Nepenthes cultivation]] | [[Nepenthes]]