## Overview
I grew Nepenthes hydroponically using the methods described below from March 2015 to July 2018, so for about a little over 3 years. Thanks to Terraforums member knuckles for sharing with me his experiences growing Nepenthes hydroponically at the start of my experiment. This setup ended when I had to move to another state.
_This page is adapted from an old [Terraforums post](https://terraforums.com/forums/threads/nepenthes-hydroponics-preliminary-results.141431/)_
So why grow Nepenthes hydroponically? A few reasons:
1. I've been interested in [growing Nepenthes in inorganic media](http://pitcherplants.proboards.com/thread/12853/nepenthes-inorganic-media-experience-observations) to avoid both repotting and root rot due to decomposing media. In my experience, Nepenthes don't like repotting, and it's a very difficult task with large plants. Since some inorganic media never decompose, repotting is no longer necessary (in theory).
2. Automation. Having a system that waters my plants for me is a huge time saver. Since I do not have a greenhouse and do not grow outdoors, I can't rely on misters. A drip irrigation system fits my circumstances best.
The plants were all grown in 100% coarse perlite that had been sifted through a #10 bonsai screen. This was probably overkill; regular, unsifted perlite that had been washed of dust and the finest particles would probably have been fine. Pots were all #1 size, commonly know as 1 gallon pots in the US (although they are not, in fact, a gallon by volume). Plants were watered 4 times daily for 15 minutes each through drip irrigation on a recirculating system. I fertilized weekly with DynaGro 9-3-6 fertilizer. All plants were grown indoors without supplemental humidity in the southern US.
Closeup of the dual-bucket system. Two of the 3 feeder tubes that were installed on every pot are visible, fastened to the outer pot with small binder clips. Pictured is [[Nepenthes x splendiana| a cutting of x splendiana]].
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60359429@N08/29471519681/in/album-72157647417495448" title="N. splendiana on hydroponics"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8187/29471519681_6a3f61d16a_z.jpg" width="640" height="360" alt="N. splendiana on hydroponics"/></a>
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## Results
Below are some before and after photos should give an idea of how the experiment went. **NB: My photos below may be used & reproduced for any non-commercial purposes whatsoever. Attribution appreciated but not required.** Some photos can be clicked for larger versions on Flickr.
#### [[Nepenthes Hopeful Monsters|Hopeful Monsters]]
2015-03-29: Growing in rockwool cubes prior to transplant:
[](https://flic.kr/p/ryMWaE)
2015-06-22: three months later, after hydroponics, in the same pot. Decent amount of growth.
[](https://flic.kr/p/v38C1e)
[](https://flic.kr/p/v38zfK)
Roots before (left) and after (right):
[](https://flic.kr/p/ryNt29) [](https://flic.kr/p/vkDRcd)
#### [[Nepenthes x splendiana x Redneck|x splendiana x Redneck]]
2015-04-22: Growing in 3.5" / 9 cm pot before transplant, in rockwool cubes.
[](https://flic.kr/p/rYHEA9) [](https://flic.kr/p/rYHCp5)
Left, 2015-07-23: After 3 months in hydro, 1 gal. (size #1)]nursery pot. Right: eleven months after the photo on the left, 2016-06-22. Same pot in both pics. The plant had 3 vines in the right photo, still holding onto some of its pitchers from the previous summer:
[](https://flic.kr/p/w7uexE) [](https://flic.kr/p/Hu72dY)
#### [[Nepenthes Josefita|Josefita]]
Clone 2. Unregistered grex name. splendiana x Song of Melancholy.
Left, 2015-11-08: Just repotted from 3.5" pot into 1 gal (size #1) nursery pot. Right, 2016-04-04: Five months later, same pot.
[](https://flic.kr/p/Azpctq) [](https://flic.kr/p/FSVvEV)
[](https://flic.kr/p/Ae3AwD) [](https://flic.kr/p/FWuiK3)
Roots after. About 85% of this was grown while in hydroponics.
[](https://flic.kr/p/G1zi2R)
#### [[Nepenthes Los Alamos|Los Alamos]]
Unregistered grex. Splendiana x a different Song of Melancholy.
2015-10-18: Just repotted into 1 gal. nursery pot, was growing in rockwool cubes.
[](https://flic.kr/p/GHD4AG)
[](https://flic.kr/p/Hx5rwv) [](https://flic.kr/p/HdZMKU)
2016-05-11: Seven months later, same pot. In spike.
[](https://flic.kr/p/GHsVUA) [](https://flic.kr/p/Gde42N) [](https://flic.kr/p/H2BTNr)
Roots after.
[](https://flic.kr/p/GGw6yf)
[](https://flic.kr/p/H4KMh7)
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For the following plants, I only have after shots, but I think they're still informative photos.
#### [[Nepenthes x splendiana|x splendiana]]
2016-03-06: Fifteen of the 18 leaves pictured were grown hydroponically.
[](https://flic.kr/p/EuYMBs) [](https://flic.kr/p/EuYJa7)
Roots after growing hydroponically for several months:
[](https://flic.kr/p/ELEbnm)
#### [[Nepenthes ventrata|ventrata]]
2016-04-23. About 15 new leaves in about 5 months of hydroponics. The white rope divides the pre- vs. post-transition to hydroponic growth.
[](https://flic.kr/p/GwbdpV)
#### [[Nepenthes graciliflora|graciliflora]]
Aaka alata var. boschiana mimic, 2016-02-27. Two-thirds of the vegetative mass shown here was produced while on hydroponics.
[](https://flic.kr/p/Eros1R) [](https://flic.kr/p/DBTrzU)
#### [[Nepenthes Fairyland|Fairyland]]
Left & middle, and some nice pitchers from other plants grown hydroponically ([[Nepenthes Josefita|Joseifta]], [[Nepenthes x splendiana|splendiana]], [[Nepenthes maxima x vogelii|maxima x vogelii]]).
[](https://flic.kr/p/HjF9Qs) [](https://flic.kr/p/HnBMwn) [](https://flic.kr/p/DUsiN1)
#### [[Nepenthes splendiana x ((veitchii x maxima) x veitchii|x splendiana x ((veitchii x maxima) x veitchii)]]
This plant made its biggest pitcher ever while on hydro. I could not get a whole plant shot, as it's lost in a tangle of other plants:
[](https://flic.kr/p/GNB2GB) [](https://flic.kr/p/Gp2cXv)
In that tangle pictured above are also growing [[Nepenthes x splendiana|x splendiana]], [[Nepenthes alata x maxima|alata x maxima]], [[Nepenthes x rokko|x rokko]] 'Wolfplant', [[Nepenthes Red Leopard|Red Leopard]], and [[Nepenthes Isis|Isis]], all using the method described above.
#### [[Nepenthes alata x maxima|alata x maxima]]
This plant grew very well in this setup. In the photos below it has 3 vines and both upper and lower pitchers.
2016-09-16
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60359429@N08/29627345332/in/album-72157647831001165/" title="Nepenthes alata x maxima, repotted"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8447/29627345332_4ae16d9942_w.jpg" width="225" height="400" alt="Nepenthes alata x maxima, repotted"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60359429@N08/29111948174/in/album-72157647831001165/" title="Nepenthes alata x maxima"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/8202/29111948174_7a8545cf5f_w.jpg" width="225" height="400" alt="Nepenthes alata x maxima"/></a>
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## Grow stations
The photos below depict 2 of the 3 growing stations at the height of this round of hydroponic growing. As you can see, the plants were doing rather well. The majority of the plant mass shown here was grown while the plants were in the hydroponic system.
Station 2, from the right and from the left, followed by station 3 at night.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60359429@N08/26514785463/in/album-72157644377418333" title="Grow area 2, May 2016"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7334/26514785463_f3cdd2f1f3_n.jpg" width="180" height="320" alt="Grow area 2, May 2016"/></a> <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60359429@N08/33531743800/in/album-72157644377418333/" title="Grow rack # 2, spring 2017"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/2933/33531743800_29beca255a_n.jpg" width="180" height="320" alt="Grow rack # 2, spring 2017"/></a>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/60359429@N08/33427298585/in/album-72157644377418333" title="Window Nepenthes in Richmond"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/3698/33427298585_1d7b0e3bc1.jpg" width="353" height="500" alt="Window Nepenthes in Richmond"/></a>
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## Other remarks
Other plants that have succeeded for me hydroponically include
- additional clones of [[Nepenthes Los Alamos|Los Alamos]]
- [[Nepenthes boschiana x fusca|boschiana x fusca]]
- a wild maxima-sanguinea hybrid
- [[Nepenthes lowii x campanulata|lowii x campanulata]]
- [[Nepenthes Melvino x Song of Melancholy|Melvino x Song of Melancholy]]
- [[Nepenthes x tiveyi|x tiveyi]]
- poi dog alata hybrid
- [[Nepenthes thorelii(?) x alata|"thorelii" x alata]]
- [[Nepenthes Redneck|Redneck]]
A few plants that have not done well include [[Nepenthes eymae x ephippiata|eymae x ephippiata]] and a clone of [[Nepenthes Song of Melancholy|Song of Melancholy]]. There were mitigating factors to consider in those failures, so the jury is still out.
#
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[[Nepenthes]]