i also grow carnivorous plants
i have a ping and 2 pitcher plants, all are healthy so far (few months now)

from my understanding, nepenthes have VERY different soil requirements from orchids, but similar conditions (light, humidity)
i think that is partially why so many orchid peeps have them, but i have never heard of putting them in one pot

the nepenthes needs a well drained peat moss mix that is moist with some drying in between. wait, i think the black jewel orchid would like that kind of soil as well

i do not think a nepenthes would survive in orchid bark

some carnivours plants are grown in sphag moss (strands not peat) like some orchids. maybe that would work

i wonder if nepenthes would grow in s/h
i do not have the guts to do that experiment on my current nepenthes, but maybe i should go buy some that i don't care about and try planting them in s/h ....

I've grown carnivorous plants for a little over a week so I guess this makes me an expert - ROTFLMBO!

When reading the instructions for keeping these little fungus gnat eating machines thriving, it said to NOT fertilize them and orchids need to be fertilized. They also need to be planted in a very peat based mixed and that is a no no for most orchids, except a few terrestrials.

You now have all of my knowledge regarding carnivorous plants. Right now, I can't even name all of mine, I just want them to eat.

Brooke

I grow a reasonable number of carnivorous plants. Fertilizer is probably the major hindrance to growing orchids and carnivorous plants in the same pot and most carnivorous plant are generally intolerant to high salt environments.

As you mentioned, Nepenethes are probably your best bet. I know of one carnivorous plant grower who has done this in the past with success. Co-planting in a sphagnum mix should work well with a range of orchids bearing in mind the comparative size of the either plant. Obviously any orchids you'd choose shouldn't need a seasonal dry periods and should like a continually moist mix. Neps can also handle foliar applications of dilute (~1/4 strength/fortnight) epiphyte/orchid fertiliser. So if the orchid you choose isn't too hungry, they should work well. Humidity may be an issue as low humidity can be affect pitchering. There are several species eg truncata, maxima, alata, ventricosa etc that are more tolerant of lower humidity so if your humidity is a little on the low side of the orchid's preferences you may want to try these species and their hybrids. If your humidity is in the 60% range and above, humidity probably won't be an issue for most Neps.

Disa uniflora should make a good companion for carnivorous plants, especially those that like a lot more air movement than Nepenthes. The downside is they need late summer/autumn repotting -Sarracenia, Darlingtonia, winter dormant Drosera and Dionaea are out. Utricularia or Cephalotus could be good but may resent annual repotting. Weedy Drosera like capensis, binata, spatulata and aliciae etc should do well. This year I struck mexican Pinguicula cuttings in old Disa mix (sphagnum). A few stray tubers shot in the old mix and both Pings and Disa grew happily until the Pings were large enough to separate out. Don't know how they'd go long term.

As far as what I've done on purpose, I've had great results growing the several species of tuberous Drosera and Australian terrestrial orchids together. Actually I regularly pull out Drosera peltata and auriculata from my terrestrial orchid pots. Realistically, you'll probably struggle to get hold of either tuberous Drosera or Aussie terrestrials in Michigan so it's probably not worth going into much detail on it.

Andrew

Hi
I grown neps with with hybrid dends and epis. They are growing in a dwarfed paradise tree along with pencil trees and a couple of broms. The setup is way to comp[lex unless you have a greenhouse.?? They are in the same base container but the planting media extends 18 inches above the pot. Wouldn't attempt this with highland neps or some of the more valuable orchids. I'm sure they'd all do better in separate planters.
gary

I admire you all for keeping those things alive. I've tried all manner of carnivorous plants and wind up just killing them all.

Hi ,
I have 2 Neps.hanging up , they are huge (taking over) I don't see any way they could share a pot with an orchid .
I like the butterworts ( knat catchers )have several scattred around on the shelves . Almost out of knats ..no don't send me any lol :)
Gin

I used to have a huge collection. :~(
I grew up within miles of California Carnivores and used to spend a lot of time and money there.
This was at the old location, although the new and much nicer place is now even closer to where I used to live.
I had everything from Neps, Pings, sundews, Utricularia, Cephalotus to virtually most of the Sar. species.
I lost all of it when I moved to S.Cal. The heat, dryness, bad water, lack of free time...it all conspired to kill of everything.
The only thing that I really grow anymore are a few Sars, Pings and my Tub o' Cobra's! ;~)
This is how they looked at the end of last summer!
{{gwi:183884}}
Along with the Darlingtonia californica, I also have Goodyera pubescens, Spiranthes cernua 'Chadds Ford', Spiranthes vernalis and a couple of others.
My Sars are hybrids and kept separately.
This is how they curently look! I really need to weed again!;~)
They need a few more months of growth to catch up!
{{gwi:183886}}
When I expand everything, I'll add more orchids with similar requirements.

I really need to scan my photos from Indonesia.
I have tons of photos of Nepenthes in-situ!
The conditions are far more rough than you would think! (For these particular ones.)
The ground was hard, wet, rocky and crawling with leaches!
Although there was a lot of grass, leaf litter and rain, it wasn't exactly perlite and sphagnum! ;~)

I brought back a lot of seed, but we never did find out what they were!
Most of mine germinated, but were killed by a thoughtless house painter.
I had left for my Brother's wedding and after being gone for a few months, found out that my Nep nursery had been unplugged the whole time I was gone!! :~(
I lost everything and had no extra seeds. Peter D'Amato lost all of his seedlings when the roof blew off during a storm! :~(
If I can scan my photos, I might be able to ID what they were.
I would like to get back into them, eventually.
When ever I get a greenhouse up and going, then I'll work on it!

Scott

I grow some! Some Sarrs, VFTs, neps and Sundews. I would grow them separately from the orchids personally.

{{gwi:183888}}

{{gwi:183890}}

d. Adelae Sundew flowers (1/8th inch in diameter!)

{{gwi:66788}}

I grew CPs before orchids and still have quite a few Neps, three VFTs, a couple types of sundews, and some butterworts. Other than the VFTs and butterworts, everything else is in tanks...well, not the GIANT Nep. that is on/in my bromeliad tree outside. I'm sure it would be possible to grow certain orchids with certain CPs, but in the end, I think it would be easier to just grow them seperate.
-MB

I grow numerous orchids, both epiphytic and terrestrial, as well as a large collection of sarracenias and a few nepenthes. The most successful orchid/cp combinations in my garden are bog gardens, and they are spectacular right now. I have Platanthera (aka. Habenaria) ciliaris in full bloom planted in combination with Sarracenias, VFT's, and Calopogon orchids. I'm still experimenting with Epipactus species, but they are not terribly vigorous here (lots of west coast plants tend to languish in our summer humidity.) Another successful bog companion, as noted in one of the posts above, is Spiranthes cernua. I'm also experimenting with Pogonia ophoglossoides (sp?), but it's taking a while to get established; it's pretty far south of its normal range here, so the heat may be a factor. I have tried cypripediums in bog environments before, but can't recommend that. I find that they need much better drainage to prevent fungal attack than do the CP's, and they're too expensive to risk. Bletillas are a possibility while in growth, but would need to be lifted and stored in a drier, cooler place during the winter - I've seen them sold as bog plants at a couple of local nurseries lately, but wouldn't count on their being perennial without decent winter drainage.

As far as the epiphytic species go, I don't see why a combo of Nepenthes and Phals, for instance, wouldn't work, but I agree that it would just be easier to grow them separately. Weight becomes a consideration when you're dealing with plants which hang (I grow all of mine on mounts or suspended in pots or baskets), and you can always group them together for display purposes. Another issue is that epiphytic plants (which includes most of the orchids which are commonly available) need the excellent drainage afforded them by a container which will dry out to the core before being watered again; when you start combining plants in containers, you increase the volume of potting medium and likewise the time it takes for moisture in the center to evaporate. I like the idea of the bromeliad/nepenthes/orchid "tree"; I snagged the remains of a beautiful crepe myrtle from one of my neighbor's trash heap a couple of years ago with the notion of creating something like that, but so far it's just providing a climbing wall for squirrels behind my shed. The best laid plans...

bub
have tried several setups as you describe with great results but limited life span lol. If you use a living tree
it either produces too much shade or outgrows its location.
If you use a dead tree it rots or with very hard woods will not retain enough moisture . Another problem is plant A shades plant B too much or not enough or outgrows its location or croaks leaving a hole.
My paradise tree that I'm currently using is in a sunken
20 gallon pot maintained with standing water. It does produce a profound dwarfing result though it does grow through the roof it produces light shade and easily clipped.
Keep the entire setup at 8 feet wide and ten feet high.
On it I grow Dends Broms ,pencil trees ,Nepenthes , 5 epi broms , dicrinum and selaginella moss .At the base i grow Several Aroids and waffle plantpalm seedlings as well as spanish shawl and aluminum plant..
This has by far been my most succesful long term multi species setup. i have another project going but I'm going to add some more of the 'twig' orchids to this setup when I arrive at the ideal light setup.
I had to tear the entire thing down last March to repair the roof. I do find Nepenthes a bad choice as they are VERY unruly. I think shingle plants or gold fingers would be a better choice or some of the dwarf Hoyas?? gary

I have to keep them out of need. Chicago is famous for flying bugs, especially biting flies. I bought them from Hausermann's. They are so unaclimated to light that they don't seem to be able to do their thing. The Nep pitchers burned in North slightly east (2 hours early morning) light. Can anyone tell me what kind of light to give VTF, Neps and pings?

Clara

VFTs can take just about as much light as you can throw at them. Neps, need high light and high humidity to do well. Pings, you can get away with less than the other two, but they still appreciate a lot of light and they will turn reddish/pinkish in 'good' light.

Gary: do you have a digi camera? I really really want to see what you described, not to mention some of your other projects. They all sound VERY cool.
-MB

M B
Well, I think my projects are cool lol My wife thinks they are overgrown to the point of "scary "lol I wanted the neighbor lady to see the wonder of my epiphytic pencil trees and she refused to enter the shadehouse lol. "God only knows what kind of creepy crawlies are in there!!" LOL
Nothing poisonous I assured her but she would only look from the outside .
I have lots of pix taken over the years but only began the "rainforest " in 2000 and has been knocked down 3 times by hurricanes and two floods.
The paradise tree is the oldest and most prolific but only small portions show up in pix.
The main "biotope " a "seep wall" made from expanding foam with marsh area and submerged plants in the water reservoir has taken most of my time and thought and money lol. It is at least 3 years from completion to what I envision.
I'm computer challenged so never try to post pix .
I lost my good camera down a canyon in Costa Rica and I want to buy some new birds so camera is out for the for seeable future .
Would love to share with people who appreciate "lush " growth gary

Gary, that sounds like a botanical delight you have going on down there. I surely wish I could live in Florida! Whenever you get the time or gumption to put any photos online, I would also love to see your paradise tree! If it scares your neighbors, it is probably the very thing I would appreciate!

I got some great ideas out of this post, now I just have to get around to devising my own. Thanks!

Hi
My most successful multi species arrangement was a mid canopy wet dry set up using overgrown bougainvillea wood.
The orchids loved it !! On it i grew Catts Dends Ency and epis as well as vandas ,terete ,strap and hybrids.
There were problems lol They grew into each other and through the roof .The wood rotted, they were impossible to separate so still have pieces hanging around lol The ferns went crazy choking everything . The growth was so heavy it allowed the hurricane to lift the roof lol i discovered it was the only thing holding the roof in place.
From a photo point of view it was great because by standing on a chair you could get a pic of ten feet with some separation of which plant was which lol When several were flowering it was downright gaudy lol
The Paradise tree setup lasted but is almost impossible to photo, because you can't get back far enough to get the whole idea. Another fault to the setup is I have to get on top of the house to trim the tree lol Several times it has overgrown to killing several species.
I have some pix of the Bougainvillea setup on Disc which I could send directly to you if interested.
Sadly it no longer exists the plants now living in hanging baskets looking beautiful but "cultured" lol
I hope to eventually expand the shadehouse to 25x25 which will give me MANY more grow areas. Not any time soon though given my finances and how much work needs to be done to the house . gary