FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I was wondering, would nepenthes benefit from having activated carbon on their medium, kind of like orchids that many mediums use it to absorb toxic exhudates made by the plants, I was planning to use it as to help reduce the effect that the orange exhudates my plants make have less effect (if it has some) but, will it adsorb PPM also?

But is not from the same species/family.

The activated carbon is widely used around plants, here we are using it on Vaccinium sp, and I have seen it used on Cephalotus

I have used activated charcoal -- laboratory grade only -- in the culture of Nepenthes species, especially highlanders, which are generally more reticent to root in vitro. Charcoal will absorb a great deal of both exogenous and endogenous auxins and cytokinins, as well as providing some modicum of darkness, thought to be beneficial for rooting.

Charcoal is particularly beneficial, especially after the use of many cytokinin-rich multiplication media; and the charcoal can stave off some unwanted callus formation during that stage, preventing some somaclonal variation . . .

Interesting, I have medical grade one, the one given in case of intoxication, Do you think should it work?

coline wrote:Interesting, I have medical grade one, the one given in case of intoxication, Do you think should it work?

Yes, that should be just fine; so too would lampblack or even graphite. One thing to consider, though, is that the addition of activated charcoal -- commonly 0.1% or more per liter -- tends to raise the pH of media, as much as .80. It occurs during autoclaving and over the course of a couple of weeks.

For that reason, I'd prepare particularly acidic media to counteract that effect, particularly with Nepenthes . . .

Well, that is quite a lot, 0,5% per liter is 5g/L, I was thinking of using 500mg/L

coline wrote:Well, that is quite a lot, 0,5% per liter is 5g/L, I was thinking of using 500mg/L

My apologies. There was a typo late last night. AC is often used in one percent concentrations, occasionally much higher, to promote rooting -- especially in those cultures that have been bombarded by PGRs for months on end . . .