Terrariums... no...no...no. Oh... and let your plants adjust

Small spaces....sealed walls....heat...light.....  = mold  = sick plants. For a large portion of nepenthes (some lowlanders excluded) they can be acclimated to low humidity areas, a lot make great house plants. A lot of places in the US you can actually have these plants outside in hanging pots or planted directly in the ground!! Just make sure they have the correct light and soil. When you put these plants in terrariums you add a lot of negative potentials for an unnecessary benefit.

When you get your plant in the mail it will most likely be in some form of container. Depending on how you get your plant shipped to you you have a few options for acclimating your plant. If your plant came potted it probably has some form of clear plastic container over the plant itself (if not you can make one out of a clear plastic disposable cup). A good/easy way to allow your plant to adjust is two punch 4-6 holes in the clear container, and every week add another few holes until the cup isn't needed anymore. Depending on how big of a change your plant is having you can extend the process by adding less holes and/or extending the time between adding new holes.

If your plant is shipped to you bare root you will probably want to pot it in an appropriately sized pot and the correct soil mix. Some people use only long fiber sphagnum moss. You can duplicate the process with the plastic cup by putting the potted plant (or if your plant came with moss wrapped around the roots you can just put the whole thing into a bag) and close the plastic bag over the pot and plant. Similar to punching holes in the cup you can slowly open the bag until the plant is completely uncovered/adjusted. Make sure to get your plant the right amount of light even when it is still adjusting!


Nepenthes have fragile root systems. Particularly young plants. When potting a bare root plant be very careful with the roots or you could lose your plant. This is why in some cases if your plant shows up with moss wrapped around the roots it is best to just leave the moss there and either bag the whole plant + moss for the adjustment period, or plant the root with the moss still intact so you don't accidentally break off any fragile roots.