Are there any Nepenthes experts here?

[Steve Mac]

I bought a Nep, it said 'a cold tolerant hybrid,' would it be possible to guess its probable parents from an immature pitcher?

I am wanting to know more exactly the night and daytime temps that it would prefer.

It is just starting to get more pitchers again now that it is spring here.

[Neil C]

From what I can see from the pitcher is appears to be either pure ventricosa or a hybrid with ventricosa as one of the parents. Did you keep it in a greenhouse over winter or has it stayed outside? Most pitcher plants are classed as highland which means they can take quite cold nights. Up here in Brisbane all mine live outside and only a lowland hybrid shows any sign of cold damage. They do start pitchering more spring with the increased amount of light. Post some more pics when the pitchers open up.

 

Regards Neil

[Steve Mac]

Thanks Neil, I bring it in at night or if it is cold and windy but, put it out in the morning and it gets quite a lot of sun.

I will reduce that as it gets hotter. I mist it a couple of times a day.

I gave my daughter one the same, she lives around the corner and she leaves it outside all of the time.

But it gets less direct sun, It seems healthy but it is not getting pitchers yet. 

looks like mine is a male, I will update as it develops.

[Steve Mac]

Neil, have a look at these.

The first pitcher to form has a very small lid, is this common?

The second one seems ok to me, (but I wouldn't know.)

Oh, I cut that flower off too, I was told that is the best thing to do unless you want to breed with it.

[Steve Mac]

Look at the growth rate of that second pitcher. I just 2 weeks.

What else could it be with ventricosa?

[Neil C]

Looks like your newest pitcher will have a full lid as well. They do sometime have small/weird lids but these are usually one offs. Pure ventricosa pitchers usually have more of a waist (narrowing in the middle) than yours exhibits so it does appear to be a hybrid but with what I'm afraid I don't know. If ventricosa is crossed with another species without any outstanding features then the resulting offspring can often look very like ventricosa. It could even be a complex cross where a hybrid is crossed with a species or even another hybrid and then things get really confusing. Ventricosa has been used for probably more hybrids than any other species as it is relatively common and hardy. Do a google search for "Carnivorous plant photo finder" and have a look at all the photos of Nepenthes and hybrids. Quite an amazing resources!! I post a few of mine soon.

Regards Neil

[Cindy Adair]

Really nice!

I have killed two Nepenthes that I tied to trees and abandoned them. So this time I have just hung the basket in a tree to see how that goes after keeping it alive (doing nothing to it) in a shade house here for a year. 

I would prefer it to live without a pot if possible.

Any suggestions or do I just pretend it is an orchid except maybe actually water it on the very rare weeks there is no rain? Thanks!

[Really full garden]

23 minutes ago, Cindy Adair said:

Really nice!

I have killed two Nepenthes that I tied to trees and abandoned them. So this time I have just hung the basket in a tree to see how that goes after keeping it alive (doing nothing to it) in a shade house here for a year. 

I would prefer it to live without a pot if possible.

Any suggestions or do I just pretend it is an orchid except maybe actually water it on the very rare weeks there is no rain? Thanks!

Cindy, I feel the same. I have tried to find info on how to grow Nepenthes in the landscape to no avail. I want a minimum of plants in pots and those that are in pots will eventually be in a landscape somewhere.

Surprisingly we do have a few Nepenthes available commercially here in Guatemala.

[Steve Mac]

23 hours ago, Neil C said:

Do a google search for "Carnivorous plant photo finder" and have a look at all the photos of Nepenthes and hybrids.

Thanks will do.

 

9 hours ago, Cindy Adair said:

I would prefer it to live without a pot if possible.

yep us too, but since we just usually fill up the saucer once or twice a week with tap water, (it is soft in Sydney) and it looks so tropical and so cool, it can be the exception that lives in the house, because it is so light and easy to move around if we want to. It is less of a problem than some palms that are in the garden.

[Steve Mac]

On 10/5/2016, 11:25:02, Cindy Adair said:

Any suggestions

Cindy, I have seen pics of them growing on or from the ground, where the ground is continually damp,

if you could find a spot like that then you could abandon it like a red headed child. 

[Cindy Adair]

Lots of continually damp areas here so I will give it a try soon. Thanks!

I did see some in Borneo in trees, but have no idea what species. When I get to posting those photos in my Travel Log of the IPS pretour (or was it more on the Biennial portion?) I will pay closer attention to how the nepenthes were growing.

[Neil C]

Nepenthes tend to inhabit areas where the soil is poor in nutrients which is why they use prey to provided the missing goodies. If you plant a Nepenthes in normal soil it will perish fairly rapidly. I have seen posts where growers have put the plants pot in the ground and then let them grow up a tree. I'm not sure how long term this would be as eventually I'd imagine normal soil will get into the pot. Another option might be to hide the hanging pot somewhere in a tree or remove the plant and soil and place it in a natural "cup" in a tree. This would only really work if you lived in an area with frequent rain and high humidity.

 

Regards Neil

[Steve Mac]

Because of the growth rate of these things, I find them so satisfying. From nothing to this big pitcher in about 1 month.

[Steve Mac]

And look now just about a month later again.

It lives outside now we just give it a spray with the vegetables.

[Neil C]

Looking good!!

 

Regards Neil

[Steve Mac]

Now 3 months later there are a dozen pots and they are full of bugs.

This plant is so satisfying to grow, so fast and easy,

if you have a climate that will accommodate it, I would highly recommend  it.

Ours is outside for 9 months and hanging in the bathroom for 3.

It could stay inside all year if we wanted, the inside grown pots were bigger.

And it may even survive outside all year I just haven't been game to try that yet.

Some pots are short because I cut the top off them as they start to die back.

 

[Steve Mac]

Update, we are still very happy with this plant, it has just come through winter still producing pitchers, probably because we bring it in at night.

It is starting to get too big with over a dozen pitchers, so will cut it back and strike some more smallers ones to give away.

If we cut the long shoot into three or four pieces, are they all likely to grow?

We have been really surprised how many bugs it does actually eat when it is outside.

Cindy, did you have any luck with yours?