Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1998 02:19:47 -0400 From: "Mark Pogany" <markp@en.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3119$foo@default> Subject: Marc's Nepenthes Quandary
Marc wrote in digest 1580:
I
grow a Nepenthes alata, a Nepenthes x coccinea and a Nepenthes gracilis x
mixta. Although the humidity is 80% all day, the plants don`t develop any
pitchers. What can be the reason ?
I assume that your plants are semi-mature (larger than a few inches tall).
Saying that, I will tell you that I am not the consummate Nepenthes expert
but since I grow N. alata and N. coccinea some feedback might be in order.
Have your plants been transplanted recently? Most neps take a very long time
to reestablish themselves after this root disturbance. Mine took a good 6
months before putting out new pitchers!
Your humidity seems fine. I grow my N. alatas and one N. coccinea under hard
greenhouse conditions ( humidity varies between 85-45%). These plants are
established and put out great pitchers. I first grew them in a terrarium
under "soft" conditions to help reestablish the roots following transplant.
By soft I mean constant high humidity and adequate artificial lighting
(fluorescence).
Since N. alata is (by the book) a highlander and N. coccinea is a lowlander
(but tolerates mild highland temperatures) I would figure both of them would
be quite happy growing next to each other. In a tank indoors shoot for
temperatures around 75f during the day and 50 to 60f at night. This might be
easier to duplicate sitting the tank in a cool basement, letting the lights
warm things up while they are on and the ambient basement temps taking over
at night.
Potting medium- what are you using? All neps like a moist but very well
draining mixture. I use a little bit of everything. Long fibered sphagnum,
chopped osmunda fiber, large- grained silica sand, a bit of peat, orchid
bark, and a handful of horticultural charcoal suffices nicely for most neps.
Here is a link with a very useful article on Nepenthes cultivation:
http://redtail.unm.edu/cp/nepinfo.txt
Good luck and good growing,
Mark Pogany
Willoughby Hills, Ohio (a 5.2 earthquake today!)
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