Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 14:18:38 -0500 From: Perry Malouf <pmalouf@access.digex.net> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3388$foo@default> Subject: Re: nepenthes again
Christer Berglund wrote:
> Now I wonder if pitchers is a sure sign that the plants are doing fine,
> or is it possible that high humidity can trigger the plants to grow
> pitchers even though they're not well?
In my experience with Nepenthes, I've observed that a plant which isn't
doing well will not produce very good pitchers, if any at all.
> What decides when a species characteristic pitchers will develop
> (instead of small, green ones): The size of the leaves, the plants age?
Pitchers have many characteristics (shape, coloration...). In some
plants the coloration of the pitcher becomes telltale very early on,
when the pitcher size is 1 cm or so. The shape of the pitcher might
not become telltale until the pitcher is larger, say over 5 cm. It
depends on the plant.
I feel that the recognizable characteristics of a pitcher become evident
as the pitchers become larger, which is somewhat correlated with the
age of the plant while the plant is young. I haven't seen a correlation
with leaf size.
> Will a nepenthes that is starved of nutrients grow smaller leaves, or
> grow normal sized leaves, although in a slower rate?
Nepenthes which are starved of nutrients (soil nutrients, pitcher prey,
light) will not do well, so the question is somewhat moot. Did you mean
starved of soil nutrients only? My plants are in a nutrient-poor
potting
mix but they receive ample light and foliar feeding. They're doing
fine.
There is no evidence of slower leaf growth, or smaller leaf growth.
> Are the pitchers entirely green in all forms of lowland N. veitchii?
The ones I've seen are green. Sometimes the broad peristome turns a
golden yellow color.
> Does anyone know what size the pitchers on N. veitchii, Sungai Samba
> (lowland) must reach before they show the enlarged peristome?
Sorry, I don't have this cultivar so I can't help you here.
Regards,
Perry Malouf
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 02 2001 - 17:31:38 PST