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I tried to take some pics today as the humidity in the greenhouse is a bit lower so the camera doesn't instantly fog up the moment I turn it on.

I tried taking some pics of a new aristolochioides upper, but as it was up near the roof of the greenhouse there was too much light and it was awfully overexposed. However, one of the basal shoots had put out a cute little lower pitcher, and in the pic you can see the slight ribbing of the peristome. I hadn't really noticed it until I looked at the pic on the computer.

aristo%20lower%2028May05.JPG


Here's a pic of one of the hundreds of veitchii seedlings I have. They were sown on 30 March 2004 and germinated on 12 August 2004, so the one pictured is just over 9 months old. You can even see the little hairs on the leaves.

veitchii%20seedling%2028May05.JPG


Even when they're tiny, seedlings of many Nepenthes species are distinguishable.

Cheers, Hamish
 
looks nice!


100's of seedlings... if only one was so fortunate!
 
Hi Hamish
Very nice and as Flip said oh to be so lucky
smile.gif

Bye for now Julian
 
Don't worry, you don't feel so fortunate when you have to transplant hundreds of tiny seedlings into their own pots. It is a delicate, fiddly task. A couple of months ago I potted up about 250 seedlings of various species, it took me an entire weekend, and completely did my head in! I've got more than 1,000 seedlings of different species to do in spring, not counting the seed I sowed last month. Oh, and eventually they stop being seedlings and start consuming every spare millimetre of space. At the moment I'm in serious denial
smile_k_ani_32.gif
The things we do in the name of conservation
smile.gif
 
Hi Hamish
Now that is a fiddly job.What sort of planting media do you use if your planting so many.In your extensive collection do you have any favourites?
Bye for now julian
 
I use mainly sphagnum, I find that just about all species grow well in it, and its moisture retention properties mean I don't need to water often (which is important in Sydney with water restrictions and declining reservoir levels).

As for favourites, the patriot in me has to go for rowanae and a very red form of mirabilis we have here. It's tempting to go for the showy species like veitchii, hamata, villosa or edwardsiana but there are many other species that are appealing due to their simplicity, elegance or delicateness. Various forms of tentaculata, sp.1 Sumatra from BE, ampullaria, even ventricosa has charm. I've got an old ventricosa growing at my back door that has survived everything thrown at it, and just seems to grow faster and stronger every year, not to mention having put out enough seed for every collector on the planet. And then there's the rogue, a dark maxima that I've hacked back several times, only to have it swiftly climb up an adjacent tree into my neighbour's garden to flower 4 metres up a tree where I can't get to the flowers.

My main concern is conservation, so I try to avoid hybrids as much as possible so I can fit as many species and variants as possible, particularly peninsular Malaysian and Philippines species where the local habitat is being logged and developped into oblivion. I'd also like to explore PNG as not much work has been done there on Neps, but it's simply too dangerous.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]As for favourites, the patriot in me has to go for rowanae


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I just recetly got one Nepenthes rowanae and it is my favorite plant as well. It has been even before I had one. And is proving to be a very fast grower for me. Do you grow many forms? also do you have pictures? Mine is just a small plant right now (6") but shouyld be of fair size in several months if it continues to grow at the rate it is now.
 
I cant provide conditions for a Rowanae mine have to be highland or intermediate im affraid.Your right about the good old Ventricosa its a lovely plant to grow and almost impossible to kill.
Bye for now julian
 
I have 2 identifiable forms of rowanae (standard and squat) plus some seedlings that are too small to show clear features, but they are looking pretty squat, I used to have more but an unfortunate incident with a cat peeing on a couple did them in. Cat urine is lethal to Nepenthes. Mine are looking pretty shabby at the moment as we had a very dry summer and they were growing outdoors, so didn't produce any pitchers. They're doing better now that they're in the greenhouse, but it's winter so they've stopped growing.

I visited Rod Kruger's greenhouse last year when I was in Cairns, and his rowanae are spectacular - he has so many different varieties, plus a heap of Australian mirabilis variants I'd never heard of or seen before. Rowanae is an enormous plant when it's mature, and the tendrils get very long. Rod's made some hybrids with rowanae that should be interesting too.

I had a look, and found some mirabilis and rowanae pics that Rod sent me from his expeditions in Cape York. The first four pics are the copyright of Rod Kruger.

mirabilis var A

mirabilis%20var%20A2.jpg


mirabilis var H

mirabilis%20H.jpg


rowanae Q notched

rowanae%20Q%20notched.jpg


rowanae Z form

rowanae%20Z%20form.jpg


and one of my rowanae (pink)

rowanae4May04_2.JPG


Hope you enjoy.
 
  • #10
hope I enjoy?!?!?!!?


AHHHH its rowanae overload!!! that is amazing. I can't say enough. Those pictures have made me even more in love with this plant. You're very lucky to be able to have this plant and potential acess to it. It took my months to get one.
 
  • #11
Nice pics Hamish, thanks for sharing. I like the color on your mirabilis H. nice red green contrast. give us more.
thanks,
Robin
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  • #12
Wow there great looking and some size to them to
smile_k_ani_32.gif

Bye for now julian
 
  • #13
[b said:
Quote[/b] (SydneyNeps @ May 28 2005,5:19)]It's tempting to go for the showy species like veitchii, hamata, villosa or edwardsiana but there are many other species that are appealing due to their simplicity, elegance or delicateness.
GO FOR THE EDWARDSIANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
  • #14
It's a great species, villosa is probably the most spectacular in terms of peristome, but both of them are veeeery slow growing. Some of the daintier species reach maturity quite quickly, so you get rewarded with uppers and flowers only after several years.
 
  • #15
When you say the rowanaes get huge, give us an example of huge? Huge pitchers? Huge growing vine? I will be getting some rowanaes soon and I'd like to know more about them. Are they tolerant of full direct sunlight? Do they grow wet in swampy conditions? Since there is little info on nep culture in general, knowing what others have found about a particular species is always a plus when its posted on these forum pages.

Aloha,

Michael
 
  • #16
Whilst the pitchers are large, they're certainly not the biggest of the genus. They probably get as big as a large bical pitcher. It has long, leathery leaves and long tendrils, so pitchers can hang a long way down from the stem, which look impressive when it's growing on a bench and the pitchers are almost on the ground. They can also grow quite tall, but often the main growing vine will die back, to be replaced with vigorous growth from the root ball and lower stem.

Rowanae likes it hot and steamy. It grows in swamps in its habitat, and can tolerate a lot of sun, although it does not grow in fully exposed areas. In cultivation, it doesn't need to be kept wet, in the same way as you don't need to grow ampullaria in wet conditions. It does not pitcher in low humidity in my experience. It grows well in variety of media, I grow mine in both pure sphagnum and a more peaty mixture.

Hamish

It does not like cold, however. It will tolerate cold nights, but if you subject it to cool days for a lengty period you have a good chance of killing it. It is a true lowlander like this - I find its tolerances are very similar to bicalcarata.
 
  • #17
man, I think aristolochioides has to be my favorite plant right now. Is it very hard to keep? I really want one, but want to be able to keep it healthy. Can you share (and others who keep them) how you are keeping this plant?
thanks.
 
  • #18
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]man, I think aristolochioides has to be my favorite plant right now. Is it very hard to keep? I really want one, but want to be able to keep it healthy. Can you share (and others who keep them) how you are keeping this plant?
thanks.

Hey Machete, I'll jump on this one, if you don't mind. I find that the aristolochioides is actually quite easy. I grow it as a typical highlander, but I have also found that it is just as happy out on my deck during the growing season (which starts out highland until late june, becomes intermediate, then lowland for a few weeks of July), then shifts back to highland by mid August). I generally have humid nights, but days can by anything from sahara to tropical....just depends on the prevailing winds, I guess. It does show very minor stress in the hottest part of the summer, but doesn't stop pitchering as long as I keep it a little wetter than usual.
 
  • #19
[b said:
Quote[/b] (schloaty @ June 06 2005,2:34)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]man, I think  aristolochioides has to be my favorite plant right now. Is it very hard to keep? I really want one, but want to be able to keep it healthy. Can you share (and others who keep them) how you are keeping this plant?
thanks.

Hey Machete, I'll jump on this one, if you don't mind.  I find that the aristolochioides is actually quite easy.  I grow it as a typical highlander, but I have also found that it is just as happy out on my deck during the growing season (which starts out highland until late june, becomes intermediate, then lowland for a few weeks of July), then shifts back to highland by mid August).  I generally have humid nights, but days can by anything from sahara to tropical....just depends on the prevailing winds, I guess.  It does show very minor stress in the hottest part of the summer, but doesn't stop pitchering as long as I keep it a little wetter than usual.
thanks man!! I guess I will give it a try. Out of all the neps, this one is the creepiest to me. I dont know why, I mean with all the teeth some of the others have, this one just looks...I cant explain it.
 
  • #20
Love the rowanae and the mirabilis pics. Thanks for sharing those, Hamish. Rowanae would be a natural here in south Florida.
 
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