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Back on CP train!

Hey everybody,

And greetings from Pennsylvania! I've been growing CP's since I was 10 or so, but I'm just getting back into growing carnivorous plants after going through 4 years of college ( which made it almost impossible to care for my plants... ) I'm pretty fixated on growing nepenthes at the moment, with a small collection that I keep in a dog pen on my porch during the active growing season.
I joined this forum to learn more from other experienced growers. I like the idea of having a community where growers can bounce information off of each other, and enhance everyone's knowledge on the cultivation of their plants. There is always room for improvement in a system and I plan on expanding and learning as much as I can in the coming years.

Your friend in the farmlands,
LifeOnMars?
 
Welcome to TF!
 
Welcome to TF, and welcome back to the hobby!
 
Welcome back into the hobby. I'd love to see some pics of your setup.
 
Welcome to the forums! If you want experienced growers' advice, look no further!
 
Welcome back into the hobby. I'd love to see some pics of your setup.

Well, I mostly keep intermediate and some highland species of nepenthes outside from spring into summer. I pick a place that has morning sunlight then diffused light in the afternoon (on the east side of a shade tree works best). Temperatures are usually around 80 during the day and 55 to 60 at night. During the winter I usually bring them in on a sunny windowsill where they usually stop growing for about a month when light and humidity levels get really low. This year though I plan on either buying an indoor greenhouse kit or designing my own, because I'm collecting some more difficult species these days.

Here is the N. lowii x campanulata that I had growing under these conditions
NLowiixCampanulata_zps5aa35bbc.jpg
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DSC00111_zps432ec4a3.jpg
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DSC00126_zpsb923d1cc.jpg
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I'll post some more recent pics tomorrow. (not of the N. lowii x campanulata though... passed away about 2 years ago in an early frost then following squirrel destruction)
Until then!
 
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Here is my current little set-up and my four amigos.
Squirrels have been my enemy for the entire life of my hobby (hence the dog pen.) Outdoor growing is a whole lot of trial and error, and I have had lots of error in the past to get to an understanding of what the plant needs and what I need to protect them from. I've found that most of the time if you just leave them the heck alone they do fine. It's when you panic and rapidly change conditions that you run into problems.





N. spathulata x campanulata




N. Peltata I recieved less than a week ago. Settling in well!


 
  • #10
Looks cool. Most of the local wildlife doesn't bother the plants I keep on tables, it's the ones int he ground I fret about the most.

But I think my summers are just a bit too warm for LL neps to be good outside, and a bit to cool for HL neps to be outside. So I'm stuck keeping them in boxes year round.

What zone are you in?
 
  • #11
Looks cool. Most of the local wildlife doesn't bother the plants I keep on tables, it's the ones int he ground I fret about the most.

But I think my summers are just a bit too warm for LL neps to be good outside, and a bit to cool for HL neps to be outside. So I'm stuck keeping them in boxes year round.

What zone are you in?

My zone is 6b. Yeah, I don't bother to try growing LL because the temp drops 20 degrees every night. Besides my peltata I have one other HL which is a truncata and that just started to take off since I got it a month ago. We can get some spikes in heat throughout the summer so I make sure my plants only get direct sunlight in the morning. Besides that, spring and fall are perfect for Highland species. I just always run the risk of putting them outside too early or bringing them in too late and have them get hit with frost.
As for wildlife, I usually put my plants back out in the spring once everything has warmed up. Squirrels usually end up foraging around my plants and digging up the roots. I just stopped taking any chances and crated them all haha.
 
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  • #12
Better safe than sorry, lol.

I'm in zone 5, so tropicals would have to be shuffled in and out every day if they are to get any natural sunlight. I'm far too lazy for such things.
 
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