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Hi all. I baught two (Nepenthis) a few months aggo and was wondering if they have a dormant time like venus fly traps do when they die down? because mine dont seem to of really died down but just slow down in growth. Is this normal and should i worry if they do not die down in winter? What should temperatures be in winter and summer? i am in the UK and they are in a propagator that heats the temp to around 76 degrees f. Thanks for any info.
chris, no they don't go dormant. They may have slowed down until they adjust to thier new home or they may not be getting enough light. As far as temps it would help to know what type of neps you bought. If they are hybrids from a local hardware store/ nursery then they might prefer 70s-80s. Generally the warmer the better within reason.
Remeber to use R/O or distilled water.
joe
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Im using rain water that i have been collecting in a bucket in my garden.... One is a hybrid and i think the other is a normal nepenthis. Im not really sure lol. Do they have a slowed down growth time of year? Should i lower the temperatures at any time during the year or just turn the heater off at night time and then on again in the morning. Im probably gonna put the heater on a timer and might get a medium filter (Natural) light from a store and have that on a timer also so the temp falls and rises with the light.
Hi Chris, and welcome.
Being fairly new to CP's myself (not quite a year yet) I understand all your questions. Let me see if I can help with some very basic information.
There are two general catagories Neps fall into, Lowland (warm days, warm nights) and Highland (warmish days, cool nights). This is why it is helpful to know what kind of Neps you have. There are of course variants within these catagories but that gets a little more complicated and you'll pick it up as you go along.
This is a really good webpage giving you a rundown on the basics as well http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq6010e.html and will answer alot of your questions.
Unfortunately I can't comment on your lighting questions as I grow my neps (and all other CP) outside.
As for your other questions...
No, nepenthes don't have a slowed down growth period at all, they are tropical plants.
As for the heater, assuming you have lowland neps, or those that can be grown as lowland, room tempurature is usualy just fine for them, and they can adapt rather quickly to a wide range of tempuratures (Mine do wonderfully in tempuratures fluctuating between low 50's F and upper 90's)
For most lowland and intermediate Nepenthes, more important than tempurature in my experience is humidity. In which case the higher the better, esspecially since I noticed on another post that you have them in with sundews.
One more bit of advice one newbie to another, go out and buy "The Savage Garden" by Peter D'Amato. This book will help not only in answering most of your questions regarding what will live where and how, but also in identifying your plants and addapting your growing conditions to them. It really is one of the best investments you can make.
If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask, there are many very knowledgable people here and they all like to help.
Welcome again to the forums and best of luck with your plants.
I used to be "Maehem".
I typo, therefore I edit.
Thanks a lot for that [img]http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif[/img]. As i said i only know that one of them is a hybrid cause it says so on the label. The other just says Pitcher plant (Nepenthes) so im not sure lol. The humidity and temp seem ok in my new set up, i only just got it today cause i read up about the pitchers dryibng out if not humid enough. Now the whole propagator has misted up hehe so should be ok in there. Ill try and find out what my other one is. Is it ok to leave the heater on during the day and switch off at night? or shall i leave it on at night aswell?
Maehem covered it. Bright light, don't use plant grow lights, use full spectrum lights. Lots of humidity.
BUY THE BOOK. It alone has the power to save many plants.
joe
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Ok i had a look at the label on the other plant. It says Pitcher plant (Nepenthes) 'Alata' is that what you were looking for? I am thinking of moving the propagator to a shelf in my bedroom with a tube light above it set on a timer. Would that be a better thing to do? because its winter here right now and the sun isnt that bright or out for too long right now.
Hi Chris,
You'll need more than one flourescent tube to get your Nepenthes to pitcher. Try 4x 40 watt flourescent tubes to start with, more would be better. The plants will survive in dim light (for a while) but they need good light as well as high humidity to produce any pitchers. People say over 60% humidity is adequate but I think over 80% is necessary. According to my own experience more is always better. Just don't leave the plants foliage wet so that water is standing on the leaves for a long time as this can invite fungal diseases and mar the foliage.
Many people say Nepenthes alata is an easy one and good for a starter plant. I never owned this species as I go for the weirder looking ones but bright light, correct temps and humidity are all important in growing your Nepenthes to their fullest extent with robust pitchers on every leaf. Otherwise you'll just have a big jungle vine. [img]http://www.**********.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif[/img]
Deaf to False Metal!
Lol well i dont want a jungle vine. You sure i would need 4 of those lights? i only have two plants. Why are 4 needed? Im not sure about the humidity of mine. Im gonna get a humidity monitor soon so i can check the percentage. Also should i leave the temp the same day and night or should i turn off my heater at night time. Its at roughly 76 degrees in there with some water at the bottom of the propagator to create humidity and should i let it flower? i have heard that some CP's die due to flowering.
It is ok to lower the temp a little at night but not neccessary. You need the lights to get enough energy per square foot for the plants to grow well, it has nothing to do with how many plants you have.
I wouldn't worry about flowers for 5 years or so, by then you'll know the answer.
joe
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