What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Nepenthes windowsill growers - assemble!

trashcan

O:-)
Well, I don't really have the option of setting up a terrarium where I live, so I'm going to try growing some Neps in my windowsill. House is air-conditioned, so humidity is almost nil. Window gets a bunch of sun in the evening. I've been reading nepsaroundthehouse for tips and recommended plants.

I purchased:

N. ventricosa
N. copelandii
N. ventricosa red x talengensis

If you have any experience with windowsill growing, let me know! I searched for my copy of The Savage Garden, but I failed to find it (lost in storage, probably eaten by rats/birds). I know that Peter discusses it and grows several difficult plants in his windowsill.

Edit: Is the general consensus that manually misting would not help much?
 
Last edited:
use the tray method. keep the pots standing over water. the way i do this is by putting a stainless steel SOS pad in a water tray, and sitting the pot on top of that, and filling the tray up to the bottom of the pot. this should provide enough humidity to keep your plants relatively happy. change the water once in a while though, it can get... alive...
 
I grow N. ventricosa, alata, 'coccinea', and 'ventrata' in windows. They grew really well during the summer; they've slowed down a lot now that it's winter. The ventricosa in particular is (still!) putting out new pitchers like crazy. I grow them in plastic pots with attached water trays (like they sell at home depot for less than a dollar), in pure LFS, and water a few times a week. I also put a fluorescent bulb above the window, since the only light they were getting was tree-filtered morning light. they're almost like normal houseplants.

The biggest drawback is, it's harder to get many of them to pitcher. my N. rafflesiana finally put out a couple of pitchers at the end of the summer, but it's doing much better since I put it in a terrarium. I couldn't get 'Judith Finn' to pitcher at all outside a terrarium. They also won't grow as fast, but that's not such a bad thing if you have limited space..like I do.

I haven't noticed any real difference when I spray them. As long as you keep them watered it may not be necessary.
 
Here is what I grow as windowsill plants:

Nepenthes aristolochioides
Nepenthes bicalcarata (Germinated from seed May 04)
Nepenthes hamata (Borneo Exotics clone)
Nepenthes Marbled Dragon (N. maxima - dark x N. truncata) (Exotica hybrid)
Nepenthes rafflesiana
Nepenthes rajah
Nepenthes x Rokko clone A x Nepenthes hamata (Germinated from seed June 05)
 
Gecko, how are they doing? Are they all pitchering? How long did they take to acclimate?
 
I think that misting might help, so long as you make sure to do it regularly. Also, with the tray method, a layer of coarse gravel on the bottom of the tray will help the tray water to evaporate faster, creating more humidity than just standing water alone. Take a look at this: http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq6010e.html
Plants to look for would probably be hirsute and thick-leaved varieties such as vietchii, chaniana, pilosa, petiolata, or truncata, and hybrids of those and other such species. Also, larger, more mature plants will naturally tend to be hardier regardless of variety, so it might be worth it to be choosy and buy a few adult plants rather than a bunch of starts.
~Joe
 
Wow, elgecko, thats crazy.

N. aristolochioides/rajah/hamata as windowsill plants! :-O

Whats your house temps like?
 
I find that Neps are a lot tougher then they are given credit for.
When I was first reading about them and the high humidity requirements they need, I thought I would never be able to keep one outside a terrarium.
Since neps can get large I could not confine the plant into a terrarium. So I started to experiment with growing them as windowsill plants and have had great success with several neps this way.
It seems that they take around 3 months to really settle and then start pitchering.

Winter humidity: 30 - 50% (lower humidity in the day. Furnace does not run much, sun shines in the room where I grow the plants and heats the area up. I have the humidifier on my furnace set to around 45%)

Winter / Fall temps: I keep the house cool. Heat set to 64 degrees. (humidified air feels warmer then dry air) During the day it can hit mid 70's with the sun shinning in the room where I grow the neps. Nights can drop to low 60's.

Spring / Summer / Fall humidity: 30 - high 80%. (Windows open and such)

Spring / Summer temps: During the day it can hit mid 80's. Night to the low 70's. (I usually have the A/C set around 74)

The only plant that seems to not be 100% happy is the N. rajah. I'm 99% sure that I know why, and that is it desperately needs repotted. My only problem is I need to find room to increase the pot size........... :-(
 
I would also add N. sanguinea to that list. I have been growing all my Neps at window sills, with only light that shines through the window. Like Presto, when the photoperiod is at its lowest, they slow down. They produce foliage, but cease pitchering. They reall need extra help for the winter months, like artificial lighting and probably close to a 12 hour daily photoperiod.
 
  • #10
I have N.ampullaria, N. miranda, N.ventricosa, N. "Judith Finn", N.alata and N. x ventrata in windowsills up here in Canada

Same as you others, the winter sems to slow them down a tad with lower humidity and light, but they don't suffer- I don't really have anywhere else to put them so it's sills or no Neps for me :D

I also have H.minor and C.follicularis on sills thriving- both are much more impressive than my Neps even now, and my windowsill Pings are kicking out flowers like no tomorrow in the same conditions
 
  • #11
I grow all my neps on my sill. Even my bical isn't doing all that badly, being winte and all. It did put out one nice pitcher (which is still hanging around) this fall. The only nep that I grow that I am having problems with are my spectabilis and my "black dragon". The spectabilis looked rough when I got it so I can imagine why it doesn't look any better in the winter. The "black dragon" is a bit less "adaptive" for me than what is advertised. It finally may be possibly if I'm lucky giving me my first pitcher. It has though grown three new leaves...
 
  • #12
Here is what I currently have growing in the windows here at the lab. Tray system watered every Friday (water is usually gone form the tray by Tuesday)

N. fusca “Sarawak” (originally ABG faizaliana)
N. veitchii “Stripped peristome; lowland”
N. clipeata
N. rafflesiana “Singapore Giant“
N. spathulata
N. maxima
N. neoguineensis
N. sanguinea
N. cv. ‘Predator’
N. cv. ‘Effulgent Koto’ (5778)
N. cv. ‘Red Leopard’
N. cv. ‘Ile de France’
N. cv. ‘Black Dragon’
N. cv. ‘Sabre’
N. cv. ‘Red Dragon’
N. cv. ‘Miranda’
N. x Judith Finn
N. (thorellii-JAM x LCS#1 superba-mixta) x 9/12/1983-LCS#1F albomarginata#1 (5850)
N. (tobica x ovata) x veitchii
N. spathulata x spectabilis
N. maxima “dark” x truncata
N. thorelli x aristolochioides
N. 25 ABG (may be rafflesiana “red”)
 
  • #13
Cool Pyro. Any comments on your lab conditions/humidity? Which plants are doing the best/worst?
 
  • #14
Lab conditions are pretty much ambient. Temp is in the mid 70s, humidity is pretty low and that dose have an effect on the plants in that the pitchers are not as long lasting as they would be in a greenhouse or even outside (which is where most of these go during the summer).

All are doing really well with the possible exception of the x Judith Finn which has always been a pain for me. The absolute best are probably the 'Effulgent Koto' (which I have had here for almost 3 years and in that time I have pruned back the vine when it hits the 8' mark 4 times) and it looks like the 'Ile de France' is going to follow suit because it has put out 8 new leaves in the 3 months it has been in here and I have had to stake it because it went to vine so fast
 
  • #15
I have N. sanguinea and N. ventricosa in a crappy terrarium, I think the only different between it and a windowsill is slightly more light and a bit warmer. I just water them like a normal plant every other day, I didn't want to use a tray since I have been warned about sanguineas rotting if left too warm but that steel wool idea seems intruiging. Oh and trashcan, I'd definately reccomend a sanguinea to grow on a windowsill, they're REALLY hardy, mine got attacked by a dog and survived. :D Now I have two since the dog seperated a basal shoot.

BTW, Pyro, where do you work? (Sorry I'm probably the only one that doesn't know.)
 
Last edited:
  • #16
So, how do people acclimate plants to the windowsill or house living?

I currently have no windows that get enough sun, but I've been trying to grow a ventrata indoors under a powerful grow-light. It's produced two basals, lots of new leaves, and a huge vine, but no new pitchers. Either humidity is too low, or I need to give it more to cling onto. Which do you guys think? (no idea what the ambient humidity is, probably around 50%)

Mokele
 
  • #17
50% humidity is fine.
I have lower humidity at certian times in the year and my plants still pitcher.
I think the key is having good light. My plants still pitcher in the winter time with the shortened light period, as I do not use any artificial lighting.
 
  • #18
Not sure which mine is (Alata or ventracosa maybe? but in winter it goes in a west window, bright light, no direct Sun. Once danger of frost is past it goes out under my back roofed patio deck, morning Sun only.

NepenthisOct06.jpg
 
  • #19
Not sure which mine is (Alata or ventracosa maybe?
I think it's a N. ventrata. I got what I thought was an Alata at the time, but Ben persuaded me to believing that it was actually a N. ventrata.

Here is a picture of one of my pitchers from my alleged ventrata; however, it is not nearly as mature as yours.
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q265/xvart/ventrata.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

xvart.
 
  • #20
I think it's a N. ventrata. I got what I thought was an Alata at the time, but Ben persuaded me to believing that it was actually a N. ventrata.

Here is a picture of one of my pitchers from my alleged ventrata; however, it is not nearly as mature as yours.
<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q265/xvart/ventrata.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

xvart.


Thanks for replying, I agree. I chose the wrong variety. I appreciate your info!

Tom
 
Back
Top