My nep update + shocking change

[vraev]

Hey guys,

Well...here is a update on my darlings.

Bicalcarata: Look at the improvement of pitcher size

Ramispina: once again...pitcher size

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ARE YOU READY FOR THE BIGGEST SHOCK??

I REPOTTED MY RAJAH again. I carefully lifted the plant with the media ball and put it in the new pot: 12 inches sqare.

lol! there you go. I still can't believe I was brave enough to touch the rajah. But I thought that the tipping over of the pot to remove water everytime would somehow upset the plant. And also, this pot allows air to move to the moss. I guess I just went for it. I am also getting it a new table lamp to put on the outside in the same similar fashion that gave me the big pitchers on the bical and hope for the best. Hope that the rajah will come around.

PS: Remember guys? especially JLP and the others who were helping me when I first got my neps: You guys were saying that LFS is not a good choice as it holds too much water. Well...I guess lol I have finally comearound. The bical...lol it likes its pure LFS..so it is going strong in there. The ramispina as you can see likes it as well. So yeah . Now the rajah, talang, mira all have bark in their media in some part. The main finicky ones also have their special pots to allow drianage and air movement.

cheers,

Varun

 

[b.t.]

Dude, it looks like you're trying to grow your rajah in a laundry basket! Seriously, I think the previous pot was large enough. You can just be careful with the amount you water and do a controlled watering. Anyway, all the best that he recovers, picks up and continues to grow quite happily for you. This is one species I'm not going to touch for quite a while in our weather down here. Ramispina is already complaining and giving me signs of heat stress and some books classify that as an intermediate.

 

[Clint]

Uhh uh. I love pure LFS and don't remember saying that. I might have said it wasn't my preferred mix (which is 1/1/1 LFS/perlite/orchid bark) but I use pure LFS since I go out of town for up to 5 days at a time and only LFS will hold enough water to allow me to do that in my conditions. It's not appropriate if you are going to fertilize the media, however. It's not the "best" media to use but it's fine. Everyone has their opinion of what's the "best" media in their conditions anyway. My plants wouldn't last at all in some of these all cypress bark media I see. They'd dry up like my sinuses in winter.

Maybe you're confusing me with Phissionkorps You didn't really need to repot it. Leave it alone or else you'll stress it out.

 

[vraev]

yeah....but the reason I did it is : I have to keep tipping that pot over to remove the water. Now.... I felt that maybe the plant is being stressed by doing that to it like once every week whenever I water. Also, becos I can say that there are LITERALLY no drain holes in the last pot, access of the media to air is limited. With this pot the big advantage is AERATION + I don't have to keep tipping the pot.

lol! well....I guess I must have mistook you for someone else then. lol! but many ppl did say that LFS is not preffered media of choice becos it compacts in 2 yrs and I need repotting.

When I was repotting I lifted the plant..I could see ROOTS hanging on to the lFS in my palms......and then put it in the pot.

I AM PRETTY SURE I DID NOT SEVER any connections of the roots. I am absolutely sure that most of the roots are at the same place that they were before. I guess I can only hope that this doesn't set my plant back another 5 months.

 

[Clint]

It does compact That sucks lol.

You could have just used a knife or an ice pick and poked holes in the old pot. That's what I do whenever I recycle food containers for plants.

 

[vraev]

lol! well... the old pot was too thick as well. I also had an eye on getting this sort of a pot as most EXPERT nep growers grow their plants in orchid baskets or so on. They say it gives good aeration for the roots. So yeah...basically its me trying to do all I can to get the plant happier. I would say that pitchering = happy for a nep....so my rajah isn't really pleased right now. But, well.... lets see if things improve.

I know that as I lifted the entire root ball..... I STILL HAVE LOCALISED 100% LFS for the plant. But, I guess the moment the roots come out of it...they will face a media with like 40% bark and 60% LFS. In either case, the bark should allow some drianage and the pot should actually BE A LOT cooler for the overall plant.

So lets see.

 

[vraev]

Hi guys,

Just yesterday I took pics of my neps right??/

this pitcher...this very very pitcher

is now become JET BLACK

lesson: Don't let humdity drop for this plant....any fluctuations and it goes jet black. leaves pitchers are all fair game.

THE ENTIRE RIGHT SIDE IS JET BLACK. Its kind of like TWO FACE...batman style.

Damn this hobby...why are the interesting plants always soo delicate. lol!

the bicals apparently are very easy as a small plant..the bigger they get, the harder they are.

V

 

[Nepfreak]

Yeah, if you give it high humidity, then suddenly take it away, the plant's not gonna like it at all... sorry about your loss. It's a bical and knowing you it's in ideal conditions to babying point, so it should come back with another soon.
About that rajah pot... it's all wrong! you can't pot a rajah like that or it dies! Surely you knew that? exposure to open air kills the roots. repot it again, right away!! just kidding!

 

[vraev]

dammit.... I still have the pitcher that came with the plant... nearly 5 months old. its nice and strong in texture..but small. This one just formed at the start of this month. THATS IT. DAMN... I hate loosing pitchers. WHy can't I have pitchers last like other ppl's plants ~ 1 + year??

well....I guess I got to wait for the next one.

lol! very very funny. lol! I got the rajah a new light outside... hopefully now its enough to trigger tendril development.

 

[phissionkorps]

Yeha you prolly confused jlap w/ me. I hate lfs for any use. Too many drawbacks and not enough good qualities I guess. Anyway...potting in an orchid basket is good, but that pot seems entirely too large. The lfs in there is gunna break down and force you to repot again before the plant even grows into that basket.

PS: how th e hell did they get awaay with naming a plant in freaking sanskrit or whatever it is instead of latin?

 

[vraev]

lol! dude...its the best name ever. I know I am totally biased to it....but truly it is the king of the nepenthes genus. Atleast for me.

 

[Clint]

Nepenthes rex or Nepenthes regis would have been just as nice. I guess they got away with it the same way that the guy who named the "species" of N. sharifah-hapsahii and N. naquiyuddinii got away with it.

Such travesties. He should be ashamed. At least he's one of the few men who can say he named plants after his bosses. Now that's a world class butt kisser.

 

[phissionkorps]

yeah no joke. How'd they get away with those being "species"? I thought that pretty much no one aside from the 2 or 3 people at that university considered that a species?

 

[vraev]

well...I agree with you two on the naming of those 2 neps. that is soo cliche. yeah... I hate those 2 names. With the rajah...I am thinking maybe it was the biggest nep they had ever seen till then and thats why they named it as the KING. However, wikipedia says it was named after the white rajah of sarawak. well...we don't know the story...but either the rajah was soo good that the explorer named it in rememberance OR lol! to just to butter him.