Nepenthes Outside

[Capensis]

Y hallo thar, this coming spring, I'm hoping to get some Nepenthes to put outside. The Nepenthes that came in mind were N. rafflesiana, N. ampullaria, and N. bicalarata. But since I don't see a reasonably sized rafflesiana, I was thinking of replacing it with another Nepenthes. So, the question is what Nepenthes do you believe will do outdoors in Central Florida year-round? Currently, I only have a N. ventrata outside (and is doing well). During the spring and summer, they'll be shaded by a trees, but will receive sunlight as the sun sets. During late fall and winter, the trees lose their leaves and will expose the Nepenthes to the sun (which is still intense. When I put my N. ventrata outside laster year during later fall/early winter, it got severely sunburned). Due to the sun being south, my house will block most of the setting sun.

A Nepenthes that I think will do well is N. truncata. Thoughts? I can make a diagram if needed.

 

[carnivoure12]

Truncata Pasian, is very easy, It can grow in LL and HL conditions without a hitch. I`d say that ones a go

 

[Capensis]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Not only will it be ok in lowland conditions (and be in the shade), but it'll be able to take winter better since it can grow as a highlander.

 

[seedjar]

Unless you're very far south, you may not be able to provide conditions that are especially close to what lowlanders expect. I would look into tolerant highland plants or hardy hybrids. From my travels in Florida, I seem to remember a noticeable day/night variation in temperatures. Unless you're right in the swamp where there's little wind and lots of humidity to trap the warmth at night, you should still consider yourself highland or intermediate. The sturdier lowlanders like rafflesiana and ampullaria would probably pull through, but I would be cautious with a starter-size bicalcurata. You can grow highlanders as lowlanders and vice-versa, but just remember that the further off you are from your plant's idea conditions, the poorer its performance.
Have you looked at Nepenthes Around The House?
~Joe

 

[Capensis]

Hmm. I would still consider my area as lowland. The temperatures are in the low 90s/high 80's at day and I would suppose high 80s/mid 70s (at best) at night in the shade. I would assume that this is fine for lowlanders, yes? If this helps, I'm only about five minutes away from the coast.

And just wondering, what do you mean "starter-sized" bicalarata? I'm assuming you mean that smaller plants don't fare as well as larger sized plants.

 

[Aslam]

N. sp.#1 is a hardy one, from what I heard. Can take lowland or highland conditions. It gets big fast, too, like maybe 3 feet in a year from a 6-8" plant. I don't have one, but I did read about it on nursery website XXXXX Good luck!
BTW, shouldn't this be in the Nepenthes forum?

Aslan

 

[Capensis]

Edit: Problem fixed.

Anyway, I've also heard of how vigorous N. sp. #1 is. But honestly, I'm not too fond of it. :x

 

[back2eight]

I'm in mississippi with similar temps that you have. During the summer my lowlanders are outside in partial shade and my highlands come inside. When it cools off, my highlands come inside and my lowlands go outside in a greenhouse for the winter. I would most definitely not try to grow a highlander outside in Florida year round, but during the winter it will be okay. You need to protect it from frost. The summer heat will be too much for a highlander

 

[seedjar]

Hmm. I would still consider my area as lowland. The temperatures are in the low 90s/high 80's at day and I would suppose high 80s/mid 70s (at best) at night in the shade. I would assume that this is fine for lowlanders, yes? If this helps, I'm only about five minutes away from the coast.

And just wondering, what do you mean "starter-sized" bicalarata? I'm assuming you mean that smaller plants don't fare as well as larger sized plants.

By my understanding, the actual temperatures aren't the only factor important to providing proper Nep conditions; it's the consistent day/night difference (or lack thereof) that highlanders and lowlanders differentiate between. My lowland plants never get any warmer than 78F, but there's no change in temperature over the course of the day. Likewise, I've seen plenty of reports by growers who grow finicky ultra-highland plants in warm, dry conditions by making sure that things cool down a little at night. A nightly 10F drop will be interpreted as highland conditions. This isn't to say you can't make it work - at the warm temperatures you describe, I'd guess it won't be too much of an impediment. But it's definitely different than what Nep botanists are referring to when they say "lowland."
By starter-sized, I mean one that you're likely to be able to obtain through normal channels of buying from a nursery or hobbyist trading. A truly full-grown bicalcurata will be large enough to make shipping the entire thing prohibitively expensive, if not impossible. Unless you have very good connections or hundreds of dollars to spend, you'll probably be starting with a small tissue culture plant or an immature cutting. From what I've been told, bicalcurata is most finicky at these smaller sizes; all successful accounts of growing bicals outside of terrariums/greenhouses that I've read were of larger plants that had already reached several feet in diameter.
~Joe

 

[Capensis]

Ah, yes. That's true. So basically, it's not the temperature itself, but the fluctuation of the temperature (might not have made sense, lol). And for lowlanders, their temperature fluctuations are small, correct? Interesting, didn't exactly know that.

And that's a bit depressing about the N. bical, heh. What do you think of how a N. bicalarata that is 3-6 inches would fare outside? I'd think it be best to let it grow inside a few inches, perhaps? I can't exactly grow on my windowsill because it's a south-facing window, and when you're this south, north windows are the way to go for the summer and spring. Unfortunately, I don't have an available north window, but I might be able to use my brother's west-facing window since he left for college (but he visits a lot, so it might be a problem).

To give an idea of my area's climate, here are the temperatures of October (can't go back further ): http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/32904?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

 

[seedjar]

I'm not really the best person to ask, but my own little bical - which I got as a tiny inch-wide TC sprout about two years back - is doing fine in an uncovered terrarium under lights. It hasn't yet gotten to the foot-wide growth spurt that everybody talks about. In my opinion, if they're small enough to keep under lights, there's no reason not to do so.
I babied it before but now I'm treating it a little more roughly. I used to worry about humidity, but I recently decided to ditch the terrarium cover because it made watering a hassle, and the bical pulled through without a single hiccup. The only thing that's carefully controlled is the temperature, which is maintained by my desktop computer/home server and a baseboard heater set to 65F. Radiant heat from the lights on the shelf keep the terrarium slightly warmer than the room itself, which rarely dips under 72F.
Did you look at Neps Around The House? That guy has a lot of good advice on how to start growing Neps outdoors. He's in inland California, I believe, which isn't quite the same as Florida, but neither Cali nor Florida are too much like the Philippines.
~Joe

PS - I didn't mean to make it sound like growing bicals is an impossible affair. But you'll probably have an easier time with starter plants indoors where you can control the temperatures without moving the plant. The most important part of Nep growing - according to the methods I've found success with - is to avoid bothering the plants. Conditions should be consistent and the setup should only be changed when the plants are healthy and growing happily. With bicals, you're pretty much assured that the plant will eventually be too big to be grown under lights on your typical rack (unless you kill it.) So why be in a hurry to grow one outside, when it might not be strong enough to handle it? With time you'll need to put it outside, and by then it'll be far better prepared.

 

[Capensis]

Well, alrighty then. Thank you very much for your advice. I'll try growing under lights first. And I'll be sure to check Nepenthes Around the House when I have time.