Some Nepenthes Updates!

[TheFury]

So I'll start by saying I've caught the Nepenthes bug. I used to be all about Sundews, but then the one Nep I had (N. ventricosa) really started to take off and I developed a real appreciation for these things. Now I have a number of them growing in pseudo-lowland conditions with a little (well, a good deal) less humidity than such conditions would dictate. Those conditions aren't ideal for a number of the plants in my rack, but they all seem quite happy at the moment, and have for a few months, save for some red spots on a few of them which can most likely be attributed to offensive summer temperatures, which have passed now (fingers crossed...)

In the foreground: N. Deroose alata on the left, N. x ventrata on the right. The tall plant behind the N. Deroose alata is a N. mirabilis, which has exploded with new growth recently. Soon it will be too tall for my grow rack!!

N. ventricosa x spectabilis - got off to a VERY slow start when I first received it from BE via a certain online retailer. It's looking much happier now, and working on a number of new pitchers... as you can see.

Still not quite sure what this guy is, but I love it. Any ideas?

Picked this guy up at the NASC benefit auction a few months back. It came as N. "Gothica," but it's reeeeeally starting to look like N. lowii x campanulata. Second opinions welcome!

 

[mikefallen13]

Nice plants but (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) isn't ventrata and deroose alata the same plant And your gothica is definently a little lowii x campy

 

[Adam]

Nice plants but (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) isn't ventrata and deroose alata the same plant And your gothica is definently a little lowii x campy

Deroose alata = (Alata x (Alata x Ventricosa)

And maybe ramispina x campy, although I've never even heard of that.

 

[TheFury]

Thanks! From what I understand, N. x ventrata is N. ventricosa x alata whereas N. Deroose alata is N. (ventricosa x alata) x alata. So, slightly different parentage. But to complicate things, from what I've read, much of what we see sold as N. x ventrata is actually a N. Deroose alata...

Someone feel free to hack and slash this post to correct the nomenclature errors I've surely made...


EDIT: awgaupp, you beat me to it. So I flipped the parents of N. Deroose alata around. Thanks!

 

[Adam]

EDIT: awgaupp, you beat me to it. So I flipped the parents of N. Deroose alata around. Thanks!

Well, I'm not sure which is which I just know it's Alata and Alata x Ventricosa so...

 

[mikefallen13]

Thanks for clarifying that Adam I've had both and to me they look almost the same to me!

 

[TheFury]

They definitely do look almost identical... the pitchers on the Deroose look a little greener... but the difference I've noted is in how eagerly the Deroose plants grow. I've only had my Deroose for 6-8 months or so and it's already spawned two vines and a basal! The Deroosa alata you see in this pic is actually a cutting I took off of a larger plant that I'm growing as a houseplant in my kitchen. It's a machine, I tell you.... although oddly enough, it's the only Nep I own that has never pitchered for me. Go figure.

 

[TheFury]

Some more updates!

A view of the whole Nep shelf

The growth point on my N. ventricosa "red" died suddenly and the plant started looking all spotty and gross. I had it growing in my window so I think it just got fed up with the 6+ hours of strong direct sunlight and high heat it was getting each day. Luckily it's sprouting like five million new growth points!

N. deroose alata finally started making pitchers... and plenty of them! Three popped and two more in the making!

The lid on this lowii x campanulata is looking a little gnarly but I'm loving the peristome now that it's matured. This thing is pumping out two new pitchers!

Perhaps my favorite Nep in my collection - N. ventricosa x spectabilis "giant." It's working on a nice big pitcher. Love the stripy peristomes on these things.

I still have NO IDEA what this guy is, but it just popped its largest pitcher yet and it's superb! Look at that lid!

 

[ellisonk001]

Everything is looking great; I especially like the color on the lowii x campanulata. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Tony Paroubek]

The Deroose plant is N. ventrata. Someone posted online a while back thinking it looked too N. alata - ish so must be alata x ventrata which is pure speculation. Personally I don't see it looking any different than any other N. ventrata. If it does to some people then perhaps it's better explained by the N. alata as the female parent /shrug. If anyone is concerned about relabelling then simply keep calling it Deroose 'N. alata'..

 

[TheFury]

Thanks Tony. I got it as a N. deroose alata, or a Deroose "N. alata," or however you want to call it, from another member here on TF. Personally I find their looks indistinguishable from N. ventrata; their vigor seems to be what distinguishes them. But given that they do have different parentage, it would be more accurate to call that out, correct? Unless this whole thing about the Deroose alata being an alata x ventrata is complete bunk in the first place, in which case I will gladly adjust my nomenclature!

 

[TheFury]

My N. vent x spec "Giant" just popped a nice new pitcher. Had to snap a pic with my iPhone. Sorry for the crappy washed-out image!

 

[lance]

Nice to see that your ventricoas has a ton of grow points. Has anyone ever gotten a plant that has a growth point above every leaf? Just happened to me...

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

I'm loving the vent x spec!!!

 

[ellisonk001]

I'm with JB, that N. ventricosa x spectabilis "Giant" is lookin' good!

 

[TheFury]

This N. ventricosa x spectabilis "Giant" is being a camera hog lately. It just can't stop putting out bigger and bigger pitchers:

Once this N. x ventrata cutting throws down some roots, one lucky TF member will win it in a giveaway! (pitchers of the parent plant in the background, itself a cutting from a bigger plant... definitely a weed)

N. mirabilis:

N. lowii x campanulata:
Edit: taking a mulligan on this one see below

Some more pics that are not of Nepenthes.... but oh well!

P. 'Sethos,' P. 'Titan,' and D. capensis

P. 'Sethos,' P. 'Titan' (background), D. spatulata "Fraser Island," and some random fern

---------- Post added at 07:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 PM ----------

Here's a better pic of a newer N. lowii x campanulata pitcher

 

[robthered]

Awesome pics. I really love the lowii x campanulata.

What is the ventrata cutting sitting in? gel? water? Just curious

 

[TheFury]

Thanks!

Lol, the cutting is sitting in water. It does look pretty gelatinous. I guess that's because it's under two different shades of lights (6500K and 2700K), so the reflection looks funny. The bottom also has a little bit of algae on it, which I should probably get rid of...

 

[TheFury]

What's up folks! Back from yet another multi-week trip, this time to Portland, OR. After a few tragic losses during my last trip, to Ireland, I was really nervous about this one.

Thankfully, nothing went wrong this time! Even the new additions to my Nep family (see bottom of the first post of the thread linked above) all pulled through, if not a little bit stressed out from being overwatered by my drip system.

Without further ado, some plant updates. *Disclaimer - not all of these are Neps. Sorry mods!

Clockwise from top left: Two random Lowes Phalaenopsis hybrids undergoing a nice growth spurt, N. rafflesiana "Brunei Giant" BE99 clone, N. (veitchii x lowii) x spectabilis, N. sanguinea, N. ampullaria 'Brunei Green'

D. multifada extrema cuttings on the left, D. capensis 'alba' on the right

H. heterodoxa x minor cutting, slowly settling in - thanks Jbradt!

Nice-shaped N. x ventrata pitcher

Close-up of the drooling peristome on the N. x ventrata pitcher

N. glandulifera x boschiana chugging along happily - thanks Dex!

...WTF? This is an unknown N. maxima "Poi Dog" hybrid that I got as an unrooted cutting only a few months ago. And now it's flowering?? What do I do now? Anyone want some pollen, or something? And, thanks Rball!

EDIT: Almost forgot, speaking of flowering:

Tillandisia flower! Thanks Keith!

 

[dionae]

Beautiful plants TF!