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How do you decide which Nepenthes to get?

I have Ventrata, and sibuyanensis

I've spent about one week looking into which ones to get next.

I def only want highland to intermediate. I also don't care to pay too much for them, maximum price for each plant is $30.

So now what?

Is it just me or do the younger plants look different than mature plants?

The more stores I look at, the more I don't know who and what to buy from.

How do you decide?
 
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Can you definitely provide the climate for HL or intermediate?

Your climate will dictate (<-- see what I did there? :awesome:) what species you can easily keep and will in turn indicate which species you should choose from to be reasonably assured of some success.

What are your maximum hot days and warm nights where you will be housing your HL or intermediate plants? How cold does it really get? If you don't know the real numbers (if you're guessing) go and get a min/max thermometer & hygrometer from Home Depot for about $4 and check out your climate before you make any purchases. I have noticed many people buy the cooler growing Neps in fall and winter and believe they can grow them easily, then next spring & summer arrives and they see their plants begin to suffer and wonder what to do about it.
 
Whichever plants interest you :)
 
I'm a bit OCD (in the actual meaning of the disorder) when it comes to choosing what plants to get. Often, I'll just dress a list of what I want, do a bit of research on their care, check them off, and narrow down the plants based on 1. What is available 2. What is more likely to thrive in my conditions 3. What I find attractive. The OCD-like parts comes when I can't decide what I want or I have too many options (which usually isn't the case).

I think that it's best to narrow down your options and give it a few weeks before deciding. You should remember what you wanted the most, and the stress of deciding should wear off. I'd say sanguinea, tobaica, bongso, maxima, fusca and truncata might do well. Hybrids containing easier lowlands like khasiana, rafflesiana and veitchii could also work. (All of this is based off of my googling of "easy" Nepenthes that I've done for myself, so it may not be that accurate)
 
How do you decide?

For me it's fairly simple. First, I find a plant I like the look of. Second, I check out its growing requirements. Third, I check to see if I can afford it. Assuming all three are a go, I buy. To make things a bit more complicated, if a given plant is cheap enough, I may still buy it even if it is not supposedly compatible with my conditions just because things don't always work out like they are supposed to.

As to how I decide where to buy, that is pretty simple as well. First consideration is is the merchant honest. Second is price. If you can buy locally, for a competitive price, do so, its always nice to see what your buying.
 
Me, I have a list of every species I know of that I would like to grow.
Then, its ranked in the order of the ones that are MOST desired.
Then Availability/prices. However, I do not buy plants unless I know
That I have the correct climate for them. If not, no new plant. (IE UltraHighlanders.)

If an Über rare Nep so happens to make itself available, I can always budget money for the
next couple months.
 
Me, I have a list of every species I know of that I would like to grow.
Then, its ranked in the order of the ones that are MOST desired.
I pretty much do the same for all my desired plants, then if there are any significant cons, I'll add them ; i.e., plants requiring dormancies are noted, or any factor that might be difficult to provide.
 
plants requiring dormancies are noted, or any factor that might be difficult to provide.

Same here. Any Wildcard info is noted. like Extreme size, special needs, rarity, prices, etc.
 
I really like trading for them because sometimes you get some surprising offers, although you typically do need a large collection to really get actively trading. I don't plan on buying any lowland Nepenthes any time soon, but I've managed to assemble a small collection of them and grow them alongside my highlanders without risking too much money by trading for them.

Is it just me or do the younger plants look different than mature plants?
Typically, yes. Check out an immature N. veitchii for example. Additionally, if you like artificial hybrids, Exotica Plants has posted some progress pictures over the years of many of their crosses -- sometimes potential takes a while to become evident.

The more stores I look at, the more I don't know who and what to buy from.
Some are better than others but I've only ever had one (online) purchase I regretted making, out of all the major retailers. Online reviews like Dave's Garden can be pretty helpful. There are also some really great local nurseries around here that show up to BACPS meetings if you can attend them. Then you can hand pick your plants. :-O
 
  • #10
okay i just got this and hope I'll do well with them.

Nepenthes maxima x spectabilis
Nepenthes muluensis x lowii
Nepenthes talangensis
Nepenthes veitchii x platychila
 
  • #11
Looks like a good order. Nice highlander set
 
  • #13
okay i just got this and hope I'll do well with them.

Nepenthes maxima x spectabilis
Nepenthes muluensis x lowii
Nepenthes talangensis
Nepenthes veitchii x platychila

Talangensis is not an easy plant by any means, I have heard most people, even those who have absolutely astounding set ups, can't get it to pitcher.
 
  • #14
okay i just got this and hope I'll do well with them.

Nepenthes maxima x spectabilis
Nepenthes muluensis x lowii
Nepenthes talangensis
Nepenthes veitchii x platychila

If that's the Borneo Exotics talangensis you've ordered, you need to realize that is one of the most difficult Nepenthes on the planet to grow well. For some reason, that particular strain is very fussy and difficult. I wouldn't recommend that plant to any but the most experienced growers.
 
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  • #15
well in that case, i'm glad it was 20% off of 19.99 ^_^. This is my first batch of Nepenthes and I'm prepared to kill some and not do so well. ya i started doing some research and hopefully I'll prevail......................:crazy:
 
  • #17
honestly my plan for the talangensis was to put it in another oxo box.
IMG_1920_zps9b30a5e1.jpg
 
  • #18
honestly my plan for the talangensis was to put it in another oxo box.
IMG_1920_zps9b30a5e1.jpg

From what I have heard of talangensis, I don't know if that would be enough. If you think about it though, given how much trouble people have with it and how small a plant it tends to stay, I doubt humidity is the biggest challenge
 
  • #19
What are you growing in that jar?
For how long is it in sunlight?

Not to be a defeatist, but I would say - stick with intermediates for a while. humidity is easy; a closed box as you have sorts that out. temperature is far more complicated and just as or (likely) more important long term. most highlanders would grow well and faster in warm, humid conditions for a while and then die quickly.
try your best not to kill plants
 
  • #20
i grow a Sibuyanensis in the jar. It gets about 2-3 hours of direct morning sunlight between 7-10AM. Then its just filtered, since the sun rises to the top of the roof.

okay honestly I don't even know the temperature in the box. I am buying a humidity/thermostats from petco today to see what's going on inside that box. All I know is even if it's 90-100 outside, inside the house it never goes beyond above 80.

I should've asked everyone about talangensis before I bought it. Since I don't plan on putting too much $$ into sustaining one plant. I do have a 10 gallon fish tank, should I bust that out? H-E-L-P!!!!!!!!!
 
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