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Nepenthes vieillardii

I really love this species. First, because it's geographically an outlier and I have a soft spot for misfits. Second, because it's named after the French botanist Eugène Vieillard and I'm an inveterate Francophile. Third, because I think it's pretty--but as the saying goes, "les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas."

Anyway, I've had this little one for nearly two years. It was in LFS in a net pot on my grow rack/glorified windowsill and has been growing steadily, putting out pitchers, but hardly thriving. From what I can tell browsing this and other forums, N. vieillardii is a slow grower in nearly any condition and no one has found the plant's sweet spot.

There are reports of success with a mix based on akadama (http://carnivorousockhom.blogspot.com/2014/08/nepenthes-vieillardii-5-years-of.html), so I thought, why not give it a shot? I potted it up in that mix and threw in some laterite for good measure. I'll update this thread in the coming months. NB: This is totally unscientific, since there is no control plant and my conditions vary considerably according to the time of year.





 
Might also have luck growing this species in denser, sand based mixes similar to what some of the Indo-Chinese species grow in. It inhabits the dryer scrub forest habitats common on New Caledonia. Temps on New Caledonia are also closer to the intermediate range rather than true LL as well but I can't speak for whatever specific microclimate these may grow in. Cool plant and not often seen in cultivation, good luck with it.
 
Thanks for the input. If this one goes south or I can get my hands on another, I'll try a sandier mix. As for temps, it definitely grows as an intermediate for me; I'm not equipped for growing any true lowlanders (or true highlanders, for that matter).
 
How is this plant doing these days? I have 8 of these right now but they are all super tiny. Maybe the size of a quarter.
 
Always loved this species, haven't seen any too even get one again. How is it doing in the me mix btw? Any discoveries too help others grow one better is appreciated :)
 
The plant is currently recovering from the Great Sciurine Plague of 2015, which decimated a bunch of plants I had placed outdoors for the summer. One of the tree rats chewed the growth point, and I thought it would be a goner, but it's making a comeback indoors.

I'd be curious to know if anyone here has figured out what makes this species tick.
 
Hi Chris,

Any updates on your N. vieillardii? I've had mine for a few months and I'm impressed by how dry it can tolerate. This mix is kanuma, perlite, and silica sand with some peat, and I grow it under well-ventilated lowland conditions.

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61904224@N05/25801125890/in/dateposted-public/" title="N. vieillardii BE"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1711/25801125890_7d31a8e729_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="N. vieillardii BE"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" ch****t="utf-8"></script>
 
That's a nice plant! Sadly, mine didn't recover from the squirrel damage and I lost it (along with a number of other plants that I summered outdoors). If I can find another one, I'll try growing it again.
 
Rodents, the hobbyists nightmare, I nearly lost my Christmas cactus to a ground hog. Sorry about your plant. The best of luck to you with the ones that made it though.
 
  • #10
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61904224@N05/27941836040/in/dateposted-public/" title="N. vieillardii BE"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8876/27941836040_e69021a0eb_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="N. vieillardii BE"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61904224@N05/28222512445/in/dateposted-public/" title="N. vieillardii BE"><img src="https://c6.staticflickr.com/9/8716/28222512445_d4117d6deb_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="N. vieillardii BE"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I don't pay much attention at all to my N. vieillardii so I was surprised to see a nice new "large" pitcher on my plant. It's got quite a root system going now and will probably need repotting sometime this year.
 
  • #11
Cool!
 
  • #12
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61904224@N05/33267039340/in/dateposted-public/" title="Nepenthes vieillardii BE"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2914/33267039340_7c36397c54_z.jpg" width="640" height="485" alt="Nepenthes vieillardii BE"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61904224@N05/33267038530/in/dateposted-public/" title="Nepenthes vieillardii BE"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3829/33267038530_e9dce4c4c9_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Nepenthes vieillardii BE"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/61904224@N05/32837348903/in/dateposted-public/" title="Nepenthes vieillardii BE"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2815/32837348903_1334fea881_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="Nepenthes vieillardii BE"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Starting to ramble now - I first posted my plant on this thread a year ago, so I'd say N. vieillardii can be a pretty quick grower.
 
  • #13
Looking good there! I've been thinking about getting one of these, though I'm more interested in pervillei, personally. From what I'm reading in this thread, vieillardii seems to do well in the same high mineral mixes kept rather dry that I've seen recommended for pervillei. I wonder if Turface could be substituted for akadama?
 
  • #14
Looking good there! I've been thinking about getting one of these, though I'm more interested in pervillei, personally. From what I'm reading in this thread, vieillardii seems to do well in the same high mineral mixes kept rather dry that I've seen recommended for pervillei. I wonder if Turface could be substituted for akadama?

Yeah, N. vieillardii is my attempt to work my way back up to N. pervillei since they seem to appreciate the same conditions (and N. vieillardii has pretty similar uppers to N. pervillei actually); if vieillardii was more common, I think we definitely could pin down what specific conditions the species wants, because I think pretty much everyone's attempts to grow this species really are shots in the dark, including my own.
 
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