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N. robcantleyi gender?

Last night I went into the basement to water my plants & found a spike pressed up against the glass. Hopefully it isn't damaged as it was directly below very hot lights. I know it's early but I was curious if any of the Nep wizards here could ID the gender?
 
I'd give it another week or so and get another photo. Looks like some of those buds could go either way, some are round while others look elliptical.
 
grats, way to grow

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Exciting!!
 
O male
0 female

So I say male, since almost every Nepenthes plant we see, buy and get is male. LOL

Seriously, congratulations on a flowering robcantleyi!!! You've done a great job!
 
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I agree with Johnny; too early to tell for sure. I've had plants fool me into thinking they were female at that stage, only to prove otherwise within a week or two. I'm sure you know that with most species, 7 out of 10 are male.
 
It's been a bit over a month, so here are two more pics (front & back - roughly).
20055107410_96946b464d_b.jpg
20055125288_8ac416a1b0_b.jpg
 
  • #10
Looks like you might have a female there. :)
 
  • #13
Whoa! that is going to be quite exciting, ay males in bloom right now?

Any pics of the whole plant?
 
  • #14
Female robcantleyi, wow! Imagine the possibilities with that plant! I hope you can find a male soon.
 
  • #16
Female robcantleyi, wow! Imagine the possibilities with that plant! I hope you can find a male soon.


Unfortunately, most of the hybrids with this species have been pretty lack luster so far. Much better off tracking down a male of the species. Good luck Ron, I'm sure there must be some adult males in bloom at this point.
 
  • #17
Any pics of the whole plant?
The plant is in the middle of a tank with a vining SG N. hamata & many Orchidioides - no way to see the entire plant. Here's one of the pitchers:
20259823915_a9222ceba3_b.jpg


Much better off tracking down a male of the species. Good luck Ron, I'm sure there must be some adult males in bloom at this point.
Obviously that's my preference. However, I may also consider pollen (assuming it is female) from other Neps w/ large, flaring peristomes (N. veitchii, ovata, singalana, etc)
 
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  • #18
Female robcantleyi, wow! Imagine the possibilities with that plant! I hope you can find a male soon.

Actually, 98% of the robcantleyi hybrids produced to date are quite uninteresting. Some are downright homely - yes - I'm looking at you, ventricosa x robcantleyi. Early on, I acquired several assorted hybrids. My greenhouse contains only one at this point, and its days are numbered too (Its only there because I can't easily untangle it from its immediate neighbor). I've come to the conclusion that this species is a very poor breeder when mated with most any other plant.

That said, while its always worth producing more seed grown plants of any species, BE produced several thousand seed-grown plants of it and they are still finding their way into collections. I suspect they achieved market saturation, so making more plants from seed may be an interesting exercise, but unlikely to be of great $$ value.
 
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  • #19
I agree that many N. robcantleyi hybrids tend to be...less spectacular than their parents, although there are some that I can appreciate (talangensis x robcantleyi, burbidgeae x robcantleyi, and hamata x robcantleyi are some of the better ones in my opinion). Regardless of that though, N. robcantleyi is probably extinct in the wild, and it's exciting to see someone with the means to produce more of this species. Although BE has produced thousands of plants and the market price will probably take a nose dive in the future like you said (I'm still seeing N. robcantleyi going for $100s, for now at least), it's more of a conservation thing to me than a monetary thing. It reminds me of situations with plants like Sarracenia jonesii - decently widespread in cultivation and not worth large amounts of money in the trade, but still valuable due to the state of populations in the wild. When I see huge amounts of endangered species being produced in captivity, it's not breeding or market values that come to my mind first, it's the conservation value. Even if these plants cannot be reintegrated into the wild, it's comforting to know that we will have a large and stable population in reserve for generations to come.
 
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  • #20
looks like its been rediscovered , great news. As for its hybrids been not as nice as the parents, I would say the same goes for hamata or a nice candy striped veitchii but just an opinion . Hope you find a suitable mate
 
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