ultra highland nepenthes

[jodajo21]

does any body know how i might grow ultra highland neps in florida? can they be kept in a bright window in a terrium in the air conditioning?what about the temp drops at night are those absolutely needed? if so any ideas on how to accomplish this inexpensively? The days here are very hot and the nights almost hotter,and the humidity usually between 60% and a 100%.Any help would be very apreciated.

Thanks

Joel

 

[neps]

Hi Joel,

First of all, yes, in the vast majority of cases, a nocturnal temperature drop is quite necessary.
This is especially true of the ultrahigland plants, and if growing these is your goal, I encourage you to think twice, at least until you have really solved the problem of cooling your growing environment down to temperatures of 10 C (50 F), or possibly quite a bit cooler, depending upon what you wish to grow. Failure to heed this requirement will likely result in the death of ultrahighland plants. I do not wish to discourage you, but please take this seriously.

It may not be possible for you to grow most highland Nepenthes in Florida; at least, not without
considerable expense, which you have said you wish to avoid. Moreover, I do not recommend moving the plants and putting them in the refrigerator every night, as some folks do, because if you are successful, this will rapidly become impractical as the plants grow larger. One possibility for growing highland plants in general, however, might be to air-condition a particular room in your house at night, and use that room for your plants. You'd need to get temperatures down to around 15 C (59 F), I suspect, for this to be useful, although the degree of cooling required varies quite a lot depending upon what species you wish to grow, and 15 C is still too
warm for ultrahighland Nepenthes. In particular, N. villosa is not a good
candidate; it really likes temperatures around 3 C (37 F) at night, and consistently warmer
temps will damage it, especially as it gets larger. Another possibility is to adapt a freezer, as I have done. I believe that you can read about this under the listing for N. villosa. However, this will probably cost you in excess of $200 for the equipment required, which may not be what
you would call inexpensive.

In any case, I hope that my remarks are of some use to you, and hope that they do not
discourage you too much. However, if you cannot find a way of providing the cooling that
ultrahighland plants need, I hope that you will try some of the wonderful lowland plants much
better suited to your climate. Good luck!

 

[Parasuco]

Well. I'm in Canada, I wanted highlands, and ultra highlands, but I thought it would be impractical, so I thought, as long as I can keep lowlands warm andhumid, i can do that. Almost all of them grew too big for me... I wanted highlands... Then it dawned on me. Duh... I live in the PERFECT place fo highlands... All but the summer monthes, I hardly have to provide any cooling myself... The weather does that for me!!! Well. I've decided to delve into the realm of highlands. Using a humidifier in my bedroom, on and off, just to keep it at an acceptable level, not too much more... I only keep the hardest ones in a tank (uh, will - not do, I'm working on it, ok?). NOW, I want some of those lowlands.

Basically, what I'm saying is no matter what kind of plant's climate you live in, you'll want the opposite...

I say go for some of the really nice rafflesiana variations... The singapore giant, nivea is nice too. Imagine a massive bicalcarata outside on your patio, climbing a trellis you built for it, or even the ever so rare clipeata, right outside your window...

I say stick with the lowlands, and If you can get a ten or twenty gallon glass tank (if u buy a fish tank without all the filters, and stuf, just as a glass box, its REALLY cheap...), that you can cool sufficently at night with say, some ice, you can have a small collection of highlands too...

Sorry. Thats not an answer to your question... Here is a thread that is all about ultrahighlands in the greenhouse forum...

 

[swords]

Joel, I hooked up a dryer vent hose to my airconditioner with a "collector" (wide) vent over the airconditioners output so I capture most all the air coming out and force it through the hose into my 4ft x 4 ft x 2ft terrarium.

I also have an ultrasonic cool mist humidifier ($40 at a pharmacy) which runs into the vent causing the cooled air to become humidified (air from an airconditioner is very dry). I run this from midnight to 8 am and get temps usually around 50*F but a few times it's gone down to 45*F. It's only those which require near freezing that can't be kept here cos I've gotta sleep in this room and I don't like waking up with icles hanging off my goatee!

Good luck!

 

[jodajo21]

Thanks for you help. could you stear me to which plants i could keep with temps between 45 F and 59 F and which plants need around 37 F like villosa. I think i can find a small window unit air conditioning to get it to 45 F or at least some for where around there for $ 100 or so. I think I am also going to try to find some one who works on air conditionings or frigerators to get there advice. they might be able to hook me up with some frig parts the bare bones so to speak and tell me how to use them for a room or very large aquarium. home depot sells thick reflective insulation for farely cheap $8 for 4 x 8 sheet which could be use to make a unit much larger than expensive aquariums. i am trying to figerout a way when i get the $ to turn my porch into a highland nep. room. Do you guys have any advice on what energy efficiant lights i could use and how many to use?

(question from other thread on lighting)
hey guys could you offer any ideas on energy efficient lights to keep neps indoors and on how many to use and how close, their larger plants and will get much larger so i need something bright that can be kept at some what of a distance. can regular florescentlights be used or do they have to be grow lights, reg. lights that i have found are much brighter. what about mercury hollogen, i believe thats it, can those be used? they are bright and fairely low watt.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

If you get your night temps down to 50-55 you could grow most highland Nepenthes.  I would say that air conditioning or refridgeration would be the way to go for a large scale set up.  With either of these humidification then becomes a factor as well since they both pull moisture out of the air.  Naturally if your putting together the growing area, use as much insulation as you can so you can minimize cold loss and keep your energy bill down as much as possible.  

Regular fluorescents can be used but will require more fixtures and they need to be placed close to the plants ie.. 6-8 inches
For lighting that can be placed a decent distance away you need to look at high intensity lighting such as metal halide or high pressure sodium.  Halogen, incandescent, mercury vapor or low pressure sodium are not suitable sources for plant growth.

Swords has a nice set up for a terrarium and can help you with that.  I also like Jeff Shafers set up using a converted chest freezer.  He also has some good suggestions on building a room for growing and is well worth reading.  Here is a link:
Plantswithattitude
Tony

 

[Parasuco]

I know someone who uses a metal halide, and he says its like a giant indoor sun...... It gets really hot in there apprently, and I can assume electric bills are high.......