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Villosa/rajah

I've decided to either get a villosa, or a Rajah, i just want to know, which one is easier?
Thanks in advance,
Dave
 
rajah all the way.. i know someone who's growing rajah on his windowsill... can't say the same about a villosa!
 
Yes, i do know one person who grew rajah on a windowsill for while, he turned off the heat, put a humidifier in his room, put MOUNDS of waterlogged sphagnum around it, and misted it about 7-10 times per day. I'm assuming it would do well in less extreme measures? I have a greenhouse, it gets to the mid 80s in the daytime,and 50s at night. The humidity bases around 40-50% and tops off at 75+ at night. Would rajah be able to survive in these conditions? Villosa too?
 
your humidity is slightly on the low side. a rajah would survive in there not too sure about a villosa.
 
Would it pitcher too?

Besides, Peter D'amato from California Carnivores keeps telling me that hyprometers are grossly innacurate, and he tells me that his greenhouse gets to the 40% range during the day and above 70% at night. Come to think of it i didn't see any adult Rajahs or Villosas, well he did have a rajah about a foot high, but it wasn't an adult yet.
 
If you want to grow all those impressive highlanders (rajah, villosa, macrophylla, hamata, etc) you will need to either live in a climate where their conditions are aproximately met: proper temperatures, high humidity and good light. I think member "Neps Around the House" lives in Northern California and can do this with his local temps, but he is an exception and is very lucky! Otherwise you will need to create the climate (as I discussed in your hamata thread) or they will not do well for you. Wishful thinking does not make up for improper conditions, many forum members have come and gone since I've been here who were "sure" they could make all the big name highlanders grow in "close enough" conditions only to have the plants become sickly.

Setup your conditions and then get the plants!
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They are already set up, i have some easy to intermediate highlanders in there, (along with macrophylla, which is pretty hardy, or so i've heard) so i'm hoping that i can grow a rajah there, i'm going to C.A. carnivores on saturday, so i'll ask Peter himself and see if it will work. I'm pretty sure Hamata will do well, and i'll also get a Lowii, since i think those are hardier than Rajah.

Besides, i can always (you guessed it) put in mounds of waterlogged sphagnum, and spray the whole place up once or twice per day. The temperatures are correct already. Oh, i just remembered, i have another humidifier tucked away in my attic, it it turns out i need it, i can dig it out.
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No, lowii and hamata are not harder than rajah. I'd put lowii and rajah in much the same basket. This reputation rajah has for being more difficult than other species arose in the 70s and 80s when it was new to cultivation and little was known about its preferences, and this image has hung around. As for hamata, its range is from intermediate to highland, and it is very easy to grow as long as it doesn't get too warm at night.

Hamish
 
I'm sorry, poor choice of words, not 'harder' i said 'hardier' meaning more hardy, more durable.

Anyway, i know more about Hamata, and Lowii from a previous thread. I'm just wondering: would rajah and villosa still be able to pitcher in an enviornment like what i described earlier?

If the humidity is a problem, i can always bring out the other humidifier, it served it's purpose very well in my stovehouse until i got a new humidifier and (luckily) put the old one away instead of tossing it.
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So i'm just wondering if i would need it or not, and whether i would need it for villosa, but not rajah, of for villosa and rajah etc.
Thanks, and sorry for the poor choice of words,
Dave
 
  • #10
OK, humidity above 50% is fine. More is better, for highlanders 65-85% gets you good pitchering without pathogen problems, but for lowlanders humidity generally needs to be higher. Unless you're growing lowlanders like bical, northiana, rowanae etc that need lots of heat and humidity, you can get amazing tolerance from Nepenthes in relation to humidity.

The differences between rajah, lowii and villosa don't relate to humidity. It relates to temperatures. Villosa is less tolerant of warmer temps, especially night temps, than rajah or lowii. Whilst it will grow fine for several years as a small plant in less than idea conditions, the older it gets, the more it needs strict temperature control. Many growers of villosa measure their success in how long the plant survives for them.

Villosa is not a species to be grown unless you've got the proper set-up to grow it in, unless you just want to have it for 3-4 years before it dies.

Hamish
 
  • #11
Hey Folks,
From my experience growing these guys outdoors, I think N. rajah grows slightly faster than N. villosa. Also, it seems that there are bigger rajahs on the market than villosas. For some reason you can only find like 1-1 1/2" villosas. Seems nobody is growing them out I guess. Since I do grow my guys outdoors, temperature fluctuation is not a big issue for me except for lowlanders I'm adapting to outdoor conditions. As for humidity, both species have done well for me even when the Santa Ana winds kicked up with that 10% humidity factor that occurs in So. Cal. I haven't been to Peter's greenhouse in quite a long time, but I recall him having a few small rajahs there. Can't remember about villosas. Maybe not.

Joel
 
  • #12
I know its been stated already, but the biggest issue with N. villosa and N. rajah plants is the temperature at night. Being Ultrahighlanders they absolutely NEED a nocturnal cooling period, esp. N. villosa. I let my temps drop to around 5C at night then the heat comes on and warms it up to around 8-10C so its fairly cool in there at night. Humidity like Hamish said before, will give you some leeway in growing.
 
  • #13
Well if i can get if for a good enough price... no, i want to keep my plants alive. So Hamish, you think i can keep a rajah alive in my conditions? The temps are good, in the summer it may get a bit warm (low 60s, up to 65 at most), and the humidity is good from what you said, but it can be raised if need be.

BTW in my lowland greenhouse, humidity is about the same, and i get a number of pitchers from my bicalcarata (and it is still green!).

Thanks for your advice, i'll call C.A. carnivores today to see if they have a rajah in stock, otherwise i'll just make do with the lowii and hamata i'm planning to get until then.
Thanks again
Dave
P.S. I've heard that with many Nepenthes, warmer temps can be tolerated as long as humidity is high, is that true?
 
  • #14
I grow N. rajah with temps between 8C and 30C in the day, dropping to around 21C max at summer nights (much lower in winter). I think that the nighttime drop along with very misty/humid nights (from a fogging machine) is the key for me at any rate, as it seems a reasonably fast grower and is pitchering well.

Good luck.
 
  • #15
Hmm, Peter told me it grows "suicidally slow". Anway, he doesn't have any right now, maybe i'll order from Tony.
 
  • #16
Its not slow. Just steady. Slow is N. villosa, that is really the only Nepenthes I would qualify as slow. Perhaps Peter is growing them wrong.
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  • #17
Personally, my N. villosas produce 4 new leaves and pitchers
per year, at least, so I would not describe the species as
"suicidally slow". Moreover, this plant actually grows
faster under suitably cool conditions than it does if kept too
warm. My guess is that this is the reason it is often described
as slow. However, it is not an easy plant, and I do not
recommend it to those who are not extremely dedicated.
 
  • #18
Well, he classifies anthing that pitcher less than a rate of one pitcher per every 3 months as suicidally slow, and for some reason he classifies rajah in that catagory. I assume he grows it correctly, he uses a good potting mix, the nocturnal cooling is good, and the humidity is pretty high.

Anway, i guess i'll be ordering a rajah from Tony, but i will get a lowii, hamata, sanguinea (he said that he had the extra large one that i'd seen on his sales counter for 5 months), ampullaria, and maybe a khasiana, depending if he has it in stock. So i guess i'll make do until i get a rajah.
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