Nepenthes

[Trapper7]

Hi guys.In the next couple of days,I'm going to buy a Pitcher plant.I would like either one of these:villosa,rafflesiana,sibuyanensis,lowii,copelandii or a fusca.How do I care for these plants?Would I be able to hang it from my ceiling?But then it wouldn't get any light.And how much humidity does it need?I don't have anymore room in my terrarium for it,and I don't have a windowsill large enough to hold my plants.So is there anything I can do?*Niki*(Trapper7)

 

[elgecko]

I grow my N. rafflesiana as a windowsill plant in a southern exposure. Humidity is on average around 45%. Grows and pitchers great fot me.

 

[Trapper7]

I don't have a windowsill big enough to put mine on

Hey could I hang it outside?It's raining here now but it's not too cold.*Niki*

 

[SarraceniaScott]

I can vouch that N. coccinea does wonderfully inside, in normal indoor humidity levels.

 

[The Griffin]

Well, she lives in Canada....so let me see.
First of all N. villosa is a very hard plant for a lot of us. I have grown 25 years and not tried it, as I don't have a cool enough place to grow it. I would not recommend it until you have a few plants under your belt.
The easiest of these is probably N. rafflesiana. It is a lowlander, and probably does not like temps below 70 F. I think others on here have said it does not like humidity fluctuations either. BTW, I would go for at least 70% humidity on an Nepenthes.
N. coplandii and N. fusca are intermediate/highland(the first might be mostly intermdiate), and N. sibuyanensis is a easy highlander. This group might be good in Cananda.
If you have not grown any Nepenthes, you might want to start with N. alata, N. ventricosa or N. x ventrata(the hybrid of the two). Those are the easiest, as they are very forgiving in temps compared to most.
Dustin and Jeff would give better advice on these than me, but that is my take on it.

Cheers,

Joe

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

N. copelandii is a very nice and easy plant. It isn't picky and stays relatively compact for a while. Tony had some growing outside during the hot part of the summer in blazing sunlight and inadequate water (as a little test for the plants). The things did fine. Made nice big pitchers too.  

N. villosa, forget it Nikki. Unless you want to waste $35-50 don't think about it. Its probably one of the most difficult Nepenthes to maintain and grow.

N. rafflesiana, as the others stated would be a fine grower, if you can keep it warm and humid.

N. lowii.....possible but I wouldn't reccomend it, too finicky with humidity and temperatures (esp at night, similar but not as extreme climate requirements as N. villosa)

N. sibuyanensis would be as difficult as N. lowii, plus you'll need lots of space for it, loooong tendrils with big fat pitchers in a short time.

N. fusca would be OK. Its not really picky about temperatures and would probably do fine in a room temperature enclosure.

 

[Capslock]

Nikki,
Unless you have some plan to get these plants light, there isn't a single nepenthes that will grow for you. You say you can't use the windowsill, and there's no room in the terrarium, and hanging it from the ceiling would put it in a position to get no light. From the sounds of that, you're out of luck. However, it isn't THAT hard to use artificial light to grow them. If you can get a couple of regular-size compact fluorescent bulbs (the kind that replace a normal lightbulb) right above your plant, you could probably grow the easier varieties mentioned above. But don't do it if you can't provide at least that.

Capslock

 

[Clint]

lights for everyday hobbyists are cheap.

i think i got my 4x 110 watt VHO retrofit kit with electronic ballast, reflector, etc for onl 175 bucks.

a simple $20 shoplight will work just fine, too.

 

[Trapper7]

Thanks for all the help guys.I will go out and buy a fluorescent light first and then get one of the easier growing plants.If you have any other suggestions or ideas please feel free to let me know

*Niki*

 

[Trapper7]

I just ordered 3 of my first Neps

I got a N.copelandii,N.fusca and a N.rafflesiana

I also ordered a Judith Hindle,also a first for me

I'm very excited! I can't wait to get them.Thanks for all your help guys.I followed your advice and got the easiest ones to grow.I will grow them outside in my mini greenhouse.I'll take some pics as soon as they arrive. *Niki*

 

[Starman]

Nikki?

Its Niki with one k(Yugoslavian and Hungarian spelling)

Well good luck with your plants Niki, I would put the N.rafflesiana in a warm room where the temperatures dont flactuate, and N.fusca and coplandii in a room where it is cooler and where the temps drop at night(but they musnt drop toooooo much)

 

[Trapper7]

Starman,they're gonna be in an outside mini greenhouse. *Niki*<---Yup,one K

 

[Starman]

this might be ok in the summer for the highland and intermediate neps, but the rafflesiana will need to be in a seperate environment where it is always warm and where are little or none temperature drops.

 

[Trapper7]

AH CRUD! Well it's gonna have to survive with the rest of them,I'm sorry.*Niki*

 

[Starman]

Niki, while it might survive it will not be happy and you will probably see no pitchers.
I would really reccomend you moving it indoors or a terrarium which has warm temperatures little or none temperature drops.

 

[Trapper7]

Ok,but like I have said before there is no room for it inside.So there's nothing I can do about it.*Niki*

 

[Flip_Side_the_Pint]

what kind of raff is it? maybe you can cancel that one call up the vendor. Where did you get them from I'm sure they would be more then happy to work something out with you.

 

[Trapper7]

I ordered them from E-bay,so I just emailed the lady to see if I can switch it to a N.fusca instead,and hopefully she will get back to me soon.Thanks guys.*Niki*

 

[The Griffin]

Nikki,

I noticed you live in Canada. Is the ebay seller also in Canada? If not, how do they get around shipping to another country?

Cheers,

Joe

 

[Trapper7]

The Griffin:Yup she's in Canada,not only that she's only an hour away from me,but with these gas prices my parents don't want to drive me way out there,so I'm better off with her shipping them to me.If I ordered from the states I'd have to get that special paper(I always forget the name).I actually ordered a Big Mouth VFT from Cook's and he said I don't really need the paper for just one little plant,so I was lucky

I just hope it gets here.*Niki*