I just realized that the timer on my terrarium at my office is broken. I think I have been exposing my Nepenthes to 24 hours of light for months! I think this is a bad idea, but also an intriguing one. Has anyone tried this before? Seems like it could be a stimulant for short periods of time, but the plants would get worn out eventually.
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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Growers have done this to induce Sarracenia to reach flowering adulthood from seed after only twenty-four months or so; but afterwards, adjusted them to a normal photo-period. Eventually the plants will decline, whether or not dormancy is required -- tropical or not . . .
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107339
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107339
As shown by the number of people who use 24/7 lighting on Sarracenia seedlings with great success, a continuous light can be beneficial for a period of 2 years perhaps longer. In general not many plants will tolerate such a treatment. Many biochemical reactions occur during the dark phase that have to do with flowering, induction of the resting phase of growth and changes that permit a plant to survive freezing temperatures. Those of us who grew up in the midwest know what goes on in a corn field at night even when our parents warned us not to go into them. 
Even a short 2 hour night can be enough to allow some/many plants to really thrive. Many of the Sarr seedlings I have seen growing under continuous light look a bit pale and I wonder if that is due to the 24 hour lighting. It would be interesting to see if some were put on a 20-22 hour light phase and 4-2 hour dark phase and see if they green up and grow any more or less than those under a 24 hour photoperiod. Will they still remain in continuous growth with a very short night? Could you change to an 18 hour day and still achieve the desired growth? Anyone out there growing Sarr seedlings under extended photoperiods but less than 24 hours? Does it work as well as 24? I have 30 FL tubes over some non-cp plants and the amount of electricity they consume if on 24/7 adds up so I switched to a shorter photoperiod.
As a side note. If you are transitioning your plants from a 24 hour photoperiod (any thing longer than 16 hours) and plan to leave them where they will experience freezing temperatures I would strongly recomomend that you have them exposed to the shortening days ideally by early August to be safe. Later might work but who wants to risk loss from an early freeze. The process of developing "hardiness" is not a quick one in most plants. Work in a previous life with Acer rubrum (red maple) seedlings growing outdoors showed that the most northern forms ceased all vegetative growth by mid July. Seedlings from FL never stopped growing and all died with the first freeze in November in central OH where they were growing. They were insensitive to both falling temperatures and decreasing photoperiod, both important environmental cues and never developed hardiness. Sarracenia from that region are perfectly hardy to mid single digits for me in exposed raised bog bed in Western WA so it would appear they are sensitive to shortening days (lengthening nights) and/or falling temperatures.
Even a short 2 hour night can be enough to allow some/many plants to really thrive. Many of the Sarr seedlings I have seen growing under continuous light look a bit pale and I wonder if that is due to the 24 hour lighting. It would be interesting to see if some were put on a 20-22 hour light phase and 4-2 hour dark phase and see if they green up and grow any more or less than those under a 24 hour photoperiod. Will they still remain in continuous growth with a very short night? Could you change to an 18 hour day and still achieve the desired growth? Anyone out there growing Sarr seedlings under extended photoperiods but less than 24 hours? Does it work as well as 24? I have 30 FL tubes over some non-cp plants and the amount of electricity they consume if on 24/7 adds up so I switched to a shorter photoperiod.
As a side note. If you are transitioning your plants from a 24 hour photoperiod (any thing longer than 16 hours) and plan to leave them where they will experience freezing temperatures I would strongly recomomend that you have them exposed to the shortening days ideally by early August to be safe. Later might work but who wants to risk loss from an early freeze. The process of developing "hardiness" is not a quick one in most plants. Work in a previous life with Acer rubrum (red maple) seedlings growing outdoors showed that the most northern forms ceased all vegetative growth by mid July. Seedlings from FL never stopped growing and all died with the first freeze in November in central OH where they were growing. They were insensitive to both falling temperatures and decreasing photoperiod, both important environmental cues and never developed hardiness. Sarracenia from that region are perfectly hardy to mid single digits for me in exposed raised bog bed in Western WA so it would appear they are sensitive to shortening days (lengthening nights) and/or falling temperatures.
Step Pro - well I was working in my office on a deadline for a report at midnight and realized that the terrarium lights were still on. That told me that the timer might be broken! Most of my Nepenthes have declined over the last year - smaller pitchers, reddish / burned leaves, outright death! There are a lot of confounding factors in plant decline though! I also have my plants in a fish tank, with water re-circulating in the bottom. I haven't changed the water in over two years! So that could be a major problem too. Nor have I changed the soil in these plants in five years or so! This was a true experiment in automation / low care. The interesting thing is that there are a number of plants that are doing fine! I'll have to check the labels and see which they are, but my suspicion is that they are all hybrids.
