Nepenthes Hamata Care?

[Bizzarro]

Hey Everyone,

I recently purchased a nepenthes hamata xs(BE-3380) and was wondering if anyone can provide feedback on my current growing conditions. I started with a acclimation technique using a bag for 2 weeks and now have it growing in a glass terrarium. I did lose a pitcher in the process, but the plant looks fine at the moment.

Current temps are as followed.....

Day temps 65 - 70 f
Nights temps 53 - 59 f
Humidity 88 - 94%

Drops are not a problem thanks to cold winter nights, but my day temps are not great.
Will the day temps be a problem

Thanks!!

 

[Camden M]

I know that some people will tell you that Hamata is strictly highlander, well, IMO they’ve just had a bad experience or are too scared to try I’ve actually let my Hamata get into the 100’s and it just happily chugged along Temprature isn’t much of an issue as much as humidity. I’m finding that it does need above 60 RH to produce pitchers and have normal growth rate. Yours should go rampant

If you interested, you can find my Hamata journey here-https://www.flytrapcare.com/phpBB3/has-anyone-grown-n-hamata-under-intermediate-conditions-t54721-15.html

 

[Bizzarro]

Thanks for the info!

I will definitely try this out. I actually accumulated a bicalcarata years ago on accident. The Bical out grew my terrarium and started vining out to my ceiling with Humidity in the 40's/50's. I ended up losing the plant when I moved out of state.

I'll most likely play it safe for now, since the hamata is xs. This plant is sensitive as it already lost the pitchers today. All I did was move it from the bag to terrarium with the conditions listed.

I accumulated in a zip lock bag for 2 weeks after receiving shipment and it still dropped the pitchers.

I have a singalana x hamata next to it and of course the hybrid is thriving. Both received at the same time.

 

[hcarlton]

Note that success trying to get a plant to grow in conditions they don't naturally grow in can't be measured in less time than a couple of years. N. hamata is very much a highland plant; warm highland potentially, but highland nonetheless, and it does not like disturbance. It can manage in intermediate conditions for a fairly significant length of time, but will eventually want for cooler nights (which, as in the case of the famous windowsill grower, is probably what it gets from local microclimates such as the cooler, more condensed humidity conditions often found near a windowsill that has plants around it) to be properly healthy, and for conditions to remain stable or change very slowly over time.
I would also reckon that bicalcarata was experiencing much higher humidity above its growing environment and particularly up at ceiling level than the rest of the room might have had; warm air, and the moisture it contains, rises.

 

[Bio]

In my experience, N. hamata is relatively forgiving with temperatures, but not with humidity, lighting, or being moved around. It's easy to not kill an established plant, it's hard to grow it well.

 

[Bizzarro]

Thanks everyone!

The Hamata is starting to thrive and is averaging 1 leaf every 3 weeks. I have not grown nepenthes in 7 years. I was a hardcore grower from 2008 -2016 and stopped because of moving to another state. I just found out my mentor passed away recently and decided to put everything I learned back into use, including tissue culture, and hydroponics.

Will keep everyone posted on my comeback and experiments.

My mentor.....

Peninsula man tends fly-gobbling plants in coastal showroom

Grinning seductively off to one side of the warm, moist World’s Rare Plants showroom at Pastorino Farms outside Half Moon Bay is a roughly 18-inch garden-décor statue of Seymour, the

www.hmbreview.com

Thanks for your feedback and support!

 

[Bizzarro]

Can anyone confirm if cool air from a refrigerator would be harmful to nepenthes for providing cool nights? I found a mini fridge and was thinking of modifying it for my terrarium.

 

[Grey Moss]

All those tiny USB powered minifridges are, is a peltier cooler in a plastic box. Would be better to just buy the cooler itself. However, they don't get particularly cold and aren't very efficient. I'd recommend a 'cold radiator' instead.

 

[adnedarn]

A friend and I once placed with peltier style coolers. He went with a pretty large peltier cooler and I decided to test out a 12v fridge I had won. He put his peltier on a clear storage bin with a lid. Even though his cooler had quite a bit more capability than mine, he could not come even close to the temperatures I was getting. As a matter of fact, I ended up needing to put a timer on my outlet so I could control how long it was on and thus control how cold it got. His even having hours to cool before putting the plant in would never come down to the desired temp. I would start my program when I put the plant in so it would experience a cool down period then maintain that temp over night and shut off early so it would gradually warm up before I took it out.