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cprus

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Well I just got a 3.6 cu.ft chest freezer for $75 which I think isn't a bad price at all. The internal measurements are 18X18X28 (LXWXH). So I should be able to grow some plants in there to a large size (which should take awhile anyway) before moving them out. I'm planning on getting rajah for sure as well as villosa, hamata, aristolochioides, lowii, ephippiata, and glabrata. I may not be able to fit them all in there though unless I use shelves. I'm aiming for an internal temperature of  50-60F day and around 40-45F night. The chamber will be covered with some sort of glass or acrylic and lit by 4X14w Quantum 17,000K lights in a custom hood. There will be a timed powerhead stationed down in the water reverse under the grid that will be hooked up to a mister head. Seems like a good idea. If anyone wants to add anything be by guest. The only down side to this whole thing was the small scratch I put in my dad's car bumper. darn!
 
Day time temps seem too low to me. I bet some of those plants would grow well for you outside.
 
Yeah I'm probably going to turn off the freezer during the day time hours and back on at night. Also it gets too dry here in San Jose without a proper greenhouse so outside is out of the question for me. I want these plants to feel as comfortable as possible. The Quantum lights are really bright and only at 11,000K not 18,000K. I'm going experiment a bit on temps before I get anything.  

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]dont know how u plan on getting all those neps but should be great for you

I'm planning on getting most of my plants through www.exoticplantsplus.com and they have all but villosa and aristolochioidesfor sale but they just might not be in stock. Are you saying they might be too expensive or hard to find?
 
One suggestion I have is to be give some careful consideration to what you'll be growing if you're growing plants in a fridge/terrarium set-up. Some small species like glabrata, aristolochioides are perfect because they're dainty, gracile species. However, rajah, lowii and most of the others listed get very, very big...

Cheers, Hamish
 
on the aristolochioides and ephippiata

ive had aristo for about a month i think and ephippiata for 2 months or so. from what ive seen so far with these, if you can get where your growing them to hit about 60 at night you should be able to grow them just fine. i expect the same of hamata. my lil aristo is taking off and growing like mad with day temps of around 80-85 and nights of about 60.

good luck with your new setup. i passes a huge chest freezer at a garage sale and seriously considered picking it up, only thing that stopped me was lack of space.
 
The problem I see with the freezer chest is it's limited space. You list 7 species, but really only 2 would fit in there, and then only while they are young. What will you do when they outgrow their space?

Brian
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (cprus @ Oct. 25 2005,8:21)]...and they have all but villosa and aristolochioides for sale but they just might not be in stock...
smile_l_32.gif
we all know the answer to that!
smile_m_32.gif
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Brian_W @ Oct. 25 2005,9:19)]The problem I see with the freezer chest is it's limited space. You list 7 species, but really only 2 would fit in there, and then only while they are young. What will you do when they outgrow their space?

Brian
by a bigger freezer, duh!
smile_n_32.gif
actually i doubt aristo would out grow that space. the cutting i have is only forming uppers and its tiny, MAYBE a 4 inch leaf span. the one of Jerremiahs i saw in person i doubt was 12 inches across and it was a good sized aristo from my understanding. hamata and ephippiata can put on lots of size fairly fast if your not starting from plants in 2 inch pots.
 
  • #10
There's really no need for me to worry about space right now. I'm just using this freezer as temporary growth chamber for when they arrive. The problem will be space eventually but not for three years or so and I'm trying to find the smallest seedlings possible because I for one think it's more rewarding to grow a plant from a 2-4cm plant to a monster. I understand everyone's concern about the space avaliable for them but I'm not a person who would start something and not go through with it. I don't work to pay off a new car like most teens do, I work to grow my plants and to save up for the car. So yes rattler_mt, buy bigger freezer.
EDIT: I'm also just planning on getting rajah for now and villosa when the opportunity arrives. Those are the two I would like to grow the most, the others are just icing on the cake.
 
  • #12
It will be a good experience setting this one up.  You'll learn how to coordinate
all the different parameters.

Keep in mind that N. rajah (and some of the others) have the potential to look like this (scroll down a little):  big honking N. rajah

Brian
 
  • #14
I'm pretty much good to go, at least with the planning. I still need to get a thermostat, fan, timers, the cover, and a pump for the auto-mist system. I work in an aquarium store so getting a few things will be quite easy and cheap. Anyone want to recommend a good thermostat that's water proof?
 
  • #15
Hello,

I really like this thermostat http://www6.mailordercentral.com/igcusas....CT-1000

I have grown all the plants you listed in a freezer and to be honest the only plant that did noticeably better were N. rajah and N. villosa. The N. rajah out grew the freezer in just under two years. It went from a 3" plant to 18 inches now it is just less than 3'. So I had to build a highland greenhouse for it.

Here is a photo of it I took 9-26-04
35da168a.jpg

Basically everything you see there no longer fits in the freezer other then the N. villoas.

A few other that did well in the freezer are N. jacquelineae, N. muluensis, and N. macrophylla.

Out of the plant you listed I would strongly advise not putting N. hamata, N. lowii, N. ephippiata, or N. glabrata in the freezer.

I would also be very careful not to let N. rajah freeze. Last December my highland GH got down to 28 F and surprisingly N. rajah was one of the few highland Nepenthes that has any problems. Before the frost that N. rajah had pitchered on every leaf and the largest pitcher was about 6". My N. rajah is yet to make a nice pitcher since the frost although it one pitcher is starting to swell and it now about 4".

Thanks
-Jeremiah-
 
  • #16
Thanks for the link. Maybe I should just stick to rajah and villosa then. I really don't want any trouble with the others and I really don't want to have to grow, say hamata really well in winter but have it fry under 30% humidity in the summer. I want to keep the night time temps at around 40-45 (maybe too high for villosa) so I don't freeze rajah like you said. Morning temps will be around 70F. So 45F-70F, sound good? Not too cold for rajah and not too hot for villosa. If you don't mind me asking, what are your temps in the chamber?
 
  • #17
Hello,

No problem.

That is exactly what I keep my freezer at. Right now I'm not using it since the outdoor temperatures are plenty cold here in Colorado this time of the year. I only use mine in the summer then I don't have to cool the GH quite as much.

Thanks
-Jeremiah-
 
  • #18
you built that greenhouse just for rajah? sounds just like the hair brained kind of thing my wife always accuses me of doing
smile_n_32.gif
 
  • #19
lol well yeah.

My parents were really good about it but I paid for it all with money I made over the summer so that helped.

thanks
-Jeremiah-
 
  • #20
I've found the use of a chest freezer to grow true ultra-highland plants to be very successful. So much so, in fact, that I wrote an article about it which was published in CPN a few years ago. Species which I have observed to benefit most are NN. villosa, aristolochioides, diatas, murudensis, muluensis, talengensis, and X kinabaluensis.

Overall, I think that if you want to grow N. villosa well, this technique is an absolute must. Currently, my largest specimen is producing pitchers which are about 15 cm (6 inches) in height, and it has easily tripled in size in just three years. If I get a chance to photograph it again sometime soon, I'll try to post a new image (if some of you would care to see it again).

By virtue of my experience, I suspect that virtually anyone can succeed with this plant in this fashion. However, if you cannot accomodate this species in this manner, I urge you to forego growing it, for failure is otherwise likely. It is also very slow growing, even under nearly ideal conditions, so it is not a good choice for the very young, or for those who are not settled.

BTW, for reference, I've set the thermostat in my setup to cool to around 3 C (37 to 38 F) at night. During the day, temperatures rarely exceed 20 C (68 F). This regime has proved adequate for all the species listed above.

Finally, I have never tried growing N. rajah this way. It has always grown quite well for me with temps from about 10 C (50 F) at night, up to 30 C (86 F) during the day.
 
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