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Nepenthes in Florida
- Thread starter cstriker
- Start date
Wow
I had plants wrecked during the xmas period but not from heat ,my heater tripped off and atleast -5 for the entire night has burned the tips off a lot of my plants,burbidgea is trashed,fusca ,truncata,albomarginata,merrilliana is not looking good,emmerana,spathulata x maxima has had to be cut back as the vine went black,ventrata is cut back to basal shoots as the rest is gone so all in all a pretty crappy christmas
Amazingly enough platychilla ,hamata,singalana,diatas,mira took it all in there stride as well as a few others,i will post some piccys in a day or two but its not pretty
Bye for now Julian
I had plants wrecked during the xmas period but not from heat ,my heater tripped off and atleast -5 for the entire night has burned the tips off a lot of my plants,burbidgea is trashed,fusca ,truncata,albomarginata,merrilliana is not looking good,emmerana,spathulata x maxima has had to be cut back as the vine went black,ventrata is cut back to basal shoots as the rest is gone so all in all a pretty crappy christmas
Amazingly enough platychilla ,hamata,singalana,diatas,mira took it all in there stride as well as a few others,i will post some piccys in a day or two but its not pretty
Bye for now Julian
For me, I love Nepenthes and I am satisfied chosing whatever species or hybrid adapts to my own conditions. I know people drool over highland species, but there are a lot of different plants out there that are wonderful and adaptable. I've been to Trent's website, and I must say you have plenty of great Nepenthes that can grow in Florida!
Let me see the little highland punks grow a monster bical or rafflesiana!
Brian
Let me see the little highland punks grow a monster bical or rafflesiana!
Brian
Thanks Brian
You make a good point. Man, can we grow lowland stuff down here. I love the highland stuff, and some of it is adaptable, but we specialize in lowlanders. There's still so many different lowland forms of species and hybrids we do not have. Why worry about trying to grow lowii, when we could be putting less effort into raising a showstopper of a merriliana, or a sultry Viking with twenty or more red pitchers. Not to mention ampullaria and bicalcarata, and the big challenge, northiana.
You make a good point. Man, can we grow lowland stuff down here. I love the highland stuff, and some of it is adaptable, but we specialize in lowlanders. There's still so many different lowland forms of species and hybrids we do not have. Why worry about trying to grow lowii, when we could be putting less effort into raising a showstopper of a merriliana, or a sultry Viking with twenty or more red pitchers. Not to mention ampullaria and bicalcarata, and the big challenge, northiana.
I'm interested in trying to grow some outside here in central Florida. Which lowlanders can withstand the low temps? How low can they go and for how long? If it gets too cold (however cold that is) do you bring them in for the night? How would the above questions apply to ampullaria, albomarginata, and/or bicalcarata? Which species would you recommend?
Chris
Chris
Hi Chris,
Unfortunately, we do have cold spells in winter that's too cold for even highlanders. You are about two hundred miles north of us and inland, so temps can be more extreme. Because we grow commercially, we maintain a very high standard for the plant quality. I'm sure they would tolerate rougher conditions, but the plants would not look so good. I heat the greenhouse when temps are predicted to drop below 50 F. Night time low temp is always maintained at 50 or above. Days are purposely kept hot and humid, to counter the cold night. This is key to growing ampullaria and bicals. They will tolerate low night temps, as long as they have hot humid days following. Our bicals were subjected to one night with a low down to 48 F when we had a heater flame-out. There was absolutely no damage, but the following day was sunny, so in the greenhouse it was 90 F with 80 percent humidity. When you step in the greenhouse at times like this, eyeglasses and camera lenses fog over.
We find albomarginata enjoys coolish nights, and really can grow quickly if given bright, very humid conditions. Also, a very well drained mix and somewhat dry at the roots. We grow albos in clay pots so they dry out faster than Neps grown in plastic.
It's gonna take trial and error to see what works in YOUR conditions. Sometimes a minor tweak of one variable can be the difference between a plant struggling to live and growing like a weed.
We have customers in Palm Beach who grow ventrata outside year round. One lady said her ventrata got so big it started vining up the nearby trees and had to be cut back. It was then she found huge pitchers in the undergrowth, and one had a partially digested mouse in it.
Unfortunately, we do have cold spells in winter that's too cold for even highlanders. You are about two hundred miles north of us and inland, so temps can be more extreme. Because we grow commercially, we maintain a very high standard for the plant quality. I'm sure they would tolerate rougher conditions, but the plants would not look so good. I heat the greenhouse when temps are predicted to drop below 50 F. Night time low temp is always maintained at 50 or above. Days are purposely kept hot and humid, to counter the cold night. This is key to growing ampullaria and bicals. They will tolerate low night temps, as long as they have hot humid days following. Our bicals were subjected to one night with a low down to 48 F when we had a heater flame-out. There was absolutely no damage, but the following day was sunny, so in the greenhouse it was 90 F with 80 percent humidity. When you step in the greenhouse at times like this, eyeglasses and camera lenses fog over.
We find albomarginata enjoys coolish nights, and really can grow quickly if given bright, very humid conditions. Also, a very well drained mix and somewhat dry at the roots. We grow albos in clay pots so they dry out faster than Neps grown in plastic.
It's gonna take trial and error to see what works in YOUR conditions. Sometimes a minor tweak of one variable can be the difference between a plant struggling to live and growing like a weed.
We have customers in Palm Beach who grow ventrata outside year round. One lady said her ventrata got so big it started vining up the nearby trees and had to be cut back. It was then she found huge pitchers in the undergrowth, and one had a partially digested mouse in it.
