Question on Temperature Drop

[slau]

Hi everyone, I had a question about temperature drops for Highland plants. I've read a lot of literature that says it's useful to provide Highland neps with a temperature drop at night. However, which of the two circumstances is better:

1) warm day conditions, and cold temperature drop at night provided by air-conditioning
2) cold day conditions and night kept constant by the same air-conditioning

The warm day conditions will be 86 degrees and above. The cool air conditioning temperatures will be around 70. I live in a tropical zone. So what I'm asking is if it is better to expose the plant to outdoor conditions during the day, option one, or to keep it indoors the whole time in artificial air-conditioning, option two.

Is the drop better, or keeping the plant cool all day better? I grow mostly low land plants until now, and I'm going to venture into my first few Highland plants soon and I thought I would ask for some advice on which of the two is better for them.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Highland Nepenthes should warm up during the day. Into the mid 80s is fine. I think however you will need to choose carefully because 70 at night is not highland temperature. At best I would consider that intermediate. If you are looking to grow true highland plants you need to aim for at least 55 at night.

Tony

 

[schloaty]

Slau,

Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER use 70 degrees and COLD in the same thought!

 

 

[glider14]

Quote[/b] (schloaty @ Jan. 08 2007,7:19)]Slau,

Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER use 70 degrees and COLD in the same thought!

what?
anyways i would also say it to be an intermediet. my 2 terrariums both get down to 60 at night just from temperatures. one i consider a cooler intermediate tank but not fully highland. it gets up to 75*. the other is a warmer intermediate and gets up to 80*. both are very successful especially the latter one. i think if you use an AC you need to humidify the air or your humidity and plants will quickly dry out!
Alex

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Humidification will be a must with an AC unit, unless of course you are cooling an enclosure within an enclosure (box within a box) setup.

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Quote[/b] (slau @ Jan. 08 2007,7:19)]The cool air conditioning temperatures will be around 70.

That's how hot I keep my house during the day in winter.

 

[slau]

Thank you for the advice. I actually plan to slowly harden off the neps to low humidity airconditioning.

I live in a tropical zone in South East Asia and humidity is generally high. In my particular growing conditions however, it drops down to 30% during the day when it gets hot and windy so my neps are growing under very fluctuating humidity.

Having said that, I've read a few topics of folks who have successfully grown highlanders under "tropical" conditions. Unfortunately, those "tropical" zones include Hawaii and Taiwan, which is nothing at all compared to South East Asia's real tropical weather.

I thought I'd try a ventricosa, ramispina, and lowii to see how they do in the above conditions. I hope I'm not about to fry some plants.

All things considered, temperature drop is better than a constant 70 all day I conclude?

 

[CPsInAtl]

Slau,

"Highland" is also relative. Ventricosa is a "highland" but it grows just great in Atlanta, GA which is known to be rather warm (nick-name of Hotlanta). Correct me if I'm wrong, but ventricosa and sanguinea and similar plants are more "intermediate" and aren't as sensitive, but lowii probably wont like those "warm" temps.

 

[glider14]

the ventricosa and rampispina will do fine...the lowii on the other hand wont. its needs very cool temps at night to survive
Alex

 

[kendra]

Quote[/b] ]the ventricosa and rampispina will do fine...the lowii on the other hand wont. its needs very cool temps at night to survive
Alex

kendra says false!
FACT; lowii will not require ultrahighland conditions
to be happy
do you make a habit of stealing others images
for your avatar

 

[glider14]

i got premission from BE thank you very much. Lowii dosent require ULTRA highland conditions. but higland conditions will do.
Alex

 

[kendra]

for a beginner such as you "Alex"
do you think given lowii advice is
out of your league
do you grow lowii even

i herd lowii will not grow well in
a freezer setup because it is way cold
looks to me you do not like being caught out when
your wrong

 

[JMurphy97]

Are these two about to go at it or what?

 

[Clint]

Clint says he never thought he'd see elitism in a CP community.

You have a lot of negative things to say "Kendra", especially with an astronomical post count of two and no reputation here to speak of.

As far as his avatar, he says he has permission and I see no reason not to believe him. I believe the owner of BE asked him about it on the forums a while ago and if he didn't have permission it would be gone.

I was about to comment on your substandard English and make a joke that perhaps it was out of your league, but it occured to me that English may not be your native language; I'm a bit more sensitive than you to the feelings of others so I edited.

 

[glider14]

nah. im mature enough to not have a fight with someone online. as i always say "fighting online is like running in the special olympics. even if you win your still........." you get it.

Quote[/b] ]do you grow lowii even

no. do you?

Quote[/b] ]i herd lowii will not grow well in
a freezer setup because it is way cold

never said anything about a freezer setup

Quote[/b] ]looks to me you do not like being caught out when
your wrong

ill admit im wrong anyday. however ill defend what i truly think everyday

Alex

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

Knock it off. This isn't a bashing forum. If you joined to bash people kendra then this isn't the place.

 

[slau]

Thanks for the advice, I've got a few high land neps to try. Here's all I'm going to get for now :

muluensis x lowii
lowii
ventricosa black peristome
sanguinea
ramispina

The last 2 are still pending in an order from BE but the others are here. The lowii is tissue culture so it probably wont be doing much for a long time. I leave it in a fishbowl indoors and all covered up until to maintain TC high humidity until it roots. It gets nightly cooling in airconditioning which is hardly in the 50s or 60s but I suppose thats better than no cooling at all. During the day it sits in the same room and I'm wondering whether it should be taken outside to bake it up a bit since a temperature drop would be more noticeable if this were to be done. TCs here seem to produce a ridiculous number of offsets for lowii. There were 8 or 9 in the TC bottle from a single seed. And none rooted. =.=

The muluensis grows ever so slowly. And all the pitcher tendrils keep breaking off on the growing tip. Maybe its due to low humidity at night when cooled in air conditioning.

I'm not giving the ventricosa any cooling (cutting). The person who gave me the cutting was growing it outdoors without any cooling. It seems to grow but it refuses to pitcher at all. Just lots of pitcher tendrils with unexpenaded pitchers at the tips.

I'm just pondering now whether to keep up the nightly cooling for the sanguinea and rampispina lest they end up as just green foliage like the ventricosa when they arrive from BE. This is going to become rather inconvenient if time goes on. In no time I'm about to find myself moving 10 pots in and out daily... Perhaps I should grow them all in the air conditioned room during the day but I hear neps need good air circulation. A still air stuffy room is hardly ideal.