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appropriate nepenthes for a terrarium

S

Slurm

I am setting up a lowland terrerium to grow lowland nepenthes. I have not had much long-term sucess with nepenthes in the past, but I think this time I will be sucessful.
Right now I have 2 empty tanks that I could use, a 20 gallon tank and a 50 gallon tank. I think I will use the 50 gallon, but if it is more convenient, I may use the 20 gallon and then "upgrade" when the plants get bigger.

I doubt I will get a larger terrerium because I am going to college next year (don't know where yet) and I want to have a terrerium small enough for a dorm room. My first choice college has a massive tropical greenhouse facility and I am on good terms with the people working there, so If I get accepted there, I will likely have room to grow large nepenthes. For now, I have to concentrate on varieties suitable for terrerium cultivation.

I am thinking of growing the following plants in my lowland 50 gallon terrerium:

N. bellii
N. madagascariensis
N. tomoriana (one of my favs. I hope I can find one)
N. ventricosa x inermis (not lowland but apparently indestructable)
N. gymnamphora (I have heard it can grow as a lowland)
N. x medusa
N. campanulata
N. globosa

Are these acceptable for a 50 gallon terrarium? I know that almost all nepenthes will eventually get too big for a 50 gallon terrarium, but I think most of these would work in a terrarium this size if I keep vining under control. The only one I am not sure about is N. globosa. Do these get huge like N.bical and N. rafflesiana? Plants I have seen seem to maintain a compact or bushy growth habit. Would a N. globosa outgrow a 50 gallon terrerium really quickly?
 
Yes
yes
yes, but good luck finding one
don't know
yes but dunno how it will fare as a lowland
no
yes but good luck finding one
no
 
Not globosa? 50 gal is pretty big... I think you could grow almost any nep in a 50 gal if you prune it back (make cuttings) every now and then, and grow it toppled over.
 
50 gallons is only 12 inches wide. As soon as a plant just starts to get going, it would be time to whack it back. That's really just 6 inches per leaf.

My 75 isn't much better but I'm thankful for the extra 6 inches :)
 
My 50 gal is 18 1/2 inches across.
 
Slurm said:
My first choice college has a massive tropical greenhouse facility and I am on good terms with the people working there, so If I get accepted there, I will likely have room to grow large nepenthes.
Click to expand...
Isn't it great to have friends:D
N. belli is a good choice I don't think it wil pot grow a 50 gallon any time soon.
 
Great news! I just found N. tomoriana for sale.
I had one a few years ago. It was a great plant. It stayed small but grew at an insanely fast rate. It grew too tall for my crappy 10gal, and after I got home from a vacation, I noticed that it had suddenly gotten severely burned and "crispy" from the growlights. It seems to be a shade grower. It is a very underrated species. Mature plants look like tiny N. sumatranas in the same way that N. bellii looks like a tiny N. merilliana.
 
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Really? It's just plain square. It looks like it had an alligator in it...I got it from a fish store.
 
  • #11
Wow that is narrow.
 
  • #12
reminds me of my 30 gallon... the deathbox. enough said.
 
  • #13
a cube? that would make it about 22 x 22 x 22 inches
 
  • #14
BTW a standard 55 gal is about 48 long by 12 deep by 18.5 tall............not very good for growing neps.....believe me ive tried...............
 
  • #15
Not globosa? 50 gal is pretty big... I think you could grow almost any nep in a 50 gal if you prune it back (make cuttings) every now and then, and grow it toppled over.

Most lowlanders, in my experience, are larger neps. There are exceptions, like campanulata, but most lowlanders are large.

My bical is 4 1/2 or 5 feet across. My raf is 3', northiana gets huge, merriliana gets huge...

some ampularias would work in your tank - I've had two amps, one was big (about 2 1/2 feet across), the other never got over 1 foot (this one was a spotted).
 
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