The dragon has awaken...

[MrFlyTrap2]

And he's hungry....

Nepenthes Black Dragon

<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fnateniu%2Falbumid%2F5348136459997552993%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCLSXvNbqsdSoSQ%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="600" height="400">

I'm really excited, this guy was almost a total surprise to me, the pitcher is one of my largest so far and was growing in secret behind and under my table. I can't wait till this begins a basal so I can spread this monster into other collections.

-Nathan

 

[theyellowdart]

Wow! That's an amazing pitcher! That plant never really appealed to me up until now.
Great growing!

 

[DavyJones]

Lovely. That's been one of my favorite neps from the get go, but has now become nearly impossible to find anywhere. You see lots of pics of red and marble dragons, but black seems to be less common. Great pics, and good growing! It's always great to find a surprising pitcher hidden behind something!

 

[Capensis]

Wow, that´s a nice surprise. Just how black does it get?

 

[DrWurm]

Wow, that´s a nice surprise. Just how black does it get?

It's like; how much more black could it be? And the answer is none. None more black.

Jason

 

[Capensis]

Oh, wow. It does get extremely dark. Just never seen a really dark one posted here.

 

[nightsky]

Looking good. Hey, that's quite the growroom you have there. Looks great also.

 

[xvart]

Great looking specimen, Nate. That's awesome to get a surprise like that! I almost prefer that redish/purple color to the darker "black" as the pitcher mature. I noticed a couple of tears on the peristome. Does this happen to every pitcher on your N. Black Dragon? My larger N. Black Dragon would do the same thing on nearly every pitcher, as would my N. Red Dragon.

One of the best features (in my opinion) of N. Black Dragon is the huge vaulted peristome. It is so tall and steep. I loved watching this species

Wow, that´s a nice surprise. Just how black does it get?

It will darken a lot. You can see the color difference in two different pitchers from the same plant on my first N. Black Dragon in this post (rattler now has this plant); and the progression of coloration here (ellisonk001 now has this plant).

Looking good. Hey, that's quite the growroom you have there. Looks great also.

Yeah... Nate's growroom is BA.

xvart.

 

[MrFlyTrap2]

I'll have to see if the color changes anymore, I don't expect too much of a difference at this point. Most of the color changing seemed to happen while it's developing.

This was the -first- pitcher that it put out since getting it 3 months ago. I've never had a plant settle in that quickly, none the less put out a pitcher like that when it does. So I can't tell if it tears all the time yet, I'll keep an eye out on it though.

lol @ the BA grow room, if it was slightly larger I'd make it my home. Thanks for the comments! I'll post a follow up photo maybe one week from now.

 

[xvart]

I bet anything it will darken more. Give it two weeks.

lol @ the BA grow room, if it was slightly larger I'd make it my home.

If it was slightly bigger I would make it my home, too!

xvart.

 

[droseraguy]

That looks great. Well Done !!