Nepenthes robcantleyi (formerly known as Black Truncata)

[Whimgrinder]

I've had it about a year, don't remember specifics. It was about 3.5" across when I got it, and it's about 5.5" across now. Pitcher size has increased dramatically, though. Considering how many of my other plants have grown in less time, I'd classify this is a slow growing species, but not as slow as lowii or macrophylla.

As for the release of this hybrid from BE: I don't know what the big mystery is. I mean, when you grow plants from seed (and this is especially true of Nepenthes, from what I've seen) there will be some that get large, fast. And there will be many that grow at a similar pace, and then there will be plenty of late starters and slow developers. Some plants may be 2" across in little more than a year, while some will take three times that to reach the same diameter. So this is what we see when a grower makes multiple "releases" of a species: those shipped three years after the first batch are the late bloomers, which just took longer to reach a marketable size. There is no mystery; these are almost certainly from the same seed lot, the same sowing.

 

[Jcal]

Thanks for the info. Guess I got a late bloomer.

 

[corky]

thanks paul for the info on your plant,and your comments on seed grown plants make perfect sense,i was not trying to kick off another conspiracy debate just an observation,it will be interesting to see if these late starters speed up or in fact are weaker plants that will never reach the size of the faster starters,i would expect weaker plants from seed grown,we will see

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

Seed grown doesn't nesisarily mean weaker plants nor does it really mean the plant will be ant smaller. Look at the wimpy kids. Sometimes they turn out to be massive adults. But it us great variability with seed grown. I have yo add pics of mine soon.

 

[corky]

i mean i would expect some to be weaker than others,that is a sign of variability as well as slightly different morphology,cold hardiness etc,given a choice i would rather have a seedling that took a year to reach 3 inch cross than a seedling that took 3 years to reach the same size,but you are correct jb there is a strong possibility that the small plants will speed up and could very well be just as strong if not stronger than the ones that started off quicker imo,i was quite a big kid and now a wimpy adult

here is an old pic of mine

 

[Jcal]

Just got my email back from the California vendor I bought my plant from. It is indeed a seed grown plant. Peter also menctioned that this is from the original release from be. So although my plant is alittle on the smaller size it is a few years old.

Paul hit it on the head....twice.

There was only one release, and all plants are seed grown.

So now I love the fact that mine is seed grown, just hope it hits a growth spurt soon!

 

[corky]

i am sure it will jcal,and yes it is cool to have seed grown plants,i also think the robcantleyi hybrids are seed grown ,double cool i have two

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

My N. robcantlyii when I recurved it.

My rob currently.

Had it a few months. Date of acquisition is my grow list . But I got it this year.

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

Just got my email back from the California vendor I bought my plant from. It is indeed a seed grown plant. Peter also menctioned that this is from the original release from be. So although small my plant is alittle on the smaller size it is a few years old.

This means that my plant is SG, too. Super cool! I also was told originally that it was TC.
Lil Stinkpot is stoked.

 

[Dexenthes]

Weird I can't imagine why the rumor that there were any TC plants would have manifested itself so early.

Ever since I first heard about these plants it was known that they were all seedlings and that any TC plants were a looong ways off.

 

[lance]

I think people would have expected so many SG seedlings from this cross (and there were a lot). It must be due to the large size of the parent flowers...

 

[Jcal]

Weird I can't imagine why the rumor that there were any TC plants would have manifested itself so early.

Ever since I first heard about these plants it was known that they were all seedlings and that any TC plants were a looong ways off.

My confusing came from the vendor that as selling this hybrid. Had this vendor provided accurate information on their site flare ups like this wouldn't exsist.

 

[RL7836]

My confusing came from the vendor that as selling this hybrid.

I've seen a few references to this species as a hybrid. Why?

Even if you were to reject the premise of the new species, N. robcantleyi, the fallback is that both parents were black (or royal) truncata. Either way, both parents are the same species....

 

[mylesG]

All that comes to mind is the parentage being written into the name on occasion. queen of hearts x king of spades tagged on the end


legitimate sources wouldn't call it a hybrid simply due to this but I can see it causing some confusion amoung hobbyists.

 

[Jcal]

I've seen a few references to this species as a hybrid. Why?

Even if you were to reject the premise of the new species, N. robcantleyi, the fallback is that both parents were black (or royal) truncata. Either way, both parents are the same species....

There are other therioes. I am no expert, don't claim to be and not even going to pretend to know more than a lot of people here. I'll replace the above with" this plant". if others who have used the same term repeatly wants to jump in and explain....feel free.

 

[kevnep]

Well there was some speculation that robcantleyi is a hybrid between truncata and maybe a black veitchii or even an undiscovered or extinct species either way event if its a hybrid who cares its an awesome plant. It might be an ancient hybrid that has speciated

 

[Antony]

Hi Guys

I'm what you would call a long time 'lurker' and am totally in awe of everyone's plants, knowledge and experience. I'm not sure if this should be a new post but as it sort of comes under this heading I thought I would add it here. Not sure how to post a new thread anyhu so feel free to move! I have a problem concerning my robcantleyi plants which I grow in a terrarium under a 10000k and 6700k 39w grow tubes and have done so for two years. All was fine till this late summer. Problem is both my plants have weird pale mottling only affecting the new foliage. It isn't affecting pitcher production. The only thing I think I MAY have done is feed with weak strength orchid fertilizer. I don't think it's a virus as it's not systemic. furthermore the spots seem to have a 'regular' pattern. Any ideas? really appreciate it!!! Also how can I post a pic of the damage if I am not permitted to post attachments, i.e. how do I get permission?! ;-)

 

[Whimgrinder]

Hi Guys

I'm what you would call a long time 'lurker' and am totally in awe of everyone's plants, knowledge and experience. I'm not sure if this should be a new post but as it sort of comes under this heading I thought I would add it here. Not sure how to post a new thread anyhu so feel free to move! I have a problem concerning my robcantleyi plants which I grow in a terrarium under a 10000k and 6700k 39w grow tubes and have done so for two years. All was fine till this late summer. Problem is both my plants have weird pale mottling only affecting the new foliage. It isn't affecting pitcher production. The only thing I think I MAY have done is feed with weak strength orchid fertilizer. I don't think it's a virus as it's not systemic. furthermore the spots seem to have a 'regular' pattern. Any ideas? really appreciate it!!! Also how can I post a pic of the damage if I am not permitted to post attachments, i.e. how do I get permission?! ;-)

Hi Anthony-no-longer-lurking,
You should post your photo to one of the online photo services like Flickr, or Photobucket and then paste the link into your message using the image attachment button. We will be happy to help diagnose the problem with your plant. Do you need further instruction for setting up a photo service?

Paul

 

[Antony]

Thanks Paul I will give it a go!

 

[Antony]

Try this

they grow in close proximity to two hamatas which are unaffected, does that rule out mites? Sorry for poor quality the pics where taken through the glass.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88782227@N07/8096996148/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88782227@N07/8096986687/in/photostream