What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Nep hybrids and South Florida

Quick question: live in South Florida (Sunrise, suburb of Ft. Lauderdale to be exact). Got some early Christmas money and, would like to get some really awesome Nep hybrids which would do well here. It seems that hybrids do better for me instead of true lowlanders (they do ok, but stop pitchering in the winter) while my hybrids, like Red Leopard, Miranda, Red Dragon, and Marbled Dragon continue to pitcher even in our winters. Any suggestions??? I really want to spend this money wisely on my Neps and not get something that does so-so. since Christmas money only comes around once a year!!! Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Maybe you need to refine your question, such as what's the color do you prefer, LL hybrid or H-L hybrid or HH hybrid, grow outdoor or windowsill or indoor terrarium. For hybrids that I've grow, I suggest you consider the followings:

N. ampullaria (red) x N. sibuyanensis: pitchers are solid red apple-shaped. It grows well in intermediate conditions. You can find the pics from my growlist or the CP photo web.

N. raff 'red giant' hybrid or just the N.raff 'red giant'. The N. raff 'red giant' is one of my favorite Lowlander neps. And its hybrid is also beautiful.
 
Yes, sorry for not being a little more specific. Most of my Neps stay outside in a part sun-part shade environment. They ONLY come inside when the temps are dropping into the 40s with with windchills in the 30s.
Color and form doesn't really matter to me. What I am looking for is any hybrids which are relatively hardy given that SFL is not necessarily lowland territory and not highland territory, everyone thinks we are "tropical" down here, and as a gardner, I would have to say we ARE NOT, we are subtropical and our weather is quite unique (I mean hot and sticky in the summers, desert hot in the spring and fall with no humdity, and cool to downright COLD in the winter). SFL is a unique area in terms of gardening (with Neps or any species of plants) and we face challenges here that people from the North (such as myself) don't realize. My Neps do relatively well, but I don't really think this is a true lowlander environment. I would be interested in any other Florida growers opinions as well.
 
Hi Wickmo. While you are correct in saying that we are not truly either lowland or highland specific, growing lowlanders is your best bet. Most highlanders and intermediates won't grow well here as a result of our warm nights. They will only really like most of the winter and some of the spring and fall. Our long periods of warm and humid conditions makes this an ideal place to grow lowlanders. However, you are right that our winters can be too cold for them (especially as of late). You will have to continue to protect them when the temps drop below 50. I would invest in a small shadehouse that can be sealed up on cold nights. You can even use an electrical or propane heater to keep the temps high enough.

A few Neps will tolerate our conditions year-round. I grow several alata types, khasiana, ventrata, 'Mastersiana, 'Prosperity', mirabilis x khasiana, and hookerae x mirabilis outdoors even in the coldest of nights. Some show no damage while others get burned, but bounce back. I'm sure there are others that'll tolerate this.
 
Thanks for the info. I was wondering how khasiana would do here. Most of my plants did pretty well since I brought them inside for a couple of days. I will definitely look into the hybrids you mentioned and I agree that lowlanders are definitely more adaptable to our South Florida weather (on a personal note, I just wish the heat and humidity would stay all year long!!! - Oh well!!!) :)
 
Back
Top