Heli
villosaholic
While looking up information for the cultivation I have found that there are very few guides to growing N. villosa, so I thought I would write up a basic guide to its cultivation from the information I have found and my limited experience (two months) with the plant.
Nepenthes villosa or the Villose Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in northeastern Borneo. It grows at higher altitudes than any other Bornean Nepenthes species, occurring at elevations of over 3200 m. Nepenthes villosa is characterised by its highly-developed and intricate peristome, which distinguishes it from the closely related N. edwardsiana and N. macrophylla. The specific epithet villosa is Latin for "hairy" and refers to the dense indumentum of this species. [wikipedia]
Lighting: This plant certainly loves high light levels, it comes from very high altitudes where it experience high UV levels.
Humidity: This plant enjoys high levels of humidity but must have good ventilation to prevent rot. This plant can also be grown successfully in low humidity (shown with thez_yo's villosa) since it has fairly thick leaves.
Temperatures: This is one of the most important factors for the successful cultivation of N. villosa. It is an alpine nepenthes found in very high altitudes on Mt. Kinabulu and Tambuyukon (although the population on this mountain might only be x harryana). Nepenthes villosa likes day temps of 65-77 and night temperatures of 38-55, some growers have experienced issues with villosa becoming more picky as it gains size but this is not the case for other plants so the subject is still up in the air. One method that people use to cool the plant at night is stick it in the fridge with a bag over the plant.
Soil: After having talked to several people on this subject it seems like villosa benefits with a mainly LFS substrate but also something that is airy and drains easily.
Watering: It is better to keep villosa a little on the drier side as it is known to be very prone to rot. It is also a very good idea to put it into a net pot.
fertilization: villosa seems to benefit greatly from being fertilized through the roots. Personally, I flush the pots with coffee every once and a while with great effects. Here is a good example: http://www.terraforums.com/forums/s...uccumbing-to-French-Roast-Pressure&highlight=
misc info: Villosa is a slow growing plant that will throw out a leaf every month or so. The main challenge with this plant is giving it the required temperatures at night and preventing the plant from rotting out. It has a interesting feature where it will unfurl its leaf early and keep expanding it unfurled for a while, Nepenthes macrophylla and edwardsiana also share this feature. There are two clones of villosa currently in the market, AW clone and BE clone and of course some sg clones here and there.
Other useful links:
http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cpn/samples/Cult331NepSeedlings.htm
http://www.nepenthesaroundthehouse.com/nvill.htm
http://pitcherplants.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=print&thread=344
This is just a rough draft and will be adding more later... If you see any errors or would like to add information please post.
Nepenthes villosa or the Villose Pitcher-Plant, is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in northeastern Borneo. It grows at higher altitudes than any other Bornean Nepenthes species, occurring at elevations of over 3200 m. Nepenthes villosa is characterised by its highly-developed and intricate peristome, which distinguishes it from the closely related N. edwardsiana and N. macrophylla. The specific epithet villosa is Latin for "hairy" and refers to the dense indumentum of this species. [wikipedia]
Lighting: This plant certainly loves high light levels, it comes from very high altitudes where it experience high UV levels.
Humidity: This plant enjoys high levels of humidity but must have good ventilation to prevent rot. This plant can also be grown successfully in low humidity (shown with thez_yo's villosa) since it has fairly thick leaves.
Temperatures: This is one of the most important factors for the successful cultivation of N. villosa. It is an alpine nepenthes found in very high altitudes on Mt. Kinabulu and Tambuyukon (although the population on this mountain might only be x harryana). Nepenthes villosa likes day temps of 65-77 and night temperatures of 38-55, some growers have experienced issues with villosa becoming more picky as it gains size but this is not the case for other plants so the subject is still up in the air. One method that people use to cool the plant at night is stick it in the fridge with a bag over the plant.
Soil: After having talked to several people on this subject it seems like villosa benefits with a mainly LFS substrate but also something that is airy and drains easily.
Watering: It is better to keep villosa a little on the drier side as it is known to be very prone to rot. It is also a very good idea to put it into a net pot.
fertilization: villosa seems to benefit greatly from being fertilized through the roots. Personally, I flush the pots with coffee every once and a while with great effects. Here is a good example: http://www.terraforums.com/forums/s...uccumbing-to-French-Roast-Pressure&highlight=
misc info: Villosa is a slow growing plant that will throw out a leaf every month or so. The main challenge with this plant is giving it the required temperatures at night and preventing the plant from rotting out. It has a interesting feature where it will unfurl its leaf early and keep expanding it unfurled for a while, Nepenthes macrophylla and edwardsiana also share this feature. There are two clones of villosa currently in the market, AW clone and BE clone and of course some sg clones here and there.
Other useful links:
http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cpn/samples/Cult331NepSeedlings.htm
http://www.nepenthesaroundthehouse.com/nvill.htm
http://pitcherplants.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=print&thread=344
This is just a rough draft and will be adding more later... If you see any errors or would like to add information please post.
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