question on the most beautifull nepenthes

[bellsprout]

Hi all, I recently joined the forum and i have some questions so here is one:
To me, the Queen of Hearts nepenthes (black truncata or robcantleyi, you all know) is the most beautifull nep i've ever seen! I know you can buy N. robcantleyi but mostly there is much King of Spades in it. You probably understand what I mean, king of spades is beautifull too, but what I'm wondering is: What has become of the original queen plant and has it been tissue cultured? or is her offspring with king of spades the closest thing we can get of it? I cannot believe that since i read it was prized and called 'one of the most photographed neps'. Just look her picture again!
If you guys don't know, is it worth to send an email to mister Cantley?
Oh and if you have a nice N. robcantleyi with larger pitchers, please show them!

 

[mylesG]

i am 99% sure that neither parent is in culture and BE has no plans to sell cuttings of the parents at any point in time.

the offspring is your best bet, the more seedlings you get, the better chance you will get one that reflects more of the mother's traits. not so easy when the plants are far from cheap.

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

I have a small one that is starting to get some color to it. I'm very happy to have just the one.

 

[bellsprout]

thanks fot the answer, so they won't sell offspring? Why is that? (just being curious). The offspring looks amazing too indeed but the prices keep me waiting from buying them.

 

[mylesG]

lol they have been selling their offspring for years and years. maybe i was unclear? they are not selling cuttngs or TC'd plants of the parents.

 

[bellsprout]

I hope it does well, but i'm sure that you experienced guys have it in you to keep them healthy. I just wouldn't be ready to take on a special species like that, maybe in a year or two
What do you mean "to have just the one"? Is it like the mother plant?

 

[bellsprout]

sorry my bad. I meant the exact clones of the queen, not offspring like in q X k. So why they don't make clones?

 

[amphirion]

@myles: im pretty sure that the 'king of spades' and 'queen of hearts' are actually in cultivation, hence their cultivar status--you cant call a wild plant a cultivar; they were harvested from wild parents though if i call correctly, so maybe one day they might make cuttings of the parents, but are making money of the chitlins so they probably wont stop doing that anytime soon.

@bellsprout: you missed the boat, they were relatively cheap upon their first release... the prices will only continue to go higher until they start releasing the TC'ed (not from seed) ones. all the robcantleyi from the original release were seed grown.

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

What do you mean "to have just the one"? Is it like the mother plant?

I have only one, and I am happy with it. It is really way too young to show much more than a basic shape and a little color; I have a little while yet to see what it will look like.

There are seedlings still available, if you watch and wait. I heard a rumor, possibly true, possibly not, that the seedlings, the offspring, have entered TC.


Edit: Wow, two replies snuck in just while I was typing. LOL!

 

[mylesG]

i assume its because the plants were thought to be the last of their kind when acquired (though i have heard that more robcantleyi may have been found in the wild recently) and being the originals of the species' comeback make them very special to Rob.

 

[bellsprout]

@amphirion: it's more curiosity then actually buying them, but I can imagine the seedgrowns are now too big for low prices. Though I see some sites who do it for around 40euro or 50 dollars. edit: i just saw one for 30euro = 40 dollar and 8 to 12 cm = 3 to 4.5 inch
I guess when they start to sell tc plants, we will know how the pitchers look like before buying, so I will wait till that moment. Also I think when you cross the q X s with a q X s in a couple of years, you have more chance that it looks like a 'pure queen'? Maybe in ten years I can get what I want for low prices lol

edit: I see that both Lil Stinkpot and mylesG have heard a rumor and we can't find too much on the internet. Do you guys think I should ask the expert take a look at this thread and bring some light in the dark? Could I send an email?

 

[mylesG]

@myles: im pretty sure that the 'king of spades' and 'queen of hearts' are actually in cultivation, hence their cultivar status--you cant call a wild plant a cultivar; they were harvested from wild parents though if i call correctly, so maybe one day they might make cuttings of the parents, but are making money of the chitlins so they probably wont stop doing that anytime soon.

huh, i inquired with rob about getting on or both of the parents as cuttings and he told me that they had no plans to take any or sell cuts.

i didnt mean to imply that the parents are still in the wild lol. they are definitely in cultivation

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

There are a number of experts and super experts already here on TF. We just have to wait for them to log on, see the thread, and reply.

 

[East_to_west]

Also, in my opinion, there are many more plants, both species and hybrids that are much more beautiful than robcantleyii. Check out plants like: burbridgeae, edwardsiana, Trusmadiensis, veitchii if you like flashy plants. If you like dark plants like the robcantleyii, then there are a few awesome dark species like naga (check out whimgrinder's thread as well as cthulhu's thread for super dark and awesome examples), and lingulata, and my favorites: ramispina and muluensis (although they're much less flashy). And if you want to see some awesome hybrids, do yourself a favor and flip through this thread for a little while: http://pitcherplants.proboards.com/thread/10996/ask-geoff-mansell?page=7 It definitely got me excited and burned a whole in my wallet that seems to keep burning

 

[Whimgrinder]

By "in cultivation" Myles meant "in tissue culture" I believe.

 

[bellsprout]

@East_to_west: I also have other favourites, like naga, edward, hamata, attenboroughii, lowii, rajah, jamban, aristolochioides, spectabilis... I don't know why but queen of hearts looks most amazing to me. It is true that some hybrids are most exceptional too.
I still hope someone really knows why it isn't possible to tissue culture it. Don't they do it with most species like rajah that don't flower much?
Anyway thanks to you guys I realise I should wait a bit for the offspring tissue cultures and maybe buy a robcantleyi just in a shop.
I'll see maybe next year if all my plants survived their first year


Also the link has very spectacular hybrids, I'm amazed so thanks for it!

 

[Whimgrinder]

I expect BE has no plans to tissue culture the named clones (QofHearts, to name just one) since those clones have "proprietary value" to BE. The truth is that there will be clones among the seed-grown plants BE sells that are every bit as good as their original named clones, and a few may actually exceed them. There I no reason to avoid buying the seed-grown plants while they are still available.

 

[Cindy]

Check out the following threads for a better understanding why Rob is unlikely to tc the species using adult plant material.

1. Growth pattern - single vine rather similar to a truncata (why it's called the black truncata in the fisrt place) and rarely producing offshoots (the last time I asked about 4-5 years ago, Rob said the three adult plants have not produced offshoots)
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php/119155-Black-Truncata-babies

2. Success rate - more than one growth tip is required for success
http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php/135214-In-vitro-shoot-tip-culture-of-N-campanulata

Just to share some pics which I took when I had the chance to touch the plant in 2008...boy, I wished I could hug it. LOL

 

[Sundrew]

The top photo, pitcher farthest to the right looks larger than many rajah photos I've seen. How does robc compare in the order of largest Nepenthes?

 

[mylesG]

alotta beautiful neps out there but Robc is the best in my book! Cindy, those pics are soooo nice