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Nepenthes maxima general care?

curtisconners

Greetings from the netherworld.
Hello, I'm new here and I was looking into getting a new nepenthes. I already have what I think is a ventricosa hybrid of some kind. I was looking into a maxima or maxima hybrid. I was wondering about general humidity and temperature. Is high humidity bad for them? I know they're highlanders and I think they like lower humidity. It gets really humid where I'm from in summer. Also, is there a difference between nepenthes maxima x fusca and nepenthes "gentle"? From what I've read they seem the same.
 
No Nepenthes "like" lower humidity, but many will tolerate it, especially hybrids. And yes, N. maxima x fusca is N. 'Gentle'. It should do well in the same care as your vent hybrid.
 
It's pretty hard to go wrong with N. maxima hybrids, most can be grown on a windowsill provided a bit more special attention than what you would give to the typical houseplant. I've found that for the windowsill Nepenthes species and hybrids I grow good light and a decent temperature drop at night (~10-15F) are the most important factors that go into pitcher production. What's the general climate of where you're located? That will help determine what types of Nepenthes you can probably grow without a special setup.
 
Thanks for the advice. I think the one I have is a ventrata, in case you're wondering. Though you're probably not. I was also curious about soil. Is a 50/50 mix of orchid Bark and long fiber spagnum good? Are there any mixes you recommend? Sorry about the numerous questions.
 
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50/50 orchid bark and Sphagnum is a good general mix, although what works best for you will depend upon your conditions and watering schedule.
 
It's pretty hard to go wrong with N. maxima hybrids, most can be grown on a windowsill provided a bit more special attention than what you would give to the typical houseplant. I've found that for the windowsill Nepenthes species and hybrids I grow good light and a decent temperature drop at night (~10-15F) are the most important factors that go into pitcher production. What's the general climate of where you're located? That will help determine what types of Nepenthes you can probably grow without a special setup.
Hot and humid summers and cold winters. I have to bring the plants in during winter. There is a decent temp drop at night of around 10-15 degrees. Again thank you all.
 
Thanks for the answer on soil. It's funny, every time I post something there's an answer to my last one.
 
Another question, I've heard about using heavily diluted fertilizer on nepenthes and then soaking the plant with a ton of water to "flush" the soil of excess salts. I was pretty surprised when I heard this. I thought that fertilizer with cp's was a big no. I'd never do it to my vft's, which I have more experience with. What's your experience?
 
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Another question, I've heard about using heavily diluted fertilizer on nepenthes and then soaking the plant with a ton of water to "flush" the soil of excess salts. I was pretty surprised when I heard this. I thought that fertilizer with cp's was a big no. I'd never do it to my vft's, which I have more experience with. What's your experience?

I fertilize my Nepenthes on a biweekly basis while they're actively growing with a dilute orchid fertilizer. Many other growers use other approaches to fertilize their plants - MaxSea applications, Osmocote in the pitchers (burns the pitchers if overdone in my conditions) or soil, etc. Fertilizing most CPs is indeed a poor idea, but there are quite a few exceptions that are able to utilize significant amounts of nutrients through the roots, Nepenthes being foremost (and Sarracenia to a lesser extent). It's a good thing that you've never done it with your VFTs, because if you had you probably wouldn't have any right now.
 
  • #10
I'd probably only fertilize in winter where I am. It's amazing how many bugs my CP's catch in summer. My nepenthes was filled with more bugs than I could count last summer. What about flushing the soil though? How much water do you use for that? Do you flush the soil at all?
 
  • #11
Oh, wait, I just saw you said you fertilized them when they're actively growing. My bad.
 
  • #12
I don't really flush the soil specifically, if you used the proper concentrations of fertilizer it shouldn't harm the plants and the excess nutrients will largely get washed out the next time you water anyway (provided that you really soak the pot and don't just dribble a bit of water and call it "watering").
 
  • #13
Ok, thanks again for answering my one million questions. I should probably be getting to bed. Happy super bowl 50.
 
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  • #14
I feed my nepenthes fish food


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • #15
My understanding is that the location from which a maxima hails also plays a factor with some higher altitudes requiring cooler highland conditions while others native to somewhat lower altitudes can handle intermediate conditions. I have found my maxima has done fine as a "windowsill " plant for the winter. My humidity is abysmal-- around 15% currently. It has continued growing new leaves. It has not formed any new pitchers in the last few months but whether that is due to the lack of humidity, lack of strong sunlight (it gets no supplemental lighting and Michigan winters are not none for having sunny days in any abundance), or both -- which I suspect is the case. However it still has 3 pitchers from this past late summer/fall, two of which are in excellent shape.

Over the summer, I kept it outside on my balcony where it received mostly unfiltered sun from about 8am to 2pm.
 
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