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Suggestions wanted

  • Thread starter ChefDean
  • Start date
My wife wants a Nep, and I wouldn't mind getting her one. However, I have my own cp babies and would most likely end up taking over its care.
With that in mind, is there a type of Nep that would be OK on a windowsill for a good chunk of the year, relatively easy and hardy, and stay small? By small, I mean an adult that would be comfortable in a 3 or 4 inch pot.
I already have peat, perlite, lfsm, and distilled, I just need to find her one for herself. I don't need criticism on keeping it on a windowsill, or 8 different "best" ways to care for one as she is doing her own research on raising it. I will help until I have to take over, if I have to.
Thanks in advance,
Chef
 
Hi Chef,

Windowsill neps tend to be the hardier ones, but it doesn't have to be the ever-common N. x Ventrata.

My suggestion would be an N. Aristolochioides hybrid like N. Spectabilis x Aristolochioides or N. Aristolochioides x Singalana

In my experience they are hardy and produce some cute colorful speckled pitchers.
Both stay relatively small, with the former capable of vining to larger size, but you can always cut them.
 
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There aren't really any nepenthes that could be properly grown in a 4 inch pot long term. It's just too small. As the plant gets larger it'll end up becoming root bound and drying out extremely quickly. I have a few plants in smaller pots and they require water almost every day.
 
These are all great suggestions for some really nice looking Neps, but perhaps I should clarify.
Our windowsills are a pathetically shallow 3 inches in the new house, not the magnificent 8 inches deep like our old house. So I was thinking of a 4 inch wide pot, but one that was at least 6 inches tall. I had thought of it becoming root bound, maybe the taller pot would mitigate this? Possibly for a couple of years at least?
Or maybe a Nep that stays smallish, but will have to be repotted eventually. But, by that time, I can find a hanging basket type of solution for the bigger pot.
Your thoughts?
 
There aren't really any nepenthes that could be properly grown in a 4 inch pot long term. It's just too small. As the plant gets larger it'll end up becoming root bound and drying out extremely quickly. I have a few plants in smaller pots and they require water almost every day.
Ha, yeah, I probably have the only plant that has produced intermediate pitchers that small, and it will be a long time before I can be sure that it'll remain small long term and to propagate it.
 
Ha, yeah, I probably have the only plant that has produced intermediate pitchers that small, and it will be a long time before I can be sure that it'll remain small long term and to propagate it.

Which variety is that?
 
The only Nepenthes that might conceivably fit in a 4 inch pot and be happy without running through dangerous cycles of "soak and dry" are also finicky plants requiring specialized conditions (ie. argentii, micramphora, campanulata etc.). The rest will require something at least twice that size in some dimension (though most Nepenthes like growing their roots outward, not down; tropical soils are shallow) to be moderately happy and the vast majority of species and hybrids will eventually get several feet long/wide. If you want to get a Nepenthes anyway, might want to look into getting a shelf setup or hanging basket that can be hung by a light source, and then for plants that can tolerate household humidity any of the standard common hybrids ("ventrata," 'Miranda', mixta, ventricosa hybrids by the dozen, etc.).
 
The rest will require something at least twice that size in some dimension (though most Nepenthes like growing their roots outward, not down; tropical soils are shallow) to be moderately happy and the vast majority of species and hybrids will eventually get several feet long/wide.

Out rather than down, now you have my creative engineering juices flowing. Thanks Hcarlton.
 
Which variety is that?

That's the thing, it isn't a variety, but rather a complex hybrid that happens to remain extremely small thus far (producing its first intermediate pitcher at less than 4 inches in diameter). It's one of a kind until I propagate it, which is why I said I am probably the only person that has a Nepenthes that could live indefinitely in a 4 inch pot. And it might still vine in the future, who knows. Since size is a concern, why not just grow Cephalotus instead? They can grow on windowsills just fine and they don't get huge.

But you know, you could just use a hanging basket or set the pot on a table/stool in front of the window. It's better to overcome this problem before you have a plant rather than after because trust me, once a plant is 6 inches in diameter or more, shipping it is a huge pain, and mature plants are often a pain just to move in general.
 
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That's the thing, it isn't a variety, but rather a complex hybrid that happens to remain extremely small thus far (producing its first intermediate pitcher at less than 4 inches in diameter).
Since size is a concern, why not just grow Cephalotus instead? They can grow on windowsills just fine and they don't get huge.

Keep us informed on that little Nep, it sounds really neat. And thank you for the Cephalotus suggestion, I didn't even think of them. They're a great idea, thanks.
Chef
 
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