TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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My highland Nepenthes (incluidng N. rajah) receives this care from me:
-280 watts of power compact flourescent lighting
-Daytime temps from 70-80*F
-Nightime temps of 50-60*F
-Humidity is 90%+ the chamber is almost continuously foggy from the output of an ultrasonic humidifier
-Constant fresh air flow from outside a window which is humidified by said humidifier in a length of ductwork before it reaches the highland Nepenthes chamber.
-saturate leaves everyday or two with a mister full of R/O water
-Flush soil at least 1 time a week with R/O water
-Monthly 1/4 strength Urea Free Orchid fertilizer disolved in soil flush water some plants do not like fertilizer (N. ramispina) some seem to react quite well (N. rajah, N. hamata)
-feed appropriately sized crushed crickets (or other insects) into the latest 3 pitchers instead of fertilizing or in addition but do not rely on fertilizing alone if you want big pitchers and small leaves instead of big leaves and small pitchers!
My N. rajah was only 3" or so in diameter when I received it and now only a year later it is 12" in diameter. People say it's a slow grower but it surprised me.
Just look before you leap cos you will need to maintain the cool nights even in summer, it has something to do with the plant's metabolism, so if you can't give em the cool wet nights concentrate on intermediates or lowlanders which are usually a cinch in a normal fishtank fitted with 4 or 6 tubes.
It's a lot of work for only one plant if you do not have a large collection (or plan on starting one) of dedicated highland plants you might wanna reconsider for a while. If you're already growing highlanders with the steep temp drop and a stable growing chamber setup then I say go for it, in true highland conditions it's very easy.
-280 watts of power compact flourescent lighting
-Daytime temps from 70-80*F
-Nightime temps of 50-60*F
-Humidity is 90%+ the chamber is almost continuously foggy from the output of an ultrasonic humidifier
-Constant fresh air flow from outside a window which is humidified by said humidifier in a length of ductwork before it reaches the highland Nepenthes chamber.
-saturate leaves everyday or two with a mister full of R/O water
-Flush soil at least 1 time a week with R/O water
-Monthly 1/4 strength Urea Free Orchid fertilizer disolved in soil flush water some plants do not like fertilizer (N. ramispina) some seem to react quite well (N. rajah, N. hamata)
-feed appropriately sized crushed crickets (or other insects) into the latest 3 pitchers instead of fertilizing or in addition but do not rely on fertilizing alone if you want big pitchers and small leaves instead of big leaves and small pitchers!
My N. rajah was only 3" or so in diameter when I received it and now only a year later it is 12" in diameter. People say it's a slow grower but it surprised me.
Just look before you leap cos you will need to maintain the cool nights even in summer, it has something to do with the plant's metabolism, so if you can't give em the cool wet nights concentrate on intermediates or lowlanders which are usually a cinch in a normal fishtank fitted with 4 or 6 tubes.
It's a lot of work for only one plant if you do not have a large collection (or plan on starting one) of dedicated highland plants you might wanna reconsider for a while. If you're already growing highlanders with the steep temp drop and a stable growing chamber setup then I say go for it, in true highland conditions it's very easy.
