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Neps for newbie

Hi Everybody,

I was hoping a could get a few good suggestions for plants for a first time Nep grower. I am going to focus on lowland species or hybrids because my terrarium will be room temperature (70's). I could heat it or use the frozen ice bottle to cool it if need be. My tank will be 55 gallons with 4 48" bulbs. I like the Neps that have spotted and/or reddish pitchers. I am open to all ideas as this is totally new territory to me. Thanks ahead of time for all suggestions.

Bobby
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Some good one's are:

N. Albomarginata 'Red'
N. Ampullaria 'Spotted'
N. Rafflesiana
N. Gracilis

These are only a few though. I'm sure other people will list A Lot more.
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Mike
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Hey Bobby, you're not limited to lowlanders.  IMO the easiest neps are the intermediates that can grow with temperatures between those of strict highlanders and lowlanders.  I have a ventricosa and alata (Highland or 'spotted' form) on my windowsill, and they are growing very well. The highland alata is beautifully spotted, dirt cheap, and mine just put out a 5" pitcher (the last was 4") and seems to like the windowsill conditions, so i imagine it would do okay in a moderate (room temperature) grow chamber.  I should mention that it did need to adjust to those conditions (the previous pitcher was a bit deformed), but now that it has, it's growing very fast.

20030420-CP-N.alata (H) & N.ventricosa 'red'-windowsill culture- small.jpg
 
Probably should lean toward the smaller growing plants or to plants which may get large but take a while.

Plants which would do fine with a room temperature terrarium.
N. bellii - cute species will get tall but can be cut back.
N. burbidgeae - will get kinda big but very pretty.
N. fusca - durable plant with colorful pitchers
N. rafflesiana - great plant but will outgrow a terrarium.
N. reinwardtiana - tolerant to a wide range of conditions
N. ventricosa - Nice for a terrarium since it doesn't get overly large.

There are also lots of hybrids that would do well such as N. x Ventrata

Tony
 
HI Monkeyman, D. muscipula and Tony,

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to look up all the plants you suggest and see which ones I like best. D muscipula what are the great looking plants in your photo? I love the color of the pitchers. Are you growing those on the windowsill in trays? No humidity problems? Do you keep water in the pot trays?

Thanks again,
Bobby
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Besides that list, N. sanguinia is a very easy plant, though it will outgrow a terrarium. That, and the ventricosa and alata which were mentioned, would probably be some of the easiest.
 
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (biggun110 @ May 05 2003,08:4
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</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">D muscipula what are the great looking plants in your photo? I love the color of the pitchers. Are you growing those on the windowsill in trays? No humidity problems? Do you keep water in the pot trays?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Heh heh.  Either i'm not as obvious as i think i am, or Bobby isn't reading between the photos.  
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Those two nepenthes are the alata highland (or spotted) and ventricosa 'red' that i mentioned.  The alata is the spotted one.  They grow on my windowsill, with extra light from a HPS lamp because they get a short day in my NW-facing window.  Honestly, they did fine before i got the lamp, it was for my sarrs, which haven't done as well.

I haven't gone through a summer yet with them on the windowsill like that, but they've been there for several months of the winter.  About a month ago, i got a cheap humidifier and run it to provide a bit of air circulation and humidification, but i don't know how well it works.  The window next to the one the neps sit on is always open about six inches, and at night it gets chilly in the room, while in the daytime it gets uncomfortably warm (lately).  They are watered from the top once a day, and i don't usually keep any water in their trays except the little bit that appears after i water them (which is always gone by the next time i water).

Like i said, they've only been there for a few months, but so far they have responded very well.  I think PFT sells the alata (H), but if not, almost any other CP retailer does.  You shouldn't have to spend more than $20 for a decent sized one.

The ventricosa is probably even more common, but it's not spotted as much as the alata, so perhaps you aren't as interested.  It stays smaller longer, but seems to need a lot of light to be healthy in my experience.  It's supposed to be a good climber, too, but you wouldn't have to worry about that for a few years.  There are several variants available.  Mine is the popular "red".  Check PFT and i think you can buy one from them.  You can find somewhat young or less colorful ventricosas for as little as $8, and the seed is occasionally available from the ICPS seedbank.

Between the two, i think the alata is the most tolerant to low humidity.  It has quite thick, waxy leaves and pitchers.  The ventricosa seems to lose a pitcher from stress more often, sometimes after i feed it.

Well, i hope that helps.

Edit: For size reference, the alata is in a 4.5" pot.
 
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