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N. truncata slow growing?

Hi
I have always read at just how fast growing the N. truncata is. Well I was given a very small TC lowland one about 5 years ago, and its barely grown!

As my setup is really geared to highlands, I have kept it in my lowland tank. And fully expected problems with it outgrowing the tank. No such problems though! I'm puzzled
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Its in LFS mixed with orchid bark and produces perfectly healthy but very small leaves and even smaller pitchers. Perhaps its a Bonsai variety
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Any ideas?

cheers

bill
 
Hey Bill,
Where did you read that truncata is fast? This one has been a slow grower for me, too. It takes about two months to put out a new leaf, and another month for the darn pitcher to fill up and open. Nice plant, though! Worth the wait!
 
its slow for me to so dont worry, i thought i was doing somehting wrong lol
 
Mine grew very slow at first it took 6 months before it started to produce it first leaf. Now it grows Just a little faster then schloaty says about out his. Mine is over 2 feet in diameter with 11 inch pitches. I grow mine at 90F in the day and 70F at night with 80% humidity. It gets very bright light in the greenhouse I have a 40% shade cloth over half of the GH which it is under. One other thing I have observed is that with each leaf it increase in size very drastically.

Hope that helps
-Jeremiah-
 
Oh well perhaps mines performing as it should
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Thanks guys!

bill
 
I too was under the impression it was a fast grower but it is not until it reaches about 16 cm in diameter. Once mine reached that each new leaf and pitcher has been a few inches larger than the last. It seemed like forever til it started making big leaves. Mine is now making 30 cm leaves and 16 cm pitchers.
It's still very slow but at least it's something to look at now!
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Hey Swords,
Would you happen to know why my truncata suddenly produced a leaf that was smaller than the last one, along with a much smaller pitcher?
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Do I need to re-pot?
 
Don't worry fly-catchers, my truncata was the same at first...now it just won't stop growing!
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Just give it some time and it will burst sooner or later.
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Scholaty is it your latest leaf?
If so it could be a few things. Have you moved it to a new location since the last normal size leaf?
Has your temperature or humidity dropped since the last leaf?
Have you watered less than normal?
Are you growing under flourescents? If the tubes are over 6-8 months old they will have lost the bulk of their output. I am replacing all my flourescent tubes tonight as they are at least 8 months old. I didn't write the purchase date on the bulbs as I normally do so I'm not sure how old they are exactly!
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How big is your truncata and the pot it's in? Mine is 24" diameter but in a 6" plastic azalea pot. The roots are not yet visible from the bottom holes or in the top moss so it seems OK. I will probably repot soon but I don't see a dire need for it. The huge truncatas at Orchids limited with 4 ft leaves and enormous pitchers that vine endlessly through the rafters are potted in only 2 or 3 gallon hanging pots.
 
  • #10
Ahhhh...My bulbs are old...That could be it! Also, there was a dip in humidity, but only a little bit...so I bet it's the bulbs. Great. Now I have to go buy more supplies. My wife is going to shoot me.
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  • #11
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (schloaty @ Aug. 04 2003,8:34)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Hey Swords,
  Would you happen to know why my truncata suddenly produced a leaf that was smaller than the last one, along with a much smaller pitcher?
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   Do I need to re-pot?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Hi
Reading that reminds me of my N. hamata. This TC plant has grown steadily over the three years I have had it. But this year the current leaves & pitchers are smaller than last years crop
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It was repotted last September and is not pot bound. The plant grows in my Nepenthes greenhouse where it gets filtered sunshine. Its been far hotter and sunnier this year (UK). Could that be a factor- too much light?? I am watering it daily and maintaining the humidity. There are no sign of pests and the leaves & pitchers despite being smaller look healthy & happy.

Any ideas?

cheers

bill
 
  • #12
Bill I would guess it's due to the heat rather than more light. My hamata made a 20 cm pitcher in late may/early June and now the last two pitchers have been 17 & 18 cm but it is summer here and the tank is about 10-15 *F hotter than normal (up to 87*F during real scorchers and about 80*F the rest of the time from july - sept) so I suspect the pitchers will go back to nice sizes as the temps cool with fall coming. My highlanders seem to grow best with daytime temps no higher than 75*F, their best seasons for me are fall winter and spring.

The only suggestion I could make is what I'm doing myself, which is increasing the watering/misting and air circulation (all while keeping the humidity at 90%+ ) when the days are warmest. Evaporating water cools the plant leaves and soil. If you don't need to lower the temps too much this seems to help. If you have a fan going make sure there's a source of humidity or the pitchers can dessicate quickly (esp. hamata).
 
  • #13
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (swords @ Aug. 05 2003,12:57)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Bill I would guess it's due to the heat rather than more light. My hamata made a 20 cm pitcher in late may/early June and now the last two pitchers have been 17 & 18 cm but it is summer here and the tank is about 10-15 *F hotter than normal (up to 87*F during real scorchers and about 80*F the rest of the time from july - sept) so I suspect the pitchers will go back to nice sizes as the temps cool with fall coming. My highlanders seem to grow best with daytime temps no higher than 75*F, their best seasons for me are fall winter and spring.

The only suggestion I could make is what I'm doing myself, which is increasing the watering/misting and air circulation (all while keeping the humidity at 90%+ ) when the days are warmest. Evaporating water cools the plant leaves and soil. If you don't need to lower the temps too much this seems to help. If you have a fan going make sure there's a source of humidity or the pitchers can dessicate quickly (esp. hamata).[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
20 cm pitcher WOW!!
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Mine are far smaller, even when they were bigger- if you see what I mean!!

Certainly the heat is up, and I have moved the plant nearer to my rajah & villosa which are still getting bigger in size.

How big was your N. hamata when you first got it? Over here in the UK, these kind of plants are always tiny and just out of TC, when you first get them.

cheers

bill
 
  • #14
Check out my newest N. truncata's pitcher! This beast is a whopping 1 ft tall, the peristome is 4 inches across and the pitcher is 3 inches wide. The plant is over 2 ft in diameter is is one of the steadiest Nepenthes to grow. The leaves keep increasing in size. I am thinking it will soon be a bush!
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  • #15
Bill I think my N. hamata was between 5 - 8 cm when I got it in June of 2002.

Dustin that's awesome! My latest truncata pitcher is still growing so I'm hopeful, of course you have a greenhouse...
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  • #16
UH OH Dustin almost caught up to me! Gotta go feed my N. truncata LOL

Tony
 
  • #17
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My last one was 8 or 9 inches...this latest one, however, was a piddly little 3 or 4 inches...Well, I have put it in a new environment....much better light. We'll see how it does.
 
  • #18
Hi everyone,

I have two truncatas. The first one I got I bought from a local nursury- that was TC. A new leaf grows in about 1.5 mo. However, about 4 or 5 months ago, my neighbor, who grows tropical plants (a looooooooooooooot of them), not nepenthes, came across an N. truncata somehow and gave it to me for free (I'm very thankful)- also TC. When I got it, it was pretty small compared to my first truncata. However, now it is quite a bit bigger than my first truncata. It puts out a new leaf every month or less. Plus, the newest leaf is nearly twice as big as the last- no exagerations (I think it liked the humid 90+ deg. heat in Miami right now)

Both are in the same medium and same sized pot.
My first truncata is 8 in. in diamiter (midleaf to midleaf)
My second one is 11 in. in diamiter (midleaf to midleaf) with a fat, nearly six in. pitcher. I think the rate of growth depends on the plant. There does seem to be fast growing truncatas- just not many in proportion to the slow ones.

Regards, hamata
 
  • #19
Very Nice Truncata, Dustin.
Too bad a storm snapped my newest leaf.  
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  • #20
hey dustin, NIce photo!, mines still very small, when i get a digi cam for my b day ill take some pics

do you feed your truncata? if you do what do u feed it>? i think i need to feed all mine becuase i havnt fed them in a year and ive noticed they are just catching ants,... i wanna give them some meal worms



how big is that pot btw?
 
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