Is Slack crazy?

[Pyro]

So I was bored last night and decided to read through Slack's 'Insect-Eating Plants' and I came across a suprising note. He claims certain highland Neps like ventricosa, maxima, alata, and such can adapt to lowland conditions, no big suprise there. The addition to the list that blew my mind was N. lowii!!! So I am curious, is Slack insane for suggesting it? Am I for being halfway tempted to experiment (once I get around to getting myself a lowii?)

Thoughts? Comments?

Pyro

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Hmm well I dunno about true blue lowland conditions.. I think that if your temps are down to 65 or so at night then it would be fine. I have not seen any problem with lowii. I had a small one growing on an East window for a while and it did ok with what I would call intermediate conditions and less than ideal humidity.
Tony

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

That's kinda funny.

That wouldn't surprize me if it could. Even though Tony tells me it can be in 60's at nihgt I still put it into 50F.

It has been recorded and Ultrahighland and reports say it grows best in those conditions so yeah I am still keeping mine an Ultra. But you might get some credit in Nep history for adapting a Lowii to true lowland conditions!

 

[Pyro]

Well one day I hope to find out. Now if I can just avoid a major financial disaster long enough to get a nice plant order. This month it is $300 in vet bills, last month was the $1000 to fix my car and another chunk of change on my honeymoon(money well spent there though

) The month before that was something stupid but expensive. It is almost like cosmic fources are aligned against me.

Pyro

 

[BigCarnivourKid]

Pyro,
Always use pencil and paper when balancing your check book. Calculators and adding machines transmit electromagnetic pulses which your other appliances can understand and pass along to each other through the electrical wiring in your home. That's why when you get money ahead the dryer breaks down or the TV quits.

 

[RaW$VENUS.FLY.TRAP.beginner]

BCK you are scaring me

i think my digital terminal is staring at me

AHH MY LAMP

AAAAHHHHHHH AH (SIlence) Computer: foolish humans *click*

 

[pthiel]

Pyro,

I am currently growing lowii in intermediate to lowlander conditions. mid high 80s (F) days and high 70s (F) nights with no adverse effects. They still grow slow but the they are growing and healthy. It may be because they are young plants (3" across) or because when they where still in shipping shock, I put them in these conditions to acclimize, but they are doing fine so far. In fact I have a rajah clone in the same conditions and it is currently outgrowing the clones in true highlander conditions. But time will tell and I will post if they take a bad turn and need to get moved into the cooler environment.

Cheers

 

[Pyro]

Hey Pete,

Thanks for that info. Now I am a little less gun shy about trying it (of course the down side is that now I am even more motivated to get one ASAP.)

BCK,

Balance my check book? What kind of freak does that? J/K

In all seriousness though, the car thing was inevitable, it is a '89 with 191,000 miles on it after all. As for the vet bill, if I plan on keeping my dog and cat (which I do) I'm going to have to get use to it

Money will come in time and ususally plants turn up when it is right for me to get them

Pyro

 

[neps]

I've been growing lowii for years, and have multiple clones from multiple locations,
including Mts. Trus Madi, Kinabalu and Mulu. To date, I've found that this species,
apparently regardless of location, is *largely* unperturbed by overnight temps even as
high as 18 C, and some of my plants are quite large now. It is also a fairly easy
species to root, taking about three months to produce sufficient roots for planting.

However, I would not grow it as a true lowlander, nor would I grow it with overnight lows
of 18 C for any *real* length of time. It can tolerate it, but my suspicion, based upon careful
observation, is that it does not prefer such treatment, and it seems plausible that
such stress might weaken it enough for disease to take hold. After all, the altitudinal range
for this plant is 1600 to 2600 m, so it really is a true highlander.

Also, keep in mind that small plants are sometimes much more forgiving of high temperatures
than are adult specimens! So, if your temps are high, watch for a decline as plants get larger
and be prepared to act!

 

[pthiel]

Jeff,

Thanks for the information and I have eventually learned to listen to experience. I will start shifting my plants over to the highland temperature ranges to ensure that they do no suffer.

Cheers