What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

First lowii pitcher

I bought my N. lowii back in June or so of 2002 and since then it has made about 6 leaves and has perhaps finally acclimatized to my highland tank and made it's first pitcher (about 2 cm high on a 3 cm leaf). The pot I planted it in is completely filled with living sphagnum now, perhaps this is assisting the new pitchering? I have waited til the pitcher was open for a week and has attained a dark red color and put in a 2 week old cricket tonight.

For you lowii growers, once it settles in does the rate of leaves/pitchers increase at all since it can be fed insects now?

Thanks for any thoughts!
 
Josh,
i'm on my second N.lowii now since the first one i got didn't make it. with this one it is already showing sighs of a lot healther plant. it has put out 2 leaves since i recived it and it is now working on its third. both the other leaves are forming pitchers on it. still small but, you can till they are forming.

the one thing i do is i sit it right on top of the ultrasonic humidifier so it gets all the humidity it wants and most of the time it is dripping w/ water except for the days i get home and the humidifier is out of water. it is getting 18 hrs of light/humidity 6am-12pm. i do beleave that it does like alot of light.
 
Hey Josh, my lowii is just about to open it's first pitcher since July. It is a very slow acclimatizing plant too. Once it is settled in it really picks up in pace alot! Mine is now much faster than 4 months ago. Leafes are getting much larger each time too...I'm real excited to see how big this pitcher will be. BTW, here's my plant, I'll post the a picture of the pitcher once it opens fully. I'm giving it cool night in the 50 and 60's and direct sunlight fomr a south window. Soil is pure sphagnum with some living added to the top. You can see in the picture, the pitcher just begining to form.

lowii.jpg

N. lowii
 
Dustin, you said you got your plant in july. that is the same time Josh got his plant. are you just getting a pitcher now.

i got my second one in Nov. if i recall correctly. it is on its third leaf with tendrils on 2 of them and the first leaf has a small pitcher forming.

i guess my question is did your first leaf w/ pitcher take that long to develope?
 
Hi George, the leaf you see with the pitcher on it was formed in December. The pitcher has begun to form in early February so it takes quite a long while to show noticable changes physically. This will be the first pitcher to form under my care and conditions, of course my plant was uppotted and seperated from some other N. lowii so I'm sure there was just a tad of some shock but not much, so far it's recovered an awful lot and is much faster than it was orginally. I only got 1 leaf last summer when I got it and this year so far (this winter) it has formed 2 leafes going on 3 as you can see the new one in the picture. The big leaf nearest to the label in the back also has a tiny pitcher on it that has yet to inflate. My plant is capable of producing 5cm tall pitcher so hopefully they will be that size!
smile.gif
 
well that makes alot of sents then if it was an off shoot. then it would be some shock to it and also slow at growing first. at least it is growing for ya know
 
Hi George, no it's not an offshoot. I see where you misunderstood my statement of it being unpotted form some other lowii, that meaning plural plants, it was simply in the same pot with 1 or two other lowii and was seperated for me to take home.
 
My experience has been that well-established specimens of N. lowii can produce 10 to 12 leaves and pitchers per year. Under suitable conditions, this species will grow more rapidly than its reputation would lead one to believe.
 
  • #10
Ah Jeff, that doesn't sound too slow. Perhaps then it is simply the acclimatization time which is the most "painful" i.e waiting for some sign of life (or death) from the lowii?

The other highlanders all seem to be doing perfectly fine growing plenty fast for my liking so I'm sure it's got groovy conditions. I'd just gotten to the point I rarely even looked at the lowii plants anymore til I noticed the nearly finished pitcher about a week or two ago. Not that this pitcher is what I'm growing it for (I wanna see them uppers) but at least I know it's not dying on me!
smile.gif
 
Back
Top