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neps outside

I experimented with adapting neps outdoors this summer, and the results were very good. Some of the leaves were burned, but most gained a lot of red pigment in he leaves. The tendrils of my N. x Gentle are a very deep purple. My N. raja increased in size by a few centimeters and is forming new pitchers. There is one developing pitcher, one pitcher bud, and one tendril elongating on the newest leaf. I think the fog helped it to pitcher. The N. ventricosa is th only nep not starting to pitcher yet. I spray the with water fro the hose every few days, and they are in soe indirect light for most of the day.
 
Thats good news for folks with neps that get REALLY big and don't have greenhouses. If only it were more humid outside here in southern California.
 
Hi Carcinos:

What is the average temperature in your backyards or frontyard as well as humidity??

Thanks

Gus
 
My average temperatures are around 40's in the winter and 80's in the summer. The summer night time temps are around 55 to 60 degrees.Sometimesthere are drops to the mid thirties.There is almost always a big difference in temperature between night and day. The humidity can range from 20 percent to I think around 75 percent.I know that Nepsaroundthehouse is also experimenting on growing neps outside.
 
Ah..carcinos, your humidity may be a little low. If you increase your humidity (especially to saturation at night), your plants may do really well...
 
I do not think that the humidity at night is the problem in CA, especially if you live near the coast. Even inland the humidity at night hits the 70's during the summer.
 
I was under the impression that neps, especially the highlanders, need humidity of at least above 90%?
 
Most Nepenthes require those humidity requirments at night ; esp. highlanders. Generally my greenhouse humidity at night is near saturation level (100-85%) , day time varies from about 80-30% I've had it drop to 30% and N. hamata was unafected. My measuring equipment is accurate as I just bought a science-lab quality product for myself to see accurate readings.

I personally see nothing wrong with your conditions but that occasional cold blast into the 40's will not be good for the lowlanders. If humidity drops to 20% I would increase misting. But, if the plants are hardened off to it they may be unaffected.


Good luck!
 
Carcinos,
Had to respond. I live in So. Cal and grow all of my highlanders and a quite a few lowlanders outside year round. I have yet to kill any Neps because of the weather. As soon as I buy them outdoors they go. Some get full sun while others get some shade cloth. Depends on the sunny weather. Now that it's fall, they get pretty much full sun. I fully suggest growing them outdoors. You get fantastic pitchers and good strong healthy cuttings when the plants grow out. You can find more info at Nepenthes around the house
 
  • #10
I noticed better results when our weather got amazingly humid for about three months. (60-100, mostly the higher end) I think the light was just right then also. It might be getting too low now. Time to go move the plants, after this post.

Our humidity lows are down into the high 50s now, I don't like it. Although today the humidity is around 75% and it's in the eighties. I can feel the Fall in the air, not.

I've got several new plants out of shipping that are not growing new pitchers and the leaves can't decide what light they like, IMO. Too much, not enough, too much, not enough. Like I said, time to go do some figuring out what's going on out there.
 
  • #11
We recently started growing N. rajah outdoors in an abandoned potato field at 5,000' altitude. Just planted them out in rows in the ground with some shadecloth over the top of them until they settle in. I haven't seen them for weeks but people who have just been there say they are looking great. Will take a photo and post when I'm up there next week.

Other species we have planted out along a bank which get full sun for 50% of the day have simply gone berserk. Flowers all over the place and big, big pitchers. I guess the natural food they catch help, there's lot of grasshoppers around. The experiment is only about 2 months old but it's amazing that the plants didn't even slow down whilst they were settling in.
 
  • #12
Rob,

Could you give us some of the disadvantages to living in Sri Lanka? Throw us a bone here, man! I feel bad enough with my struggles to grow some of these plants, but when you live in an area where you can plant them in the ground and they go nuts, lol.
Speaking of which, why do you suppose there is only one native species when the habitat seems so ideal. Or would the question be why diversification did not happen so much there?

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #13
Hi Rob:

I am not surprised to know that some neps get light only 50% of the time and they go bersek, i grow mine the same way, because i have not much of a choice for the time being but they are doing pretty well.

Of course, Sydney's weather also helps the highlands more than the lowlands!!.

Gus
 
  • #14
Sorry Joe, I wasn't trying to make anyone jealous, there are lots of disadvantages to living in Sri Lanka, believe me!

It is far from ideal Nepenthes country here because most of the island suffers severe climatic swings, with months of total drought being common. Nepenthes don't like drought at all and there are only a few very small areas which remain wet all year round, hence the lack of diversification. We can grow Neps outdoors here because we water them, otherwise they would surely die in the dry season. What we do have however, is ideal temperatures and light levels.

Most Nepenthes naturally grow on one side of a hill, or on the edge of a forest clearing, or even on one side of a shady bush so that they get full sun for half of the day and shade for the rest. We've got bushes of N. mirabilis growing outside the west side of a greenhouse here so that they get only afternoon sun from about 1 PM onwards. They are in perfect health, flower continuously and have no burning on the leaves. The same plants won't grow properly only a few feet away where they get sun all day. They just burn badly.
 
  • #15
Rob,

I was, of course, for the most part joking, but that was a great response. Does N. distillatoria grow in those wetter areas, or does it "tough it" out?
I almost got in a wreck this morning because I hit a patch of frost on a decline, so there is one clue why Nepenthes are not year-round patio plants(not to mention the hot Summers and the almost constant wind).

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #16
South Florida is one of the few places in the USA where Nepenthes can be grown outside practically year round. We have seen plants (mostly hybrids) grown in conditions we would never subject them to! Our two problems here are overly warm night temperature in summer, and severe cold fronts (temps down to freezing)in winter. The cold fronts are an easy problem to solve-just bring the plants in for a day or two until the weather warms up again.
Nepenthes are become popular down here with the general public, ie. 'plant people' who have green thumbs and like to grow orchids, staghorn ferns, bromeliads, aroids on the screened in backyard deck. We hear all kinds of stories from these enthusiasts about how they grow their Nepenthes, and it is amazing how adaptive they are.

Trent
 
  • #17
"Adaptive." I agree. Borneo's comments about insects outside for food made me think about how full all the pitchers get. I spend *zip* on nep or sarracenia food. Sarracenia of all types should be mandatory in Florida gardens. Sarracenia: It's The Law! I found the biggest fly twitching around in a sarracenia purpurea yesterday morning. It was more like a condo fly than a housefly. The toughest hybrid I've got is the ventrata, which I think should be mandatory also. See, we've got this bug problem in Florida -- and I promise to be a kind botanical dictator.

We are having the freakiest weather for November. Other than the one windy and slightly dry week, which is normal, some tropical weather that pushed straight up from the equator -- weird -- just dumped FIVE INCHES of rain on us in about two hours. I played "bail and fish for Venus Flytraps." Some of my little drosera just drosappeared.
wow.gif
 
  • #18
Hey Folks,
My take on the outdoor Neps is this. Any species that grows at around 1000 meters or higher in nature is fair game for outdoors. I recently moved a N. rafflesiana outdoors and the thing has doubled in size as opposed to the one I'm growing indoors as a windowsill plant. My albomarginatas are doing better outdoors as well. Also, for some reason, stuff from the Philippines does well outdoors too. Like truncata, philippinensis, and other "lowland / intermediate" Philippine guys. Don't know why that is. I got a merrilliana that appears to be adapting to "highland" conditions too. So whether it's the sunshine, fresh air, or my personal "willing them to live" speeches, they kick! And I think when Rob says he greenhouse hardens his plants for at least a year is vital. That way when I purchase them from Tony or Dean the plants don't miss a beat. My Neps can go from upper 30's (for limited exposure) to 90's (with shading) and can deal with it. So it's not surprising to me that I hear many other enthusiasts having great successs with their Neps adapting them to their growing environments. I will say that I had good success growing lowlanders under lights indoors with great results. But that got expensive and they quickly outgrew my closet! Especially N. bicalcarata. I think with a little ingenuity, experimentation, and perseverance, anyone can get this killer Neps to adapt to somewhat less than prime growing conditions at their homes.

Joel
 
  • #19
It is deffinately worth experimenting.  Often you can overcome an environmental defficiency by altering other aspects of your growing situation to help compensate.  The result may not be 100% picture perfect growth but the results might also surprise you.  Start out with hardier plants and if possible extras that you won't mind if they end up dead.  Pay close attention and if things start to go bad, try and figure out why and ways of compensating.

I probably shouldn't tell you this as I usually try and direct people towards giving what I would call excessively perfect conditions... Figuring that if they get half of it the plants will be happy.  I had a mixed pile of Nepenthes seedlings on an East windowsill for over a year. No supplimental lighting, no terrarium, no nothing except the pots they were growing in sitting in open pie tins.  Things like N. merrilliana, N. spectabilis, N. talangensis, N. lowii, N. truncata etc etc.. All growing side by side and appearing healthy and increasing in size.  Albeit there were times they didn't pitcher as well as they could have.  Particularly during the Winter when our humidity is low.  And they probably were not increasing in size in some instances as quickly as they could have if conditions were perfect.  But they lived and grew.  I eventually moved them to the greenhouse because they do better there without a doubt, but I was interested in what would happen if I tossed some small seedlings in less than ideal conditions.  Perhaps something like a novice or someone with minimal growing equipment might subject their plants to.  They sure turned out to be more durable than I had figured.
Tony
 
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