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!

More pictures

  • #21
Thanks Dustin. Strange, i expected it to be at least a little reddish. My plant must truly be a freak. What's up with that HUGE leaf?!? Is it really increasing in size that rapidly?
cool.gif


The veitchii and sibuyanensis are awesome.
 
  • #22
yep my N. alata is bulbous but who knows for sure until it gets a little bigger.

Nathan, well....it's a little trick I like to call frequent misting and lots of bugs. I also fertilze with a slow release trace element fertilzer better known as Osmocote. I belive there is a big topic on feeding Nepenthes with fertilzers pinned at the top of this forum. But usually N. burbidgeae is like N. truncata, not the fqastest grower but it makes ALOT of progress with each new leaf.
 
  • #23
Dustin,

Sorry if this has benn rehashed, but how much osmocote do you use in conjunction with insect feeding?

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #24
Dustin,
That veitchii is killer!! The hamata looks downright dangerous!

Are you in southern California? If so, exactly where? Are you in the fog zone, and how do you drop temps at night in summer, if needed? Having spent some time in LA, I know about those cool California nights.

Sorry to have so may questions, but from your photos, you're obviously doing a lot of things right.

Trent
 
  • #25
Joe, I usually put about 20 pellets or more (depending on pot size). For big pots (8inches and bigger) I just take a handful and sprinkle until it looks well balanced. I just apply to the top of the soil, like topdress with Osmocote pellets until it looks balanced. The trick to fertilizing with Osmocote is DO NOT overdo it as with any fertilizing technique. Go for a little at first then increase. For example I only have N. lowii getting fed from 5 pellets in it's 4 inch pot, normally I would throw down 8-10 pellets spread evenly on the soil surface in a 4 inch pot. N. villosa is fed from 3-4 pellets in it's 4 inch pot. So in a way you can almost 2-4 pellets a sq. inch. So for a 4 inch pot there's 8-10 pellets. A word of caution however, don't do this to if you don't water your plants also IE: evaporation and transpiration are slow like in a terarium, in a greenhouse these factors are quite high so the water is used up therfore requiring more watering, which also leaches excessive trace elements out thus giving you a more 'safe' fertilizing method. Also the onyl plant that has repsonded negatively is N. aristolochioides, DO NOT use fertilizer of any sorta on it, it won't pitcher. Just now the pellets are wearing out (4 months time) and it is beginning to grow faster and pitcher again. It got big but no pitchers. SO I got a bigger plant for a period of 4 months with no pitchers.

Trent, South CA? Nope! I'm up north in New York, same County as Tony paroubek is in. It's nice to compare different greenhouse climates and have a person like Tony (nice as he is!
wink.gif
) close to compare and just talk about Nepenthes with. I don't drop temps at night right now, they do it for me
wink.gif
The heater however maintains temps at a safe level (precisely 50.0F (10C) I even get a few cool blasts with temps nearing 49.5 so a few of the other plants like it very much like N. villosa, N. rajah, N. hamata, N. lowii for example. But the trick to winter growing Tony and I think is to heat more in the day rather than at night. (warmer day temps with light equals better chance for good growth in our dreary winters) then at night heat at only what your plants NEED, not what you think they should have, this way you conserve on fuel for one thing, and the plants get the temps they are ok with but not harmful. Example" I have an 8 inch (20cm) across climbing stem N. mirablis and a 6 inch (15cm) N. merrilliana that experience 50 at night and aren't dead or showing a severe sign of stress. So with hotter temps (I have it at 70 or so in the day) the more intermediate/lowlanders are much more happier AND the highlands get thier nocturnal temperatures for good growth at night. So in a way it is possible to grow lowlanders and highlanders together if you have a night setback on your heating equipment. I cool my greenhouse in the hot summer nights with an Evaporative cooler and the exhaust fan, generally the fan doesn't run at night unless it's above 75F. And we usually will get a nice wind where I am, so by leaving the evaporative pad vent open the wind can naturally come through the moist pads and cools the greenhouse without using alot of watts for the exhaust fan to do the same thing.
 
  • #26
Thanks. Very interesting. During the winter here in So.Fl. I keep the temps at 50 F and above when cold fronts push through and have never had problems with merriliana, bicalcarata or ampullaria. Usually after the fronts push through the following day is clear and low humidity, so the greenhouse is closed in and by 10 am the temp can push 85 F. We actually have to run the fans and open the door to bring it back down to 80, but have no problem maintaining 70 percent humidity. Like you said, the lowlanders can take the cool nights as long as they have warm, humid days.
Trent
 
  • #27
I would LOVE to have a lowland chamber in my greenhouse, and it will be soon to be reality! This winter I am going to build one, complete with vents so it doesn't overheat and heating cables for winter. I think I am going to build one of my growing benches into it, just do it underneath. The sunlight is ok in the growing weather but in winter I'll simply use fluorescents to supplement that. So far with 4 4foot tubes 2 @ 3300lumens warm white and 2 @ 2000 or 1500lumens cool white the lowlanders do fine in my dining room with NO natural lighting. SO just think of what they would do out in the greenhouse, of course with heat!
 
  • #28
Sounds like a good plan
I'm still designing that "highland room" add on to the greenhouse that gets me a 58 F night from May to November, and selected weeks thru winter!

Trent
 
  • #29
What cooling device does that use if you don't mind my asking?
 
  • #30
An expensive one!
I've spoken with some engineers about this and in terms of what would be commercially available: refrigeration, not air conditioning, would do the trick. Coils would be housed in a section of wall on the north side of the room. Fans, and a set back type thermostat sets temperature parameters for maximum high temps. This would be an 8x10 foot room. The compressor would have to be place on its own concrete slab nearby, but operations wise, this adapted "meat locker" cooler would be cheaper to run than air conditioners by quite a wide margin.
It won't be cheap to build, but it's not on the agenda for the immediate future-maybe a year or two...

Trent
 
  • #31
That's an excellent setup!
smile.gif
But I can see your expenses will be quite high!
wink.gif
I was planning on making some sort of a highland chiller for those hot nights that aren't so rare up in NY in the mid summer. I remember one time we had a week or so of 75F and higher nights. And that's hot for us! But so far so good with the evaporative cooler I need to calibrate the distribution system so it will evenly wet the pads....I have NO IDEA how that is done though if you drill the holes too big it just goes to the first 3 holes then nothing...too small of holes results in not enough water coming out. I wish someone here if they had a cooler and how the water distribution system is metered on thiers.
 
  • #32
For general purposes I've considered a cooling pad system to be run at night, but our relative humidity is so high in the summer I don't think it would cool enough. I doubt if summer night temps could be lowered below 70 F. Maybe some of the lower montane species would be tolerant if close to the pad, but the days would still be peaking for a few hours at about 92 F.
Tonight and tomorrow night is supposed to drop down into the low 60's Everything in the greenhouse will enjoy!

Trent
 
  • #33
I would (I'm going to do this in the summer) load up my misting system resevoir with ice cubes and ice packs, this will lower the water temp and increase evaporation temperature drop versus regular room temp water. Maybe you could mist in the day with iced water? The evap pads will provide a degree of cooling in more humid weather but yes as you stated their effect on the area in which they are cooling is horrible if not even noticable!
 
  • #34
Interesting comment. I've thought about floating ice in the water res for the misting system to cool things off during the day. Have you experimented with it?
Trent
 
  • #35
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Trent @ Nov. 13 2003,9:02)]... refrigeration, not air conditioning, would do the trick. Coils would be housed in a section of wall on the north side of the room.
Hi Trent,

technically there is no difference between air conditioning and refrigiration. The way they work is identical. Only the way you're placing the parts of these systems in your GH is different. I would be very careful not to set the tempratures too low because easily ice could build up on the cooling pipes. This would not only drop the humidity in your GH by much but would also reduce the efficency of the system. As long as a commercial available air conditioning system are big enough to fulfill your requirements I won't go for a much more expensive special build unit.

Cheers Joachim

P.S.: Very nice and healthy looking plants Dustin!
 
  • #36
Thank you Joachim!
smile.gif


Just a quick 2 cents here. If I were using AC to cool, I would pipe the intake out fo my growing area, so this way only the cool air would be directed in here, or have a small misting head infront of the AC outlet to keep RH at a steady mark.
 
  • #37
Hello Joachim and Dustin,
As it was explained to me by these guys, air conditioners are designed to remove humidity, and that the traditional units would not be as energy efficient as a refrigeration unit used to keep stored meat and produce cool, where humidity must remain high. My AC guys were talking about a small, walk-in cooler type of setup, even suggesting running a 240v line for further efficiency. This would simply be fans blowing over the coils. The rest of the room would be traditional greenhouse construction, maybe using triple wall polycarbonate of the walls and top. There would also be a misting/fogging system.
Maybe the refrigeration setup I described is overkill...
Any input is appreciated.

Trent
 
  • #38
We've got one of those at work. Big expensive deal, but small and probably inefficent (considering how long the store has been there). It's about 12 ft long by 7 ft wide and it keeps all the soda and drinks nice a refreshing. Is that the type of setup you are debating over? If so, what a great idea...but what a great deal of money to run it! Glad I live in a more temperate climate!
wink.gif


On the misting ice water idea I am going to try it...just freeze a great big chunk of RO water somehow....maybe borrow one of the ice block molds from work and do it that way, doesn't have to be a perfect cube but just a biig chunk of ice
wink.gif


Ona further comment, I would like to know how do you humidify your greenhouse Trent. (just curious)
smile.gif
 
  • #39
Lets see if I can guess this one. First off, South Florida weather helps alot. Second, he sprays the plants in his greenhouse with RO water to keep the humidity really high.

Did I remember it right Trent?

SF
 
  • #40
Hehehe,
Snowy Falcon knows 'cause he's been to our greenhouse. Luckily, we are blessed with extensive periods of very humid weather, but still, we need to mist, and all misting is done with RO water. The plants are watered with heavy drenches of collected rainwater, and during dry spells, RO water. My wife, Michelle, monitors everything through the course of the afternoon, and hand syringes individual plants if they need it. She will often take the hose and spray down the floor with tap water, causing the humidity to rise immediately. Our goal is to keep humidity above 70 percent, and during the day it is typically about 76 percent. Nights are at 90 percent. the Neps share space with Paphs and Phal orchids on the shady side, and Vandas, Cattleyas and Dendrobiums on the bright side. The orchids are sectioned off and are treated differently from the Nepenthes. By the way, we grow Bulbophyllums and Cirrhopetalums in and amongst the Nepenthes with great success.
But, basically, Snowy has it right.
Trent
 
Back
Top