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i've decided to look for a CP that doesn't need a winter dormancy period (as he vft's will be in the fridge roughly this time next year) and nepenthes seemed like a good option... my mum's looking around for christmas gift ideas and i *subtly* dropped a hint for a PFT giftcard ;)

would a rafflesiana or ventricosa be easy to grow? i was thinking of getting the PFT 1.5 gal round terrarium and their soil, and mixing in some orchid bark as i've seen some sites reccommend. lighting wouldn't be a problem, i tend to get very creative on a limited budget...

also, odd side question... how IS nepenthes pronounced? is it NEP-en-thees, ne-PEN-thees, or some other combination i haven't figured out? i was never very good with latin names!!!

thanx!
 
Hey Moonflower,
I say ne-PEN-thees. With regards to easy varieties, ventricosa is more adaptable than raflesiana. Rafs are very good plants if you can provide good lowland conditions, but you really need to be able to do that.

Other easy neps are alata, khasiana and sanguinea. You could also go the hybrid route, like ventrata (ventricosa x alata), truncata x ventricosa or ventricosa x khasiana.
 
I will add N. truncata

I can also add N. coplandii! I took one out of my greenhouse this Spring and put it on my picnic table in full sun and it was a happy camper all Summer. Never missed a beat lol.

BTW a 1.5 gallon terrarium will not hold many Nepenthes for long. How are your growing conditions in your area? Perhaps just go with a durable one and try windowsill growing?

Tony
 
For a first time nep, I'd go with N. ventricosa or maybe a 'Judith Finn'. I have both as windowsill plants and they do well in my low humidity (25% to 35%).
 
My miranda gets almost no sun and extremely dry air (allthough I mist it several times a day) And it has offshoots growing off like crazy
 
I have a N. x ventrata I got from Capslock and it has given me zero problems besides being a bit slow(but I checked on it every day)-expected from a cutting though!

Dunno if it has been mentioned, but people often mention that gracilis is a weed.
 
Gracilis might be ok depending on the humidity in the room it will be in. The gracilis I got from schloaty back in March has grown slowly, though it has produced a basal shoot that is growing (slowly). However, with my low humidity it has yet to produce a pitcher. I do have one new leave that the tendril has curved up on and the tip is swelling, but I won't call it a pitcher until it is. It has taken 7 months to get the one "almost" pitcher
confused.gif
.
 
Hi Moonflower,
pick a hybrid,..any hybrid.....They grow themselves, and they are bulletproof!
smile.gif
 
  • #10
Like all generalisations, that is not exactly true. The most difficult plant I own is a hybrid... It depends on who the parents are.
 
  • #11
My gracilis has been through the most troubling of times, and has come out on top, so it gets my vote!

-Homer
 
  • #12
I bought a ventricosa from Lowes last November. I was new to the hobby and still haven't killed it? I would put my vote in for a ventricosa. How has the first semester been going for ya? Surviving dining hall food?
 
  • #13
BCK,
DOH! Growing slowly?? Gracilis?? Try warming it up a bit. Gracilis grows much more rapidly (IME) in warmer conditions.
 
  • #14
N. ventrata is probably a good choice, but as Tony pointed out, most are going to outgrow that container you had your eye on.
 Robin and SydneyNeps are both right on hybrids. If you pick a simple hybrid of common ancestry, you will probably do okay. If the parents are of one highland/intermediate  and one lowland, you will probably have a very forgiving plant.

 Cheers,

 Joe
 
  • #15
moonflower, I like your altavar
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I have some moon vines of my own... the bad thing is that they're in the balcony so I can never see the flowers!!! :'(
 
  • #16
AlphaWolf: thank you
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yes i grew some on my front porch this summer... of course they reallly decided to go crazy and put out six blooms a night AFTER i went to school!!!

lol unfortunately i'm going to need a terrarium of some kind, as it will be living in a dorm room in upstate NY for most of the year. if i ever put a tropical plant outside here it would probably laugh right before every water molecule in it crystallized and froze. any reccommendations for a relatively-easy-to-transport setup?

and jimscott... campus food.... UUUUGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
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what i wouldn't give for a real dinner!!! hehe and my darling VFT's attract quite a lot of attention, THEY'RE eating quite well, anyway. the boys downstairs get a kick out of feeding them ;) other than that it's study, study, study, weekend. such is the life of the bio major....
 
  • #17
Hey Moonflower, upstate NY? What college/University? I attended Hamilton College in Clinton (right outside Utica).
 
  • #18
scloaty- SUNY Geneseo, about 45 minutes from Rochester. more western NY than central (as the western NYers seem VERY specific about!!!)
smile.gif
 
  • #19
Ohhhh...I remember Geneseo...Ran there a few times... I blew chuncks both times I raced there!  HA!  Must have been something in the air...  ;)
 
  • #20
[b said:
Quote[/b] (schloaty @ Oct. 15 2004,2:54)]Ohhhh...I remember Geneseo...Ran there a few times... I blew chuncks both times I raced there!  HA!  Must have been something in the air...  ;)
that would be the burning alfalfa ;) ahhh the country!
 
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