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Truncata: highland v lowland

  • #21
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Sorry, I had to bite. For all you young ones out there (which appears to be lots of you), have a read of Michael Catalani's comments, which are an excellent comment on Nepenthes and posting questions on chatrooms...

http://www.cpjungle.com/nu101.htm

Rule # 2 is particularly pertinent. May this link could be posted as a sticky....

Thank you sydneyneps, but your assumtion that my age relates to my research is insulting.  If you don't like encouraging new growers, helping out a curious kid, or if my ignorance insults you then you can leave the posting to other people.  Sorry but this stereotype gets tossed around too much.
 
  • #22
As far as I can tell, there is no experience level requirement to be a member of this forum. The other current posts are discussing which Nepenthes are at Lowes – not the most advanced discussion, but enjoyable for the people participating. Catalani writes in rule #2 “Get off your butt and research” -not a good way to look at something that is supposed to be fun and enjoyable. For the new Nepenthes growers, posting their question here IS the research. A hobby shouldn’t feel like a homework assignment. If someone doesn’t want to answer the basic questions over and over again, they are not obligated to, even if they have the knowledge. It takes the same amount of energy to just give the information as it takes to tell someone that a question has already been answered. Everyone has to start somewhere. I once had no Nepenthes knowledge, and I am so thankful for all of the information given to me by other growers. Much of the discussion on this forum is really not readily available – like Latin pronunciation. Often a species will be labeled “highland” but will grow happily in either highland or lowland conditions and it is discussion with other growers that allows this information to be shared.
We sell Nepenthes and Sarracenia at the local plant shows and have heard every stupid question imaginable. People have actually fought with me about MY plants. Example: the customer points to the pitcher and asks me “This is a pretty flower, how often does it flower?” We have to start our explanations at the beginning every time. Sometimes it’s just not worth it because the customer refuses our knowledge. When someone asks a question we answer in the most direct way possible. I have answered the same questions close to a hundred times a day at a plant sale - for years! When the person asking the question really wants to know the answer, it’s exciting for me too, because I get to see their discovery process. It is very satisfying when a customer we introduced to these plants comes back to us and says “… my Nepenthes has taken over my patio, it’s so happy.”. We have watched people become addicted.
There is a part of me that loves the “rules” that Catalani wrote, but if I was just starting out, I would have been turned off. When I was a newbie, I was exposed to so many growers who were leaps and bounds more advanced than I was at the time. I absorbed as much as I could, though most of it went right over my head. By the way, age has nothing to do with knowledge. Some of the younger enthusiasts I have met are more experienced and up to date than the old timers. Young and inexperienced or old and senile… this forum is open to all!

Michelle – 22 years old, Co-Owner of Sunbelle Exotics, Inc.
 
  • #23
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Trent @ Jan. 14 2005,4:11)]By the way, age has nothing to do with knowledge.
You can say that again! If fact, for some things, knowledge is the inverse of age. How many adults cannot program their VCR, but their 6-year-old kids can? How many of your customers that refuse your knowledge are kids? Very few, would be my guess. When you are certain that you know something, it is time to get out of the way, because likely as not, you are wrong.
 
  • #24
Thanks for the responces.
Bobz and Trent, good points, thanks.
In case someone thinks I'm flaming the forums, I'm not. These forums have been extremely helpful.

Chris
 
  • #25
Trainspotting, it wasn't you I was referring to, not your question. If I had thought your question not lacking merit, I wouldn't have given it such a detailed answer. It was actually the veitchii question that irked me a bit, as the info is given on several sites (including my own), and has recently been done to death on several fora, including this one. Trent has a different view to me, and it is just as valid - it's a matter of viewpoint as there are no strict rules (other than those of the list owner or moderators). People are entitled to ask any question, including what appear to be dumb ones. I get a bit irked when questions are posted that show laziness to do research, there is heaps of information out there (hey, I managed to find it on my own with a little help from Google) if you bother to look. For those of us who spend a fair bit of time maintaining a website with plenty of info in it, it is disappointing. But that is my personal preference. Michelle, you obviously have much more patience than me
smile_m_32.gif
.  I'd prefer it if people did their own research and used these types of fora for info they couldn't find, or ambiguities they've found, or just toss new ideas around. Your view that these fora are point of first call for any question at all is just as valid.

Hamish
 
  • #26
Even if you're completely fine with the idea of people asking very simple questions here... Google is faster. You can get an answer (usually a much more elaborate one) in under a minute rather than waiting an unknown amount of time for someone to respond in a forum. If nothing else that's a pretty good reason to encourage it.
 
  • #27
Quoting from Trent, about lowland truncata being very cold tolerant, I second that! I have it growing where the night temps can drop to 46F (around 5-7C) and it continues to grow bigger and vigorously.
 
  • #28
Yes, but you cannot interact with a google search. Has anyone done a google search for a question and have this forum turn up in the results?
 
  • #29
Dustin,
How warm do the day time temps get following the 46 degree f night? Also, have you noticed any growth rate differences between the highland and lowland? Does the lowland grow faster in summer for you?
 
  • #30
Hi,

this is a pitcher of my still young highland plant:

N_truncata_160105.jpg


These plants are sold through garden centers here in Germany and so they are quite cheap.

Cheers Joachim

P.S.: Michelle/ Trent, it would be great if you had two different accounts, so we could see who is writing!
 
  • #31
Trent, the heater is set to kick up the temperature to 74F in the day (around 23C?) and can get even warmer than that if the sun is out, which of course you know. SO I'd say on an average at LEAST 76F daytime. Growth rate is noticable. The highland form is slower than the lowland form. The highland form seems to pitcher quicker once a leaf unfurls, but the lowland form grows faster and pitchers slower. Very odd between the two. And yes the lowland form grows much faster in the summer months, it should be picking up speed shortly in the next few weeks as the days get longer. The pitchers really should be huge this year. Last year the biggest topped around 18 inches high, I'm really hoping for one over 2 foot!

Anything else I need to clarify or check for you?
 
  • #32
Thanks Dustin.
Just like to get the experiences of other growers, especially those growing in a greenhouse. I was hoping that the highland form might prove to be as heat tolerant as the lowland is cold tolerant, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It's looking like the highland form needs a much narrower set of temperatures than the lowland.
 
  • #33
I grow both highland and lowland truncata outdoors all year in Sydney, which has hot, dry (but fairly humid) summers, and cool, wet-ish, low humidity winters. My lowland truncata grow well in summer and put out huge pitchers. The highland plants also grow well in summer, although they slow a bit in the peak of the hot weather (although they continue pitchering, unlike many other highland species). In winter, the lowland plants grow painfully slowly, and the leaves and pitchers get much smaller. The highland plants grow much faster, and put out bigger leaves and pitchers. So whilst they both grow outdoors without too many problems, the lowland variety does not like continuous cool days and cold nights (with a fairly short photoperiod), whereas the highland variety copes much better. They both grow well in summer, but the lowland variety grows faster.
 
  • #34
My highland truncata is basically a windowsill plant. It's in a little makeshift chamber right now just because the winter is so dry. It's doing just fine. So I don't know about it needing a narrow temperature range.
 
  • #35
Hamish,
When your highland trunc slows down during peak heat in summer, what are the temps and conditions, especially night temps?

Trent
 
  • #36
Trent, you can have a look at the averages of my area at this link: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_066037.shtml - this is probably the station with the most similar temps to my area, although this one - http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_066062.shtml - is physically closer, it is also close to the harbour which makes it cooler.

Lately we've been having nights of between 18 - 22C, which most of my highlands don't like, even ventricosa stops pitchering in summer. I notice a huge difference in spring and autumn when they have huge growth spurts.

Hamish
 
  • #38
Thanks Hamish,
Very interesting. Sydney's climate reminds me of southern California where temperatures are concerned. Our problem here in south Florida are the warm summer nights from July to the end of September. We can go for a week with night temps never dropping below 25.5 C, and those cooler nights are only a few degrees C cooler, brought on by passing thunderstorms. Generally, the humidity is very high, and at night typically hovers around the 80 percent RH. This makes swamp coolers pretty much non-functional.
Some highland species will actually tolerate our summer, even if they may pout a bit.
Again, thanks. We're always interested in what other growers are doing, with or to, their Nepenthes
smile.gif
.
T.
 
  • #39
The highland N. truncata seems to do well for us under intermediate conditions.  Our "highland" nursery is probably more intermediate at 25 deg. C day and 13 deg C night.  As Hamish has pointed out, it didn;t flourish in the lowlands here but it did still grow and pitcher, not slowly die as some Neps would.

I really have had trouble growing the lowland N. truncata.  We discontinued the clones we had for legal reasons but it never grew properly for us.

Here's a photo of one that may later be named as a cultivar since the peristome is wider than usual and doesn't roll back fully.  This photo is old actually, later pitchers look better.

nepenthes-truncata-1.jpg


Off topic, Michael Catalani has been mentiond quite a lot recently. Has anyone heard from him in recent times?  He seems to have vanished off the scene shortly after he got married.
 
  • #40
Rob,
Wow! That should be a cultivar! The color on that plant is just as interesting as if it were solid black. Have you ever figured out a percentage of color/pattern from a batch of seed or single grex? Are they mostly dark?
PS: We posted a pic of the cantleyi, it's already buried, did you get a chance to check it out?
 
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