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N. viking pics

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to share some pics Michelle took yesterday of our N. Vikings.

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If you want to see a few more pics and learn about N. Viking click here

Feel free to aks any questions. Enjoy!
 
fantastic!
 
I don't usually post just to say
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but I'll make an exception in this case.
That's an awesome plant.
T.
 
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Where can u get the hands of that!?
And is that a hybrid or a pure species???
Faboulus!
 
Viking could possibly be a new species, it has not been scientifically described. There is some controversy surrounding these attractive plants as to what they are. All we can offer is our opinion that they are a subspecies of N. mirabilis, or a new species closely related to N. mirabilis (much like N. rowanae of Queensland Australia).
 
i don't see why mirabilis. i see rafflesiana
 
It looks like it has traits of N. rafflesiana, ampullaria, bicalcarata, and mirabilis if you ask me. Dont all four of those plants grow together in some areas? Does viking have a dormancy like N. rowanae?
 
N. bicalcarata is endemic to Borneo.  I don't see how N. sp. viking has traits of N. bicalcarata or N. ampullaria.  It is, however, strikingly similiar to N. rafflesiana in some regards.
Having said that, I am partial to the theory that it is a new species.

Oh, and very nice plants, Trent.  =)
 
  • #10
no species in the genus have a dormancy.
 
  • #11
I think he's referring to rowanae's habit of dying back in the dry season, and shooting from the base when the growing season starts.
 
  • #12
Its a great looking plant,shame i have no chance of growing lowlanders though
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Bye for now Julian
 
  • #13
Viking is from a monsoonal climate, and does experience a dry season.  This may be the reason for the huge rhizomes.  I don't know if they die back completely in their native habitat, but they produce tons of basal shoots through the growing season.  
Yes, they are round and squat like rafflesiana, but raff does not grow on the remote islands of the Andaman Sea where the extreme forms (the ones that are really fat and round) are found.  
The new growth on a Viking basal shoot has a thin leaf texture and fimbriated margins or leaf edge, we think this immature growth harkens back to its mirabilis origins.  N. rafflesiana (and hybrids with it) have a totally different growth habit and also where are the raff spots on the pitcher?  We've never seen a raff hybrid without the raff spots (no hybrid has the color and texture of those Vikings).      
We have three different crosses of raff x mirabilis, and the progeny doesn't even look close to Viking.  Nor does Viking resemble a hookeriana.  They are their own thing.  I wouldn't be surprised if there are more than a few unknown Nep forms scattered throughout remote locations of tropical Asia, even in the lowlands.
 
  • #14
Hey, do you have a pic of the entire platn? I was wondering whats the pitcher to leaf size ratio...have you heard of uppers on this plant before? How about the max size it gets? Is the plant something small (generally) ? By the way, nice pics, its quite a cool plant and I'll definitely want one when it comes into the market!
Thanks
 
  • #15
[b said:
Quote[/b] (chesara @ July 25 2005,4:16)]Its a great looking plant,shame i have no chance of growing lowlanders though
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 Bye for now  Julian
You should try a few lowlanders on your kitchen or bathroom windowsill Julian.
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My N. rafflesiana, truncata & bicalcarata are doing fine.
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They slow done in the winter and don't grow as fast as if they were under true lowland conditions but seem quite happy.

Nice N. viking- good to see it survived after all.

cheers

bill
 
  • #16
>Hey, do you have a pic of the entire platn? I was wondering >whats the pitcher to leaf size ratio...

It varies, but is fairly typical. I hate to use this comparison, but the ratio is about like a raff. Some of the small plants can produce fair large pitchers in relation to overall plant mass. Much of this has to do with cultural conditions-ie. constant high humidity=big pitchers.

>have you heard of uppers on this plant before?
Yes. They are elongated versions of the lowers.
>How about the max size it gets?
Our plants are not yet full grown. They are all from rhizome cuttings, so we're waiting to see just how big they can get. The new basal shoots can start out as a little rosette, looking like a mirabilis, but each new growth gets larger. Some of the red forms show red coloration to the stems and leaf mid-vein.

>Is the plant something small (generally) ?
This is where we believe they will be of great interest to horticulturists in general. Because of the rhizome-like root mass that spreads horizontally, it seems like they could be trimmed back and kept in a more miniature stage of development, or let them go and..who knows? The pitchers are constantly improving as they grow out and become more established. Another nice feature is trap retention. We counted seven nice pitchers on one plant that is far from being full grown. Again, a characteristic of mirabilis (but also alata, bicalcarata and ampullaria).

> By the way, nice pics, its quite a cool plant and I'll definitely want one when it comes into the market!
Michelle took the pics with our Konica-Minolta. She's developed a real eye for good angles, lighting, backgrounds-all they key ingredients of a professional photo!
'Vikings' are really cool, and do show remarkable variation. I could see collectors just specializing in them, or having a seperate little collection of Viking forms. I have definitely fallen for them! We have already got quite a bunch going, so PM me if you want more info.
Julian, like Bill said, if you can grow rafflesiana, you should do fine with 'em!

Trent
 
  • #17
may i ask what constantly high humidity is? it varies from plant to plant. so what may be 75% is very high for one species it's not that high for another.
 
  • #18
Constantly high humidity would be above 80 percent at all times. That is not our growing conditions. During the heat of the day where our Vikings are growing, temps hit about 97 F at peak high, with humidity dropping down below 70 percent, but only for a couple of hours max. More typically the day temp is around 92 F with humidity up around 75 percent. They get misted (more like wet down) twice a day minimum and the temp will drop to 88F and humidity up to 80 percent +. Of course, at night you can drink the air
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  • #19
Yes, wrizome cuttings, not stem cuttings folks
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! Yes, this is a strange development in nepenthes evolution. Theese plants have developed wrizomes to survive droughts and fires. N. rowanae from Australia shows the same habit. In certain times of the year, rowanae has been known to die back as it would in its natural habitat. This has lead many collectors to think of them as being dead, but they're not. They will come back with an explosion of basal shoots. I don't own either of theese, but that's what I know
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. Many viking pics on this japanese website-

http://www.hbs.ne.jp/home/s-yamada/photogallery.htm

http://nepenthesnouen.web.infoseek.co.jp/tokubetubunnjourisuto.htm

Enjoy
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  • #20
Trent,

Are yours growing in full sun, under shade cloth, or what? I have about 25 vikings coming from Thailand in a week or two. I assume I can treat them like typical N. mirabilis. I live in southwestern PA, and keep most of my Nepenthes outside during the warm part of the year.
 
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