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Anyone growing outside in Seattle?

N

N_CloudySkies

Hello,

I was just wondering if anyone has tried growing some Nepenthes outside in Seattle, WA? That is without a greenhouse or anything but perhaps bringing them inside briefly during freezing time......around late December? I am thinking that some of the highlanders or ultrahighlanders might adapt well to the conditions here? I read about a member here that has grown aristolochioides' outside in San Francisco with great success. I think Seattle gets about 10 degrees cooler in the winter and about 10 degrees warmer in the summer but that doesn't seem like alot of difference between the two cities and I believe that Seattle is still considered rather mild in comparison with other parts of the U.S. like the Midwest or Eastcoast. Not exactly sure but willing to give it a shot. Just wondering if someone else here on the forum has done this before with highlanders and can offer some insight from their experiences.
 
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San Francisco is right on the water, completely surrounded by it. That effects the temperature a lot. I guess Seattle is that way to.

What you should be worried about is the exact temperate/humidity range. As long as it stays above 45F at night and stays below 90F during the day, you should be able to do some highlanders. I've heard that they can't take consecutive hot days, like 85-90F. So as long as it stays like 85F or less during the hottest part of the day for only a few days, you're okay. And I guess if it gets hotter or colder than you want, you can just bring them inside.

Low humidity means no pitchers. They can take lower humidity during the day and still pitcher (in fact, some of my HL took 30% during a few hours of each day for a week or two before I fixed it) as long as the nighttime humidity is higher. My nighttime humidity is like 90% inside the greenhouse because I have the swamp cooler on until later in the evening. Now that I made some modifications, the humidity stays above 50% at all times during the day, but usually stays around 60% or 70% on a cooler day. At night, it's 90% always.

Nepenthes are very hardy plants, so they don't have to be in ideal conditions. Just make sure they're in the temperature range I gave you (it's usually recommended 50-60F nights and 70-80F days, so what I gave you is pretty loose) and you shouldn't have issues. Good luck, and keep us updated!
 
Thanks Pineapple. I think that 45F and above at night and below 90F during the day is pretty much 80 percent of the weather conditions here in Seattle during any given year. Humidity seems to rise during the night but I am not sure about the summer time. I have been using a temp/humidity gauge and recording the data on a daily basis to try to get a better idea of the local conditions. I never realized how dumb I was about this sort of thing. I always thought that hunidity is something that happens in the summer in areas other than Seattle but I have noticed during the Spring and Fall, and even Winter here that humidity can rise to near 90% even when the temperature is in the high 40's and 50's F. and usually when the rain comes. Also, it seems to me that Seattle is full of micro-climates. I have a brother who has a place out over a large lake and his humidity level tends to be higher then 40% all the time no matter what time of year it is and it goes up to between 60% to 70% easily when the sun goes down. I am hoping my conditions are the same. I certainly have alot to learn but I think growing more than a few Nepenthes Highland varieties outside would be really cool. I do have a few on the windowsill and they seem to be doing very well so far. What made me think of moving them outside is that I keep my windows open pretty much all the time and there is not that much of a difference between inside and outside my apartment. Thanks again Pineapple and I will keep posting updates for those who are interested. Very happy to be a part of this Terraforum for sure.
 
Good stuff to know :)
I might be attending the Art Institute this upcoming quarter and would want to bring my CPs. I think the only problem I would have is that the apartment I was looking at didn't have a balcony :(
 
Give it a shot! I would just throw a ventricosa, or maxima, or some variation of the two out on your porch and see what happens and how you feel about it.

I bet it could do alright.
 
Yep, a balcony is very nice Zacham. I am in an apartment as well and I feel very lucky to find one with a decent balcony.

Dexenthes, I am going to do exactly that. I have a maxima (not sure which kind) that has done nothing indoors but vined. No pitchers or anything. It was sitting next to the window so the leaves have nice red color but no pitchers. That is going outside. Also, I have a ventricosa red that has been a slow grower. It pitchers and everything but it is a little yellow in the leaves and doesn't seem as vigorous as some other examples I have seen on this forum. I figure more sun and bugs and it might take off outside?

My brother told me to just get a whole bunch of different plants and put them all outside to see "which one's stick" :-)) I don't think I want to do that......but kinda I guess. I'd hate to loose a plant.
 
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Lol that's funny, you are doing exactly what I suggested. :-))

I know it is hard to lose a plant. I have lost many when trying new things... Oh well, though. The thing about ventricosa's or maxima's is that at least you knwo they are replaceable.
 
Actually that's a very good point Dexenthes. They are indeed replaceable so tomorrow they go out :-))
 
I did try, last spring/summer.. ended up with severely sunburnt Neps. :\
 
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Brie, "severely sunburnt" doesn't sound good at all.....is that the same as first degree burns? :-))
 
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Went from red to crispy and dead.. so more like third. ;) and it was in the shaded area of my patio that only got direct sun for a couple hours a day, the rest just bright shade.
 
  • #12
Yeah the plants will no doubt require a significant acclimation period. Seattle is typically more overcast than Portland though and I have heard that the summers there can be more extreme. So Seattle could potentially be easier on a Nepenthes. But do expect a slowing in growth, or all the pitchers to die, and sunburnt leaves as well, but it will most likely recover and move on from that stage. It would help to mist the plants too
 
  • #13
That's right Dexenthes. Seattle is pretty much what you described. There are brief periods of freezing with snow and hotter temps. in the 90's F but overall very middle of the road conditions for most of the year. I feel my plants are just begging to be set free outside. They just don't look happy inside but even though......they seem to carry on well.

I'll keep you all posted. I hope they don't end up like Brie's plants :0o:

Misting and sun protection.....Got it. Thanks for all the help guys!!!!
 
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  • #14
N_CloudySkies said:
That's right Dexenthes. Seattle is pretty much what you described. As you go south, it just gets hotter and more and more "Mediterranean" like. Seattle is kinda similar in a way but with a much more mild, cooler air like conditions mostly. There are brief periods of freezing with snow and hotter temps. in the 90's F but overall very middle of the road conditions for most of the year. I feel my plants are just begging to be set free outside. They just don't look happy inside but even though......they seem to carry on "like troopers".

I talked to my Uncle because he grow alot of CPs when he was younger and he told me that he never tried to grow Nepenthes plants because they were too hard to obtain and expensive, thought of as being the most difficult to grow and needing a strict, controlled, greenhouse environment at best. This was back in the later 80's. I mentioned to him that I grow mine as house plants and he told me that people probally just learned more about them since then.

Anyway, my ventricosa and maxima are now outside. I'll keep you all posted. I hope they don't end up like Brie :0o:

Misting and sun protection.....Got it. Thanks for all the help guys!!!!
Click to expand...

I have grown nepenthes outside in Portland, OR. I dont hink there is a bunch of difference in climate between Portland and Seattle. I had a balcony and brought them out approximatly mayish. After acclimating for about a month, they did quite well. I think taking the necessary precautions to break them in makes all the difference. I think I brought them back into the greenhouse septemberish. Anyways, it definetly can be done.
 
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Terrific!!!!! Thanks for the info truncataloven. Actually, now that I think about it you are probally right in that Seattle and Portland are not that much different weather wise. The precautions I have taken in the way of "climatizing" them to the outdoors here at this locality is by putting them right next to an open window indoors from about middle January up until just yesterday. Today I put them outside. I hope I prepared them well truncataloven. It does seem that Mayish is the time to bring them out if they last for next year here in Seattle. (fingers crossed)

The weather today doesn't seem to be a problem other then 50% humidity....but I am happy with that. The temp. is 78 degrees F which has stood pretty much constant since about 11:00am. Now at this time (6:37pm) the humidity is rising up to 60% and the temp. is the same 78 F. I have kept them out of direct sun thanks to Brie's info and I have been misting them often as advised by Dexenthes. Someone is always home so the misting will continue even if I am at work in the weeks to come. So far so good. I expect the temp. to start dropping as soon as the sun goes down. By morning it should bottom out at about 60 degrees F. Then by noon it will be back up to around 78ish. That will be the pattern for the next couple of days according to the local weather report. After that everything will be the same other than the highs during the day will be in the lower 70's now that we are predicted to get a little bit of a northerly cold front coming down from Canada.

Thanks everyone for all the help!!! I am having alot of fun.
 
  • #16
Ofcourse when winter comes around......I'll have to go to plan B :-))
 
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