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Anyone growing srduggins' N. ventricosa red x grn?

These were the first nepenthes seeds I'd seen and this is the first nepenthes I grew from seed. I got several seedlings, all of which I gave away except the runt of the litter. It's stayed compact but makes lots of pitchers of good size compared to the leaves. This is a nice, compact plant which has responded to fertilization really well. Who else has this? I think these were sown in August '04.

N-101.jpg


Max
 
Beautiful plant! Do you grow these outside?
 
I have 4 plants that are almost that size from that seed but mine have smaller pitchers and arent really showing to much color. I actually just repotted them as all 4 were tightly growing in a 4 inch pot and they needed some room definately. And i also moved them outside for the summer as i had last year and they loved it out there.
 
Hey Cobalt, no, I grow them all in a basement room under fluorescent lights.

This is an older shot of it but that's the setup. (I do grow a couple neps outside.)
Growroom7.jpg


Max
 
WOW:0o: , Very Nice plants.
 
Wow! Impressive setup!

I'm just starting out with nepenthes, but I'm trying some of the hardier ones outside. So far the older leaves look a little sun-shocked, but the newer ones seem fine. The reason I asked is because we seem to be in the same city (though probably differing microclimates).
 
Are you in San Francisco? I'm in the Mission District, which is among the sunnier places here. I'm growing two plants out side, N. khasiana x truncata, which I just recently put out, and N. ventricosa x aristolochioides. This one thrives outdoors here. I've had less luck with a lot of others since it's generally cold here in the city. I did keep an N. rajah oudoors year round here for 2 years, but when I brought it in to the basement for a brief freezing spell over winter, it exploded in growth so I left it inside. Depending on where you are, surely something will grow outdoors unless you're further out in the real hot stuff.

Max
 
I grow ventrata in 95°+. I've also grown Pasian highland truncata and petiolata in 104°+ for months and they seemed to do fine. Granted I put them out when the temp was 80°, so they had 2 weeks or so as the temp rose
 
No one else is growing this? With all the seed I sent. I'm down to about 7 plants as I keep giving them away to noobs and the birds actually took a couple. When I originally named this grex I had the parents backwards. The female is actually pale and the male is red, so it should be green x red.
It is nice to see how a well grown one is looking! Here are the parents:
Mom:
398N_vent_but_mama.JPG

P1000710.jpg

(Actually I should have called this pale with red spots)

Dad:
398ventricosa1.JPG
P1000708.jpg

P1030393.jpg


A couple of seedlings from last year, (I'm still waiting for good growth this year):
P1010254.jpg


P1010413.jpg

(Check out the pitcher to leaf ratio on that baby!)
 
  • #10
bigger than mine.....but im not a huge fan of the species so ive abused the hell out of the seedlings to see what they can do in different conditions....gave about half of them away....other half have been used in experiments.....think ive still got about a dozen floating around the house and office
 
  • #11
Caps, I have one from that batch - it's a male. It's about to father (next couple of days!) seed with my female ventricosa that is, I beleive, all green (though it tends towards a dark peristome, the pitchers have very little red).

The male tends towards smaller, redder pitchers.
 
  • #12
capslock...that setup is amazing. Can u tell me how many shoplight fixtures are you using and how do you arrange them evenly. Please give more detials about your grow area. :)
 
  • #13
vraev, generally, there are four tubes (two fixtures) per shelf. On the taller ones I use t5 fluorescents, which are really bright, but expensive. I use wire racks I got at Costco. It's really simple. Oh, I put mylar on the walls for reflected light. The room is about 8 feet by 10 feet or so, and has a window that is almost always kept open.

Max
 
  • #14
I wish I could make a setup like that...but there's just no room here :-(
 
  • #15
hmmm.... :( damn! I need to radically improve my lighting. :(
 
  • #16
I don't think anyone is every truly happy with their lighting lol. I wish I had another metal halide :(

Max, why are some of your lights off? Or is that just the camera playing tricks on me?
 
  • #17
It was just late when I took the photo and some had already turned off. There are about three timers involved in all these lights, and they're not all set the same. I figure I get a little "dawn and dusk" effect by having them de-synchronized by about 45 minutes.

Max
 
  • #18
Just a little caveat for Max- I had the opportunity to visit Max last weekend and see his collection. Although many will attest...I am the first to admit that I have a hard eye and am not easy to impress. I've done this for too many years and practically seen it all. But what I saw at Max's home made my knees nearly buckle! His plants are...how you say...OH MY GOD fantastic! I think there were a few times I told him that folks on Terra would literally give their eye teeth to see his setup in person. His N. Predator is so stinkin huge you just can't believe it and he has the finest specimen of N. ramispina I have ever laid eyes on. I didn't know it had the potential to get so large and beautiful. Everything was so fresh and healthy looking and the pitchers on many of his plants were beyond perfect. His N. spectabilis x veitchii is so beautiful it's almost surreal. All the t5 lamps and shiney mylar made the colors on everything just superb indeed. And if you like N. lowii x veitchii...well...I could write a thesis on his specimen! Over the top good :)

So Max...I just wanted to say publicly that not only was I thoroughly and unconditionally impressed with your skills as a grower...esecially for someone who hasn't been doing it for a very long time, but your attention to detail, organization, cleanliness, the science of artificial light gardening and above all hospitality have burned a permanent impression in my mind as one of the finest collections I've seen to date. I already knew it was going to be good, but I just wasn't prepared for just HOW good it was. While I was there I used my video recorder to document my visit. I think I've watched it 20 times already!!!!!!! I felt very priveledged and honored to see a true master in his element. I came home wanting to give him all my plants cause he could grow them so much better!

Grow on Maestro!

Phil
 
  • #19
I'm down to 3 plants, but this may be the pick of the litter. One of the strangest looking ventricosa clones I've ever seen. It looks a lot like a sibuyanensis to me. I'm going to keep my eye on this one.
P1100643.jpg


Any more updates from this seed lot?
 
  • #20
he has the finest specimen of N. ramispina I have ever laid eyes on.

I'm way too familiar with that one. Had it not been for the 2008 forum crash during the NASC auction, I'd be the proud owner of a cutting from that baby.

That one really does look like a sibuyanensis hybrid!

Was the original pale plant the ventricosa I've seen referred to as "True" ventricosa?

Jason
 
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