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ebook says ditch the terrariums...opinions please

Hello All!

I was searching for Nepenthes on the web last night and came across this site http://www.cobraplant.com/ebook.html Has anyone read the ebook? The only thing that caught my eye was this quote from their site:

Don't carnivorous plants require high humidity?
Too many growers brood over humidity, yet they don't realize that constant high humidity kills more plants than lower humidity. Ditch the terrarium and you will have removed half of your obstacles to healthy carnivorous plants, but read the e-book for the necessary steps to acclimate your plants properly!

Just looking for opinions on the above statement and the ebook. Dont get me wrong...I dont plan on rushing to order this ebook, in fact I doubt I will ever get it....19 bucks for a disk will just cut down on the $ I can spend on Nepenthes, lol.

Thanks;
Victoria
 
Constantly high humidity can only a problem with inadequate light and air circulation. If terrariums were so bad then we wouldn't use them :) High humidity can foster fungi growth and that can be bad, but with UV from good lighting and air circulation it can't get a strong foothold.

Get yourself a small fan and good lights and enjoy you're terrarium :) You don't need super-high humidity anyway in most cases. It IS a common misconception that they need liquid air lol. For some terraria are hard and for most terraria are a godsend. It also depends on what you want to grow, where you should put it. Ditch the ebook and get your info here for free :)
 
It depends on what you grow in your terrarium. I grow all my plants inside, outside of a terrarium. I only have a couple vft and sarrs, but they seem to be doing fine for their young age outside the terrarium, and I was able to give them dormancy in my freezing cold and dark office.

It sounds like you are growing neps, and I grow all my neps just on a shelf above my closet open air. They all are pitchering like mad right now, and I rarely get a leaf that doesn't produce a pitcher. Of course, all of my neps are easy and vigorous growers. I don't have a hamata or a bical or anything that probably requires terrarium-like requirements.

Sarr NW does do a fantastic job of shipping and packaging, I'll give them that. They also advertise most all of their plants as windowsill plants.

xvart.
 
I have fans and great lights so Im good, I was just wondering what others thought, all my CPs are doing great in the terrarium so I am not changing anything as of now.

Currently I only have N. Ventrata but I plan on making a order to get more Nepenthes just as soon as I can talk my husband into spending the money, lol. I do plan on keeping my Nepenthes outside of the terrarium. I have lots of Sundews, Pings and Utrics in the terrarium right now. I also have a VFT in their that I got at walmart, I am just adjusting it to lower humidity and then it will be outside for most of the year and on the unheated porch for the winter.
 
I think there is much validity in what they say in the eBook for most of the North American species of CPs and if you're growing in the 48 states. Outside those parameters I don't think you can not use a controlled environment.

I don't see how anybody living above the Arctic circle would be able to grow CPs outdoors.

And I wouldn't imagine petiolaris complex faring very well outdoors through a Portland, OR winter. ???
 
I don't see how anybody living above the Arctic circle would be able to grow CPs outdoors.

lol. I wonder how many people in the arctic circles grow CPs?

xvart.
 
I have read that ebook. It's would not bad for a beginner, but if you have been growing for any length of time and reading the forums here, there is nothing new.

As for neps, I grow all mine as windowsill plants and have no problems. They do take some time to settle in, around 3 months, after which they should start throwing out pitchers.

Here is what I have growing as windowsill plants:
Nepenthes aristolochioides
Nepenthes bicalcarata (Germinated from seed May 04)
Nepenthes hamata (Borneo Exotics clone)
Nepenthes Marbled Dragon (N. maxima - dark x N. truncata) (Exotica hybrid)
Nepenthes rafflesiana
Nepenthes rajah
Nepenthes x Rokko clone A x Nepenthes hamata (Germinated from seed June 05)
 
Nice list of Nepenthes! What requirements do they have to be in the windowsill? Do you have to mist them often for added humidity or anything? Id love to see some pics of them.

Thanks;
Victoria
 
I find that Neps are a lot tougher then they are given credit for.
When I was first reading about them and the high humidity requirements they need, I thought I would never be able to keep one outside a terrarium.
Since neps can get large I could not confine the plant into a terrarium. So I started to experiment with growing them as windowsill plants and have had great success with several neps this way.
It seems that they take around 3 months to really settle and then start pitchering.
I do not mist my plants.

Winter humidity: 30 - 50% (Lower humidity in the day. I have the humidifier on my furnace set to around 45%. Furnace does not run much, sun shines in the room where I grow the plants and heats the area up.)

Winter / Fall temps: I keep the house cool. Heat set to 64 degrees. (Humidified air feels warmer then dry air) During the day it can hit mid 70's with the sun shinning in the room where I grow the neps. Nights can drop to low 60's.

Spring / Summer / Fall humidity: 30 - high 80%. (Windows open and such)

Spring / Summer temps: During the day it can hit mid 80's. Night to the low 70's. (I usually have the A/C set around 74)

Here are some pics:
I find that Neps are a lot tougher then they are given credit for.
When I was first reading about them and the high humidity requirements they need, I thought I would never be able to keep one outside a terrarium.
Since neps can get large I could not confine the plant into a terrarium. So I started to experiment with growing them as windowsill plants and have had great success with several neps this way.
It seems that they take around 3 months to really settle and then start pitchering.

Winter humidity: 30 - 50% (Lower humidity in the day. I have the humidifier on my furnace set to around 45%. Furnace does not run much, sun shines in the room where I grow the plants and heats the area up.)

Winter / Fall temps: I keep the house cool. Heat set to 64 degrees. (Humidified air feels warmer then dry air) During the day it can hit mid 70's with the sun shinning in the room where I grow the neps. Nights can drop to low 60's.

Spring / Summer / Fall humidity: 30 - high 80%. (Windows open and such)

Spring / Summer temps: During the day it can hit mid 80's. Night to the low 70's. (I usually have the A/C set around 74)

Here are some pics:

neps3.jpg


neps2.jpg


neps1.jpg
 
  • #10
I love the hamata setup. How do you water it without water running all over the floor?

xvart.

edit: wow! I count eight pitchers on your hamata! Is that all from one plant?
 
  • #11
nice elgecko! did you cut back your hamata? it used to have a vine on it. i grow mine in terrariums only bacause i have no other place in my house that gets light. come april im getting one of those shelves and getting lights for that and putting almost all of my plants on it.
Alex
 
  • #12
I love the hamata setup. How do you water it without water running all over the floor?

xvart.

edit: wow! I count eight pitchers on your hamata! Is that all from one plant?

I've always wondered the same thing Elgecko. How do you water those hanging baskets without getting drainage all over your floor?
 
  • #13
I've seen him water the Neps when I visited him. Yeah, the water goes through a litle bit, but doesn't create a big mess. Ya just don't pour a lot of water in the basket. One could always put something under the baskets to catch the excess water or buy a planter, which has the tray attached.

Humidity in his kitchen was reading 37% and his plants thrive!

Terrariums are basically a human, aesthetic thing. Nature has its plants exposed to the air and wind a rainfall isn't as consisitent as we are.
 
  • #14
One thing I'd like to say about terrariums is that you can put reflective (white in my case) backing on three sides increasing the amount of light.
Also protects the plants.
And Heli's like alotta humidity but I don't really get much humidity outta my tank anyway.
Ah, it just looks nice and designates that as "the plant area"
 
  • #15
xvart,
As Jim stated, I'm very careful about how much water I use so that I do not have it run out all over the place. In the summer I will take them outside from time to time to water them and till I have a stream running out the basket. Let it stop dripping and back inside they go.
Basically there is 3 plants in there. The main vine which has been cut down does not have any pitchers on it, and currently does not have a growth point. Then there are 2 basal shoots which are the ones producing the pitchers.

glider14,
Yep. Twice.

LLeopardGGecko,
As I stated above. Very carefully. You learn how much you can water them before you get some dripping out the bottom.
 
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