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Highlander Habitat Help

  • #21
I cannot overemphasize the importance of this statement. Precise control over environmental conditions in a consistent manner is key. Not just hitting the mark three days out of five and getting somewhat close the rest of the time. Most newcomers to Nepenthes don't realize how crucial it is to provide consistent climate conditions. Some species can take a year or more to truly acclimate to a new growing environment, and they can't do it if the climate isn't consistently within parameters. Just sayin'.
Yup. What flucuating conditions generate is constant stress. Best way to kill any plant.
 
  • #22
I cannot overemphasize the importance of this statement. Precise control over environmental conditions in a consistent manner is key. Not just hitting the mark three days out of five and getting somewhat close the rest of the time. Most newcomers to Nepenthes don't realize how crucial it is to provide consistent climate conditions. Some species can take a year or more to truly acclimate to a new growing environment, and they can't do it if the climate isn't consistently within parameters. Just sayin'.

Makes me wish there were terrariums which had climate controls which were small.
 
  • #23
What would you guys recommend for climate control? Ive been looking around but cant find a model that looks optimal. Preferably one that would do well with cooling.
(Is there an alternative method I could use for the temperature drops like frozen bottles of water or frozen icecube trays?)
 
  • #24
The oft-cited ice cube technique is the stuff of hort mythology; frequently discussed, sometimes attempted and inevitably abandoned as far too much work for unreliable results.

There is fogging/cooling hardware for reptile terraria, but as I have no personal experience with this technology*, I will let someone else suggest specific hardware. I know it exists, and I suspect quality hardware is somewhat costly.

*I have a full-sized highland greenhouse that uses a combination of fogger cooling, a small air conditioner, and shadecloth to manage temperature/humidity. A very different scenario than dealing with a small glass tank.
 
  • #25
I would want something small as I would only want one or two difficult species that need cold I can't normally provide (heat is a complete non issue even in winter for me). A greenhouse just isn't an option for me, which is one of the reasons why I focus on young and small plants. Perhaps once I graduate and live on my own (which might not happen immediately after I graduate) I will have more space and start increasing my collection more, but for now I am limiting myself to no more than 3 nepenthes of the same hybrid or species after the age of 2 years, and no more than 6 adults of drosera of the same species, and only 1 Venus flytrap colony. I have eliminated growing sarracenia entirely as they prefer to grow outside and their tall, often thin pitchers aren't suited for keeping space or indoor lighting arrangements. I also don't grow aquatic CPs as their tanks often have to be large to be sustainable (what I consider large and what others consider large might be different).

I guess I would only need such measures for ultra highlanders though, as I can provide temperatures as high as the low 90s (though I can control it so it stays in the low eighties or just leave it at the ambient temperatures of the low to mid 70s) and temperatures consistently as cold as the mid 60s, with winter providing the mid 50s.
 
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