My New Nepenthes

[dionae]

My brother bought this for me yesterday at Lowes. I think it looks pretty healthy for a Lowes cubed plant. Anyone have any idea which nep it is? A couple people suggested ventricosa. Thanks!

 

[limeslide]

That's so kind of your brother.
You have a pretty ventricosa there.

 

[dionae]

Thank you very much Limeslide. I thought it was very thoughtful of him myself.

 

[swords]

I'm making a CP terrarium for my 11 year old cousin for Xmas - I gotta see if my Lowes has those!

 

[dionae]

Out of the 4 I have around me only one store had one plant of Nep. They do have lots of VFTs and Purple Pitchers at a few of them though.

 

[Dexenthes]

Every time I see another death cube plant I am re-amazed by how pale they manage to get their plants.

I mean there's not an ounce of pigment in that plant.

Looks healthy though! good luck growing.

 

[dionae]

You think its from the low light conditions they keep them in? Everytime i've seen CPs in Lowes they are in a poorly lit area, crowded together on a bottom shelf. I figured thats why the VFTs always look so funky. I bought a purple pitcher from them tht was pale yellow and now it's starting to get purple veins and the pitchers are coloring up.

I don't have much experience with CPs but my guess is the low light conditions Lowes grows them in that are keeping them from growing to full potential. Thanks for looking in Dex!

 

[Dexenthes]

Yeah it is definitely the low light levels they get.

Which why I am always surprised. They must have talent to keep them in such low light levels enough to grow but not enough to die. Half the plants I've tried growing on my windowsill don't make it, yet the death cubes survive with that pasty green color

Just a thought! I honestly can't say for sure if it is ventricosa either, the leaves look like it, but the pitchers are so nondescript!

I hope to see it color up and start looking good.

 

[dionae]

Ah, well, whatever it is i'm happy to have it. Hope the pitchers get good and colorful for me. This plant staying healthy or not will be the determining factor in whether I get more or not. If it's easy to grow i'll get a couple more of them.

Btw, theres only one good and healthy pitcher on it. Theres 3 altogether. One looks like its probably about to die, the other looks deformed(or not fully formed, again, inexperienced) and the other looks great.

 

[Wolfn]

They look bad when you buy them direct from Lowes. However, give them a good growing spot and they will look stunning.

This is mine growing under an ordinary desk lamp in my dorm room:

 

[dionae]

Thats a pretty plant Wolfn. Thanks for sharing her!

 

[dionae]

Someone told me they thought this was a Lowii. Does anyone else think its a Lowii?

 

[CPsam]

Wow, that just grows under a normal desklight? How long do you have it on each day?

 

[MasterGrower]

No, there is no way that could be a lowii. It's definitely a ventricosa.

 

[dionae]

No, there is no way that could be a lowii. It's definitely a ventricosa.

I didn't think it looked like any of the Lowii pics I could find either but i'm a noob so what do I know. Thanks!

---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:26 PM ----------

What type of conditions does the ventricosa need? Can i treat it as a houseplant or does it need a terrarium? I've read that you can fertilize these once a month...is this true?

 

[MasterGrower]

Ventricosa is one of the easiest nepenthes to grow, so you won't need a terrarium, just a south-facing windowsill. Since you got in a death cube I suggest you slowly acclimate it to the lower humidity of your windowsill, but if you don't want to you can just put it straight on the windowsill and let it adapt on it's own. It might suffer a little, but eventually it'll get used to the lower humidity (that's what I do with my neps

 

[dionae]

Well, someone told me it was a Ventrata. Any thoughts?

 

[MasterGrower]

It might be, but either way, it's the same care. Ventricosa and Alata are both really easy to grow and require the same conditions. Maybe some more experienced growers will be able to tell a difference, but ventricosa and ventrata look pretty similar at that size.

 

[dionae]

Heres some closer pics. Idk if that helps.

 

[jurow]

Well, someone told me it was a Ventrata. Any thoughts?

Very unlikely that it's anything other than ventricosa. Almost all of the neps that size you find @ Lowes come from just 1 wholesale grower, and they only produce N. ventricosa & N. sanguinea. It's absolutely, 100% NOT lowii.

The only domestically mass-produced ventrata that I know of are the huge ones you find in 6" white hanging baskets (labeled as N. alata.)

Care is exactly what everyone has been saying.

Wolfn: that's a compact fluorescent bulb, correct?