N. clipeata & N. northiana potting media & placement suggestions

[swords]

I've been growing Nepenthes clipeata (clone 3) and Nepenthes northiana from Wistuba since 2011 and in that time they haven't done much compared to my other Nepenthes who will have reached their second vine cutting in that time.

I am growing them both in my LL chamber (which actually doesn't get that hot 80*F days and 70*F nights maybe 90*F in summer). I can move these two into my HL chamber which I don't let get as cold as I used to, so it usually stays about 50-55*F at night now instead of down to 40*F.

They are both potted in 50/50 live moss and orchid bark.

I'd be interested to know what media and temps you folks find good for these two species.

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

I'm not much of an expert on either, but I've heard that N. clipeata tends to be more of an intermediate grower. I have mine in hte LL side of the terrarium, which isn't very LL yet. It's doing very well, and has put out a couple leaves in the couple months I've had it.

 

[swords]

Thanks. Mine both put out leaves and silly looking little pitchers but they haven't really increased in diameter more than 50% in 2, going on 3 years (in May) and that makes them about 4 inches diameter.

 

[Cthulhu138]

I've never grown either plant but a friend of mine who grows both has clipeata in a normal Nepenthes media of lfs, perlite and orchid bark and keeps it in intermediate conditions. He keeps northiana in a mix of lfs, laterite and crushed coral in LL conditions with pretty intense light.

Hopefully someone with experience can be more help.

 

[Clue]

Hey Swords, if you're still looking around for suggestions, I've had a lot of trial and error ( ) with Nepenthes clipeata and its hybrids.

I currently have Borneo Exotics' N. clipeata x (clipeata x eymae) (the plant on the left) and a JDK hybrid clone (off to the right). I've got them both growing rather steadily and pitchering well in a mixture of 1:1 long fibered sphagnum and large perlite with a top dressing of live sphagnum - N. clipeata certainly likes a rather open mix (pure sphagnum is a guaranteed rot-inducer, and if the plants don't have strong root systems, bark doesn't do such a good job with aeration). In the live sphagnum, both clones form both a fine network of roots just under the surface, but are pretty strongly rooted in general and probably could use a repotting soon. As far as temperature, I don't cater specially to them as I grow a variety of highland and intermediates with them. Days in my set-up are usually in the mid-70's to low 80's, while nights are 40-50 F. They grow well as long as the days are warm and the air isn't too dry. I have seen a clone of N. clipeata hybrid growing well in the hothouse of Peter D'Amato's nursery for many years, so these plants are fairly tolerant. In my experience, AW's clone 2 of the species is the fastest growing of the bunch, while U is pretty slow, and I've never grown clone 3.

I've really got to make an order with Wistuba in the spring, because these hybrid clones aren't exactly my cup of tea.

 

[Dexenthes]

Don't forget that some people believe that N. northiana might be best grown in substrate that has some ultramafic stone or gravel component to it.

 

[mikewilder]

Hello,

I had heard long ago that northiana prefers an alkaline mix, but I've never heard of anyone specifically using ultramafic rocks in the medium. (I'd love to hear from anyone who's had good results with either, but I'd be especially cautious about trying to use ultramafic stone until you do.) In any case fwiw I've grown northiana and clipeata reasonably well in our very hot hothouse in peat moss/lfs/perlite/bark/vermiculite mix, but I don't claim to be an expert on these species or Nepenthes in general. The biggest flowering size clipeata I've ever seen was growing in intermediate conditions, but that's what I would call the temps in your LL area. As you say your LL temps are pretty moderate, I would be *really* surprised if moving them to cooler quarters caused an uptick in growth speed. It took well over a decade for my friend's wistuba clipeata to get big and flower. I would recommend that you keep them in your LL area and leave them in your mix unless they look miserable. Also FWIW I once asked Tony Paroubek whether alkaline components were important for northiana, this was his reply:
"I have seen very large healthy blooming size N. northiana grown in a peatmoss mix.. The alkaline thing is baloney if you ask me.
More important is a moist well drained mix in a good size pot as their root system can get quite large and they don't like to be disturbed. Also important to keep high humidity and consistent warm temperatures 82-88 range" If anything I'd recommend more heat, not less, and just be patient. The growth rate you describe seems about what I'd expect from these 2 species.

 

[NatchGreyes]

Marius told me that N. clipeata suffers once temps drop below 60, typically, he sees plants stop growing and start to die once the temps drop into the 50s. So, I would not recommend moving it to your highland tank.

 

[maxima]

My Northiana (the 3rd one) is small but a steady grower. It even keeps growing in winter in low humidity and room temperature - it's at the windowsill ! It does pitcher in Summer only but will make an odd one or two in winter.

What did the trick for me was pure perlite. I read about it on another forum and it really works - just use perlite for your substrate and keep it moist.


edit: As for lighting, mine grows in very bright shade (at a southwestern window behind a thin curtain) with a few hours of direct sunlight.

 

[Bio]

In my experience, clipeata seems to like it a little on the dryer side. My clone u has probably quadrupled in size in about a year, and my clone 2 isn't far behind. I wonder if northiana and campy would do well in similar soil conditions. Soil is 100% lfs.