Nepenthes lowii — finally doing its job . . .

[BigBella]

One of my more finicky plants, which died back to a sizable basal a year or so ago — and which I had once threatened to make into a pricey Caesar Salad — began to produce its first upper, shortly before Christmas. Oddly enough, it never really produced distinctly intermediate pitchers as some others have; it just swapped out one for the other. Its immediate predecessor can still be seen in the photos and that shape hadn’t appreciably changed, aside from its size, in years. The new arrival has already reached 28 cm (11”) in height and the lid is not yet fully reflexed.

Sadly, though, there is still a marked lack of Bornean tree-shrews on Craigslist these days; guess Maxsea will have to do . . .

Nepenthes lowii (Trus Madi): 24 December - 30 January 2026

 

[thez_yo]

One of my more finicky plants, which died back to a good-sized basal a year or so ago — and which I had once threatened to make into a pricey Caesar Salad — began to produce its first upper, shortly before Christmas. Oddly enough, it never really produced distinctly intermediate pitchers as some others have; it just swapped out one for the other. Its immediate predecessor can still be seen in the photos and that shape hadn’t appreciably changed, aside from size, in years. The new arrival has already reached 25 cm (10”) in height and the lid has not yet fully reflexed.

Sadly, though, there is still a marked lack of Bornean tree-shrews on Craigslist these days; guess Maxsea will have to do . . .

Nepenthes lowii (Trus Madi): 24 December - 30 January 2026

Nice toilet!

 

[BigBella]

Nice toilet!

Two of three tree shrews would also agree . . .

 

[D_muscipula]

Wow, congratulations. That is a milestone!

 

[BigBella]

Wow, congratulations. That is a milestone!

Thanks . . .

I recall getting that plant from the former Native Exotics, almost ten years back, for forty or fifty bucks, thinking at the time, that was a bit rich for a TC postage stamp — and have since had a few others from different sites (Kinabalu, Mulu, etc), from my own TC or from fellow growers who either grew tired of them, for being far too “slowii"; or else couldn’t deal with the necessities of highland plant culture, which is truly necessary for longterm success with the species.

Perhaps some of the other plants will now be shamed into producing uppers as well (some look to be sporting intermediates — see below, right); so too a closely related though equally pissy N. ephippiata, which has finally put on some size . . .

Nepenthes lowii (Trus Madi) 8 February 2026