What's new
By:
TerraForums - Carnivorous Plant Community

Welcome to TerraForums — a long-running carnivorous plant community established in 2001. Register for free to join the conversation, ask questions, and connect with growers from around the world.

NASC Auction will open in...

Read the rules first :)
NASC auction is OPEN!!

Nepenthes rajah

Share this page

vraev

vraev

Carnivorous plant enthusiast
Admin
Hey guys,

Just a little snapshow of my holy grail giving me some goodies to enjoy.

So If ppl remember seeing my pics a while ago...this was my first rajah pitcher...which incidentally formed ON A newer leaf...i.e., the leaf was closer to the moss and it pitchered first....but another leaf that was high in the air was SUPPOSED to be the first pitcher.

So this is pitcher 2 whcih actually formed first:

2404169275_28f7cba243.jpg


Now pitcher 1 which formed later but was supposed to form first...as a result its a lot smaller. around a 1 inch in size

2404994978_c03d5417dc.jpg


And the best of all....pitcher 3....a whopping 3 inches in size with an adult peristome.

it was completely hidden in the moss until I uncovered it in shock::

2412940696_f74c25fb10.jpg
2409197216_95d0efdf1a.jpg


Finally my ultimate plant comes around. :)

thanks for watching..hope you enjoy it ....maybe not as much as I do...but still. ;)

cheers,

Varun
 
Lucky!

I was supposed to get a rajah but it got messed it up.:-( Do not ever order from them!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
wow! your doing really great with that bad boy (or girl)! That 3rd is quite a jump from the second and first...cant wait for the 4th! Keep 'em coming! :D :D :D
 
Thanks guys! Yeah! I was surprised when I saw that....I never really expected that the pitchers would already get this wavy peristome.

hat 3rd is quite a jump from the second and first...cant wait for the 4th!
Click to expand...

Thats exactly what I was thinking myself. :p lol!
 
Yeah, that peristome is definitely more "rajah-ish."

xvart.
 
well...it also looks like an ovata at this stage. I was looking into this plant and it has quite a resemblance with this pitcher. The difference being ovata's pitchers are upright whereas rajah bases its pitchers on a tilt. ;)
 
Very nice Varun! That King looks way happy :). Man, that pitcher is great looking. Seems like you have that bad boy figured out.

Daniel
 
I am trying to chose betwin a Nepenthes bicalcarata x ampullaria or a Nepenthes rajah, I am pretty sure I am gonna get Nepenthes bicalcarata x ampullaria.
 
well....it depends on what conditions can you provide. If you can do typical highland to ultrahighlands temp ranges then rajah is a slow but easy plant to grow. However, take care that if you get it unpotted from a supplier across the world, then you might have to wait almost an yr to see a pitcher.

However, if you can provide lowland conditions then that hybrid is a fantastic choice. ;)
 
That's some amazing pitcher progression! You've got to be pampering that rajah to bits! I just got mine a few days ago without any pitchers but I got my fingers crossed that it'll look as great as yours someday. I'm going to try low-tech growing first. I put it in the east window surrounded by a harem of highland phrags which seem to like that spot. I'm hoping their collective mossiness is enough to keep the king happy.
 
lol! thanks guys! I try to give all my plants the best of conditions in my capacity. I am happy that they respond. I still have a very very stubborn talangensis which refuses to pitcher though. :(
 
vraev- Congratulations on getting your N. rajah established and happy. But please allow me to share some friendly advice on this species.

Between Jeremiah Harris and maybe a scant few other people or botanical gardens...I had one of the largest plants in the country. Probably not far from blooming size. As of last year it was over 2 feet tall and over 3 feet across. It was the crowning glory of my collection and now it is DEAD because I repotted it! When they get really large they HATE being disturbed so please make sure that you grow it in a large enough pot, with excellent drainage, and do not disturb it! I fortunately have several others coming along that I have made proper accomodations for that should suit them fine for a long time. But if you do have to repot a large plant just put everything into a new pot..soil and all and try not to disturb a SINGLE root if possible.

A truly TERRIBLE lesson learned on my part.
 
Ooh please do certainly pop in. Any advice or comments in helping myself and the others grow this species to such a size is always useful. :)

THanks philcula. I am really sorry about the loss of your rajah. Even now I am soooo attached to this plant (and all my neps), that I can never bear loosing them. Loosing one of them might mean me giving up all my other plants and stay out of CP cultivation.
I am growing mine in a 12 inch square basket. As the others here have once called it...lol!... a 12 inch laundry basket. lol.

I wouldn't suppose this is enough for the king in the long run....so would you have any suggestions for a pot size? What pot size did u grow yours in and what pot size were you transferring it to?

Also I mean its kind of strange.....young rajah's are hard to establish as they don't have a good root system...however, once the plant gets older..its a lot easier as the root system is larger. It seems as if once it gets a lot older....it reverts back to its delicate level. I guess by loosing the roots, the plant isn't able to SUPPORT the large growth it has and hence just drops it all...which makes perfect sense.
 
You're right that a 12 inch square basket won't hold it for too long. My plant was growing in a 14 inch round pot..14 inches tall by 12 inches deep and was moved for permanent growth into a 5 gallon pot that had a 4 inch layer of drainage. I'm a HUGE advocate of putting styrofoam peanuts in the bottom of all my nep pots so the water just rushes out the bottom really fast. It was a solid mass of roots in pure LFS. PLEASE!!!! DO NOT USE PURE LFS ON THIS SPECIES. Yes, many people do and many are successful. But you CAN NOT keep this moss in good condition for the long term and it must be taken off the roots when it decomposes or you risk the loss of the root system anyways.

So many growers out there swear by this stuff. But how many of them are growing their plants in 2, 3 or 5 gallon pots of this rubbish anyways? They grow their plants, for the most part, in smaller pots. Usually under 8 inches. And those who do grow in larger pots of pure LFS have not been growing their plants long enough to experience the utter destruction to ANY Nepenthes root system when trying to remove it or just leave the plant in its old medium for who knows how long. And it MUST be removed when it goes bad. I've seen many plants from people who make claims that their plants are doing great in this stuff and it hasn't been replaced in 5 years. You know what? I've been around the block a few times. Their plants ALL looked like terds! They really don't know what a truly healthy specimen should look like.

Nepenthes rajah does NOT grow in pure LFS naturally and it experiences very good drainage where it does grow. It may be fine for smaller plants and even was good for my plant in its larger pot. But the moss was bad..smelled like it needed to be replaced, and in doing so I did some damage to the roots. I even did this under water to try to ease the moss away with a pair of forceps. Took me 2 hours to get as much of the moss away as I could and I still left quite a bit but the roots were completely tangled up in the stuff and I couldn't prevent hurting them. I had no choice.

So I replanted it into a 5 gallon pot of my standard mix; the stuff I use that all my other N. rajah are thriving in. It immediately went downhill from there. I knew it was destined for death at that point but I refused to put it back into LFS.

Please don't go that route. Trying to grow large neps in pure LFS in large pots and cleaning it off the roots when it is NECESSARY to do so can mean the ultimate destruction of your specimen.

It makes me cringe when I see sooooooooooo many testimonials from folks who grow their neps in pure LFS. It's even more funny how really newbie they are...growing the plant for 8 months to a year is not experience. Nor is growing it in a 4-6 inch pot. Oh Please! Let's see what happens when your plant is grown from a 1 inch seedling and is eventually, in time, moved up and taken from its 12-14 inch pot or larger (of pure LFS) and is cleaned and repotted. I do not use LFS for growing any neps, ever. Nor do I top dress pots with it. I only use it..sparingly and mixed with other components, for rooting cuttings. I'm sure there are growers out there who ARE successful in managing plants under the same circumstances...but they are probably way more experienced than I.

I appologize for my ranting. I was and still am completely traumatized that I killed my prized specimen. I could have prevented it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top