Nepenthes ramispina

swords · Oct 31, 2002

I received a N. ramispina today, I love the pics I've seen with solid black pitchers and mint green interiors. This plant is about 5" across without any pitchers, is it a hard one to settle in (like hamata)?
Do they take time to make pitchers that color? Do they go progressively from green to black over a few years or are all pitchers this color when they are made?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Joachim · Nov 3, 2002

Hi Josh,

I'm not growing N. ramispina only its (maybe) close relative N. gracillima. Small N. gracillima are not a difficult species to grow for me. They like typical highland conditions with very high light levels. My plants were not shocked when I got them and just continued to grow without difficulties. It seems they do get more picky when older, so my biggest near addult one is still refusing to grow well and pitcher after repotting it few months ago...

From the very dark colouration of N. ramispina pitchers I would expect it does also like to grow under very high light levels. The pictures given in Clarkes book also do look like N. ramispina is growing in very open end not too wet habitats.

Good luck!

Joachim

P.S.: Maybe I'm not the best reference for judging on plant difficulty - also the badly shocked N. inermis, I got around the same time as you got yours, is growing very well right now...

swords · Nov 3, 2002

Thanks Joachim, seems like no one has this plant...!
I sure hope I've got the real ramispina here, I won't know til at least the next new leaf or two as there's nothing but fried tendrils right now!

I transplanted the whole soil mass from the 3" pot it arrived in to a 6" plastic net pot filled with LFS, bark and some charcoal so hopefully a basic highland soil mix will be OK. The entry in Neps of Sumatra doesn't mention any specifc types of soil but since it's terrestrial/epiphytic I figure a soil that is loose and airy would be good like what I'm using for the inermis and lowii.

Yes, my inermis is also finally starting to show some signs of life. It's inflating the pitchers on two of the newest leaves but is still very slow at doing it! It seems like all of my highland plants all got a burst of energy since summer ended and the terrarium doesn''t get any higher than 75*F during the day. Did you notice this with the seasons?

carnivorous23 · Nov 3, 2002

I've been growing one for a couple months, but it is about an inch across (and is growing slowly). I'll probably repot it into a lighter soil mix such as what you mentioned, but haven't yet, I'm hoping it'll get a little bit bigger before it gets repotted.

Borneo · Nov 3, 2002

N. ramispina grows in quite a wide range of altitudes in the wild, from 900m up to about 2,000m so it is quite tolerant of a wide range of temperatures. It's an easy grower, like N. macfarlanei or N. sanguinea.

The pitchers vary somewhat in coloration, and are not always black. If your plant was raised from seeds, the pitcher color may be anywhere from a deep maroon to nearly black. The coloration shows at quite a young age. And yes, it does need plenty of light. If your plant was from sterile culture, you can expect it to be black since most clones in sterile culture have been selected for black coloration.

Have fun, it's a great species!

swords · Nov 4, 2002

Thanks Rob,

I don't know how this plant was propagated if it was from seed it would probably be smaller size wouldn't it? This one is about 4"-5" across and was sold sealed in a lidded terrarium pot.

I've got the net pot hanging with the other tree climbers with the light substrates so hopefully it'll settle in quickly and let me see what I've got here! ....I hope it's black!

fly-catchers · Nov 4, 2002

Hi
Here is a photo of my young N. ramispina, from Borneo Exotics

cheers

bill

Borneo · Nov 4, 2002

Bill,

Uh! Oh!

I picked that plant personally for you and I wanted it to be BLACK! Let's see what happens over the next few months. If it remains maroon I'll send you another.

fly-catchers · Nov 4, 2002

Hi Rob
I feel sure it will get blacker as it matures. This plant is much darker than my other one. And if it needs plenty of light, may need to wait till next spring, as it is really gloomy here at the moment

How I hate winter!!

cheers

bill

Tony Paroubek · Nov 4, 2002

Could very well be the light. Could also be the age. They do get darker as the pitcher ages so if it just opened give it a couple weeks. Many that I have from Rob also have some red coloring in the peristomes as they age. There does seem to be alot of variability. Some are darker and more fluted while others have a lighter background color with more noticable splotching...There also appears to be alot of variability between different suppliers.

Tony