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Question about care of "ultra" highland nepenthes

My question is regarding care of "ultra" highland Nepenthes species N. villosa and N. rajah. My plants are still pretty small (3" pots) and appear healthy. The rajah has been pitchering regularly while the villosa has slowed down considerably.

My terrerium is between 75-80 degrees in the daytime with 60-70% humidity. At night the temperature goes down between 60 and 65 degrees with humidity around 90%.

My question is does anyone have experience growing these plants? I have been adding an ice block inside the terrarium (the kind like you would put in a cooler) but can't get the temp below 60 degrees. Is this low enough?

Another more costly idea I had was to purchase a small wine cooler (around $100) where you can set the temperature. However I'd have to play around with humidity.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Steve Rianna
West Warwick, RI
 
Howdy Rick,

I can tell you N. rajah shouldn't give you a problem. N. villosa will be the one you'll need to be a "momma" to. First of all 60F is too warm for N. villosa...maybe a little too warm for N. rajah as well, it probably would grow better with 50's at night. N. villosa will like it to be around 50-45F and even down to 40F at night. But I bet you could get away with growing it in the 50's. Try more ice. I used those freezable ice packs (blue ones) and they worked fairly well. Remember, the ice packs are space coolers, they won't cool your entire enclosure, but near the plants will be much colder.
 
Definately worth a try. I know these two species in particular are notoriously slow growers so sometines its dificult to determine if they're "unhappy" with the conditions or just being slow. Thanks for the suggestion.

Steve
 
Good going Steve...I don't know why I put Rick there!
smile_n_32.gif
 
OK I've go it!...After conducting several experiments last night playing around with ice pack and different containers both inside and outside of the fridge I found an easy solution to give temps between 45-50 degres with around 70% humidity.

I put 2 medium sized ice packs, as well as a temperature and humidity gauge along with the N. villosa into a soft cooler like the ones used for a lunch box. It worked perfectly.

I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to put N.rajah in there as well or is 45 degrees too cold? Having 2 misted plants may drive the humidity up a bit as well.

Steve
 
You could put the rajah in there as well. Really up to you, just make sure it doesn't get too cold! lol
 
Wow, after reading the message I posted this morning I'm wondering if the "Hooked on Phonics" series is up for auction. Sorry, itt was a late night!
 
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