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Hi, everyone. Longtime reader, first time poster. I have 4 nepenthes that I am growing on a windowsill in Denver. As those of you in the area know, this means low humidity and very strong sun. I know the best solution to all of my questions is probably to put them in a terrarium with lights, but I'd really like to try to make them work as houseplants. Dang it, if Elgecko can do it, so can I. Eventually I will get a whole house humidifier eventually, but for now, not so much. Right now the weather service says the humidity is 36%. On to the questions:

Background: these plants were originally in a smaller west-facing window, then I moved them to an east facing window in the winter hoping they would get more light. About a month ago I moved them to a large west-facing window again, where they get about 4 hours of direct morning sun, which is still fairly strong in Denver, and bright indirect light the rest of the day. I water them about every other day, enough so that the saucers get some water in them. The soil is long-fibered sphagnum, a little peat, perlite, and some orchid bark. The temperature is about 70 daytime and about 60-65 at night.

The first plant for your viewing pleasure is a ventricosa that I got from california carnivores winter/spring 2007. It has grown some, but the pitchers have never gotten as big as I would like, and it has started to look a bit like a palm tree, although the leaves have stopped falling off so fast since I moved to CO from OR last summer.

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The next three were all purchased this last winter from *************. The original leaf size is visible in the pics, about 3 inches across. The leaves are all growing well, but pitchering on all but the sanguinea is less than ideal. The first pics are the sanguinea, which seems to be doing well, but there is a new pitcher forming that is not upright, but parallel to the ground (first picture).

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/p9medGOCPUYRjlK0XCqUcw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_n1f-Ms7lEw8/SZwuJ0Ws-2I/AAAAAAAAAkY/uhWgydlgc7s/s800/DSC02317.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ngmw-l7sJFjjx6182s2TqQ?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_n1f-Ms7lEw8/SZwuJd5c9eI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/89rqg_IDC5o/s800/DSC02316.JPG" /></a>

The rafflensia is doing alright, pitchering sporadically, and sometimes the pitchers stop mid-growth. The latest leaf is also a much lighter color, which may be from the direct sun these plants are now getting.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xjyww3e7-WXG0dgFjmikeg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_n1f-Ms7lEw8/SZwuJwi_ItI/AAAAAAAAAko/_Cps0995YbQ/s800/DSC02319.JPG" /></a>

The 'judith finn' is growing huge leaves (comparatively), but will NOT pitcher. It seems to want to start sometimes, but they never do much, and seem like they might be getting burnt or aren't getting enough humidity.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CyDLQ9qaf_L2XMsVAgIBDw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_n1f-Ms7lEw8/SZwuJ0HoauI/AAAAAAAAAkw/FHv6139Fx5U/s800/DSC02320.JPG" /></a>

I hope the pictures turn out okay, and I appreciate all help/suggestions. Thanks in advance!

adrian
 
What exact help are you looking for? To my eye they seem to be doing just fine.

Getting plants to make GIANT pitchers is more a matter of time than anything else. EG has been growing that hamata in his window for 3 or 4 years now. Just give them time and keep doing what you are doing.
 
alot of the pitcher development issues could be humidity related...some species need constant humidity for good pitcher production.....i know for a fact ventricosa is not one of them, ive pitchered it in 15% relitive humidity.....threw out a couple mutant looking pitchers during the adjustment period but after that pitcher production was normal.....

or could be fertilizer....are you fertilizing them at all? some of us use fertilizer to a certian extent but over use can result in stunted or no pitchers because the plant doesnt have to produce them to get the nutrients they need.....

while i have not grown it ive heard Judith Finn is a bugger to get to pitcher reliably even in ideal conditions....it often throws out leaves that do not produce pitchers....

and as Pyro says, could just be a time factor aswell...........
 
cool those 4 r my first nepenthes, i only have trouble with 'judith finn' in low humidty area, this plant just don't produce pitch in low humidity, now i m pretty much got tired of this plant, other will do fine, just try the humidity tray,

edit: avoid the sunlight that shine through the window glass, its extremely hot for the plants.
 
edit: avoid the sunlight that shine through the window glass, its extremely hot for the plants.

uh.....no its not....it will cause issues with plants in terrariums sitting in a sunny window but sitting on a window sill they are fine...once the light penetrates a single pane of glass its strength is significantly lower than if the plant was on the other side of the pane of glass.......put the light through modern double pane, energy efficient windows and growing a plant in a full sun south window is about like growing it in bright shade outside.....take a plant thats been growing in a sunny south window and place it in the full sun outside and it will sunburn due to the increase in light, could very well kill it due to the sudden change depending on plant species.....

the issue with closed terrariums in a sunny window is that the suns rays will raise the temperature inside the terrarium, the light itself isnt the problem........
 
re: rattler mt

lol ya a sealed terriaum in direct sun is a microwave. but still 'judith finn' has very sensitive tendril can cooked easily
 
I've been doing a bit of fertilizing with crushed pond fish pellets - lots of protein. I'm just wondering if the plants and pitchers are the right size for their age (2 years since purchased for the ventricosa and 1 year for the others), and how to get them all to pitcher more reliably. Maybe I'll try to keep the Judith Finn out of direct sun for now.

How much and how direct is the sun that most people give their windowsill nepenthes?
 
one, dont listen to him, at northern latitudes there isnt going to be strong enough light coming through that window to fry anything with neps that are not under glass other than the couple that are shade lovers....Judith Finn is just an inconsistant pitcherer......

two, feeding it like that isnt fertilizing, i meant foliar and root ffertilizing so if thats all your doing that thats not the cause.....

three, the vents pitchers are fine for one growing in a drier environment....ive got a smaller one with bigger pitchers but its not the same clone as yours so the difference between them could be genetics or could be environmental......

four, for the most part, unless yah ive in certain areas of the US, window sill growing of neps is going to mean you have them in a harsher environment than those growing in most greenhouses and terrariums so its not fair to compare one grown one way to one grown the other.....your plants are healthy and look very good.....just enjoy them and let them do their thing.....
 
one, dont listen to him, at northern latitudes there isnt going to be strong enough light coming through that window to fry anything with neps that are not under glass other than the couple that are shade lovers....Judith Finn is just an inconsistant pitcherer......

I'll second that and add a caveat: your latitude does not matter. I have JF in the window here in the lab and it has pitchered for me. And I am in Atlanta which is pretty south
 
  • #10
lol when i said northern latitudes i was figuring anything north of the tropics pretty much.....actually dont think there is a real ton of difference in the light coming through the window between MT and GA other than the winter months you have the edge......
 
  • #11
actually dont think there is a real ton of difference in the light coming through the window between MT and GA other than the winter months you have the edge......

Only if we are both assuming S facing window. Mine is in a NW facing ATM. Gets little if any direct light but lots of ambient.
 
  • #12
The only thing I was referring to with the light is that CO is at 5000 feet elevation, and the light is very harsh: much more solar radiation gets through because there is less atmosphere to filter it. You get sunburned much faster here than lower elevation, and I thought the plants might get burned in direct sun also.

Do you keep your neps in a spot where they get significant direct sun?

I guess what I really wanted was reassurance that the plants were looking alright for their living conditions and age - seems like people have these giant plants that are only a few years old...

Thanks for the comments.
 
  • #13
Adrian,

THe people with giant plants either have a greenhouse or have plants that are years old. Yours will get there, just give them time :)

I grow a number of my Neps out on the deck in full sun all day during the warmer months. They only come to work with me once the nights hit 45.

For you, the 5000' elevation difference is not going to be a big thing. They are still shielded by the glass which is protecting them a lot.

And, tangent, where in Denver are you? I grew up in Evergreen so I know the region well.
 
  • #14
one thing yah need to remember some of the giant plants you are seeing are hybrids that are also showing hybrid vigor.......also some neps never get that big.....heck my bongso didnt get much over a foot across before it started vining...biggest plant i have at the moment is not quite 2 foot across but it is also several year old and was over a foot across when i got it.....some big species like bical can get huge quick, others like rajah can take decades to get huge.....the quickest way to get big plants is to buy big plants :D the vast majority of my neps at the moment are less than 6 inches across.....
 
  • #15
Pyro - I'm in Lafayette right now, but will probably move to Westminster area soon. I imagine the plants like GA a little more with the humidity and light. My American Pitchers, VFTs and Sundews did fine in full sun, but I'm a little worried about putting the Neps out there. Did you grow any neps outside when you lived here? I think I killed my VFTs though by leaving them outside a couple days this winter - stupid - it got very cold, and there's no green left on them. I'll repot them soon and see if the bulb is still viable. Otherwise I'll have to get some more. Tangent - do you know of any local places in DEN area that have CPs?

I've been reading all the posts on encouraging basals, and I think when I repot the ventricosa this spring I'll put it at an angle - it looks like a dang palm tree right now with that giant wooden stem.

Rattler - I like the big plants, but I'm stubborn about buying them small - I feel like it's cheating or something to just buy them full grown. But then I get impatient with the tiny plants...
 
  • #16
Yeah the plants like it a bit better here LOL.

I did not grow any Neps outside while I was there but I did not grow Neps while I was there so... You could probably get away with some of the intermediates and lowlanders during summer. Just protect them from direct sun when you first put them out cause they will get burned from the intensity.

Your VFT might pull through. I have had them survive 14F here in pots outside.

Places to get CPs in Denver were pretty thin when I was there and I doubt much has changed. There is a garden center off 70 and Kipling (I think it was Kipling, may have been Ward) called Echters (not certain on that spelling) and they had some stuff. And a few miles east of Colorado on Colfax there was a place called City Floral (it'll be on the south side of Colfax, and there is a King Soopers across the street from it) that occasionally had some. Got a S. x moorei there once upon a forever ago. Other than that it was pretty slim pickings, sort of catch as catch can.

You might want to check out the CO CPS (if it is still up and running) the guys there are nice and can probably hook you up better.
 
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