Re: Comparison
Robert Allen (Robert.Allen@Eng.Sun.COM)
Mon, 24 Jan 1994 09:06:40 +0800
>>I have a question for those Nepenthes growers out there. I am using a
>>Phototron to grow about 5 Nepenthes. The Phototron realy does improve
>>the growth of the plants. The traps and leaves are much larger and
>>the leaves are a darker green. But the plants seem to grow very slow.
>>Of course, I don't really have a point of reference, as I have never
>>grown these plants in another environment. I was hoping some of you
>>who grow these plants could give me a yardstick from which to work.
>>I have a N.ventricosa, N.mirabilis, N.gracilis, N.cuba and N.alata.
>>In general, they take about three to five weeks to develop a trap
>>and about three weeks to grow a leaf to maturity. The plants are
>>under 1,800 foot candles of light for 12 hours a day. They are
>>currently growing in a mixture of shredded sphagnum, Cimbidium
>>orchid mix (large chunks of charcoal, bark and perlite). I fertilize
>>them with Superthrive, Dynagrow ro-Tekt 0-0-3.7 and Dynagrow K-L-N
>>concentrate. The humidity is probably rather low as the phototron
>>opts for moving air rather a closed space with high humidity. The
>>tempreture is "room tempreture."
N. gracilis and N. mirabilis are both lowland plants, which means they
like day temps of over 80 degrees F. Night temps should be 60-70. If
you don't have high temps, the plants will grow slower. If you don't
have high humidity, the plants will produce smaller pitchers and grow
slower.
N. alata an supposedly be grown as a windowsill plant, but I don't
know how quickly it grows that way.
I've grown N. ventricosa outdoors during the summer and it did well.
During the winter it took cold damage, at possibly freezing temps,
but now that I've moved it into my hot and humid terrarium it's coming
back very well.
I don't fertilize my Nepenthes much at all. I grow them in a 1/1/1
mix of peat/perlite/fine-orchid-bark.
Robert