Nepenthes experiment succeeds

Steven Klitzing (stevek@informix.com)
Wed, 24 May 1995 07:52:58 -0700

Hi all:

I have three Nepenthes lowlanders and one highlander. Several weeks
ago, when I received the lowlanders, I put them in a humidity/moisture
tent, along with an N. Rafflesiana that refused to pitcher. Now, all of
those plants are setting out pitchers, including the troublesome N.
Rafflesiana. And they got their first feeding of sow bugs yesterday. I
am very pleased to discover that the trick to these plants was as
suggested, high humidity and warmth. I will soon be constructing a more
permanent and larger humidity box to take care of their needs. I
noticed another thing, they don't tend to like too much light and they
prefer to have more muted light rather. They seem to like the shadier
part of my greenhouse just fine.

The N. Ventricosa does fine without a humidity tent and is pitchering
profusely right now with pitchers approaching a size large enough to
feed earwigs, sow bugs, and stink bugs to.

My D. Binata and D. Capensis are flowering profusely right now and seem
to like a greenhouse where temps don't rise above 80 degrees. I found
when I reduced greenhouse heat and sun with a shade cloth, the Droseras
really got healthy fast and put out all kinds of new leaves. Same thing
goes for the pineapple plant growing among them.

---Steve