Date: Tue, 02 Mar 99 22:18 EST From: Dave Evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg643$foo@default> Subject: Re: More~ SCARE~ ~~stories
Dear Bobavore,
> I'm now just getting into Nepenthes cultivation since I built my
> greenhouse, but keep hearing all these scare stories that if you do this
> or that your plant will die. N. bicalcarata is said to be very easy to
> grow and is a good beginner Nepenthes... BUT:
Guess what? All of these statements are true! How can this be?
Well, I'll tell you. Firstly, N.b. is easy: you get the conditions
it likes, place the plant in these conditions and keep the conditions
the same for a about a decade and you will have no trouble at all.
In that time your plant will get huge, not very tall for a Nepenthes
but the leaves can reach four or five feet long. If you live in a
temperate climate with strong winters the heating bill will kill you,
N.b. just loves the heat. Most of the species of Nepenthes are somewhat
intermediate in their needs, some are not. _N.ampullaria_, _N.bicalcarata_
and (less so, but not by much) _N.rafflesiana_ need warm conditions all
the time. I've shocked my N.rafflesiana by running with it from my
house with it to the preheated car, inclosed in plastic, when the weather
was in the forties (F). It dropped all it pitchers and turned pale.
Took months to fully recover. Still, I think it is one of the easiest
species, but you will not see me try that one (taking it out in the
cold) again.
BTW, there was probably something wrong with the plants that died
from repotting, or they were mishandled. Any changes can shock Nepenthes,
it's not something you change, but you can do lots of little things to
help your plants become or stay strong so any shocks are just that,
shocks - not dead plants.
Dave Evans
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