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Post by tom on Mar 19, 2006 12:35:50 GMT -5
Yes, it's a shame, I can't seem to be able to make my N. 'Judith finn' for a while now... Perhaps its due to stress from moving or something else... I'm far from being an expert in Nepenthes cultivation, so here is a question:
What is the most important thing to make this Nepenthes pitcher: Light intensity, % of relative humidity, a significant drop of temperature at night, or a combination of those factors? Right now, they are in a hot room (about 80-85F: I know, they surely would be better in a cooler place...), 4' from a single 400W HPS, with humidity arounf 50-60%.
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Post by Flytrap on Mar 19, 2006 12:57:41 GMT -5
i think the single most important thing to get neps to pitcher is daylength. I know I've written on other forums regarding humidity and how it may affect the number of pitchers, I still feel it is daylength. The humidity at my office is around 20% or less, and yet my N. Alata is still sprouting pitchers. But when I watched it during Nov - Feb., all there was were leaf growth...no pitchers. Now that we're into March, a number of the tendrils have balloooned up and pitchering.
In addition, when i trekked throught the jungles of Indonesia and Malaysia looking for these beauties, I would state that there were at least 10 times more Neps on the sunny (eg. uphill side ) of the trail then on the shadowed downhill side. I made this observation in an article I wrote in the CPN back in 1997(?).
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Post by tom on Mar 19, 2006 13:21:48 GMT -5
Isn't the day lenght at these latitude around 12h/day? Perhaps lack of intensity of light, comparatively to tropical countries, is compensate by lenght... I find it funny to see i have difficulty with this one, as it is widespead and that Syble is having very spectacular plant in front of her patio door
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Post by Syble on Mar 19, 2006 14:25:59 GMT -5
LOL, no picking on me! As is I did just get it from a greenhouse about a month ago. So the shock of bringing it home and making it grow in the living room has caused all the existing pitchers to dry up (that almost always happens for me so I don't worry now). That being said, it is growing new pitchers and has opened a couple that "appear" happy. The taller of the two plants is about to get very unhappy indeed! I am decapitating it and repotting it (colisanties is now using coir fiber not chunks, horrible for house growers!!!!) anyone need a piece of judith finn to root? Sib
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Post by Flytrap on Mar 19, 2006 14:38:29 GMT -5
Sometimes I feel that these plants have their own internal clock. In growing some of them under artificial lights (with absolutely no access to natural daylight)...I get constant pitchering year round. But during the summer months the pitchers get larger and more plentiful. So again, these plants have no idea of the outside weather conditions, but are subjected to constant daily 12 hr cycles of grow lights. So something in their genetic makeup tells them it's time to pitcher up. Same goes for flowering. A number of my Neps are in bloom right now - ventricosa, maxima, khasiana... but how do they know it's Spring!?
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Post by mabudon on Mar 20, 2006 7:38:50 GMT -5
interesting- it's funny (and reasuring) to see longtime successful growers discussing this kind of thing- makes me realize that a lot of things that "make me wonder" do the same to a lot of other folks..
My N.ventricosa (the only Neps I have) all do different things- one in my rear (east) window is flowering, 2 others in my south window are NOT, but the southern-facing ones ARE pitchering whereas the flowering one is not- the largest pitchers I have ever observed on it grew out last winter, in january, so my experience seems to be the opposite of flytraps at least...
One thing I've noticed that make a difference is watering- too much seems to slow them down a bit, too little obviously they don't like, but there's a "sweet spot" where they get a little bit dry then get doused again... don't know why this is so, but it seems to have a really strong effect on whether I get pitchers of not
And as to your question of "how do they know it's winter" I am starting to believe more and more that it's some sort of lunar magnetism thing (I'm NOT joking) you know, thing that makes the tides work and stuff- certain species (moreso with Drosera I find, certain ones) do things that have nothing to do with the conditions they inhabit , D.filifromis goes dormant on me in autumn under growlights, has for 2 years running, and I have not been able to stop it, whereas other species in the same place switch to more vigorous growth....
I am convinced that something invisible but very real gives some of the plants their cues, as it is the only explanation I can find from some of the things I've seen...
Any thoughts??
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Post by tom on Mar 20, 2006 9:45:03 GMT -5
"interesting- it's funny (and reasuring) to see longtime successful growers discussing this kind of thing- makes me realize that a lot of things that "make me wonder" do the same to a lot of other folks.." I don't think as myself as a succesful grower... Remember, you only show that you want to show on the forums on pictures hahaha . Seriously, I grew the most beautiful Nepenthes and the most succesful way these plants i n my first 2 years in the hobby. After then, it got a real pain to get a nice plants, surely due to moving, and that my first 2 years were a in cool humid basement with a HPS, so a lot of parameter were perfect without any further installation for the plant I grew...Can't wait to find a house with a basement again Since then, it has been a regular struggle for me, except perhaps for N. ventricosa, but it loose it pitchers during winter on the windowsill.
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Post by brian on Mar 20, 2006 17:59:51 GMT -5
On plants recognizing seasons from indoors, my first guess would be relative humidity (drops in winter) and my second guess would be temperature (drops to steady level).
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