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Post by Rick Hillier on Nov 29, 2006 11:19:48 GMT -5
Greetings,
A short while ago, I was fortunate to obtain a N. rajah plant (thanks again, David). After a bit of a scare (the bottom two leaves went black), I have new growth at the top. I've always known that these plants are slow growers and the new growth does look healthy, but I was wondering if anyone had successfully gotten this species to pitcher, and if so, what kind of conditions did you provide for it?
My daytime temps get to around 23 (50-60% humidity) in the growing area with drops down to 17 with higher humidity at night). I suspect that I need to get the humidity up higher...
On another note, I was thinking of not shaving until this pitcher either opens or aborts (kind of like the hockey players do for the playoffs), but I am afraid that I will look like those guys in the band "ZZ Top" by the time that happens.
>>> Rick <<<
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Post by jay on Nov 29, 2006 16:45:52 GMT -5
Ive got en mine to pitcher , Day time highs of low 70's to mid 60's and a drop in to the high 50's at night 80 - 90% humidity and really bright indirect lighting , and air flow , from what i put my threw to sneak it over the border , its growing like a champ now ...
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Post by Rick Hillier on Dec 10, 2006 22:10:09 GMT -5
I don't get that kind of humidity at all, as I am growing them in my basement . Right now, with all of this cold dry air, I am only getting about 50% in the growing area, and that is with a 180-gallon reef aquarium in the rec room (next room over) and a 90-gallon refugium in the plant room. I figure that I get about 4 gallons of evaporation per day, but it all seems to vanish. >>> Rick <<<
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Post by Flytrap on Jan 13, 2007 3:12:01 GMT -5
Hi Rick-
the little beast should start pitchering for you this growing season. I think the plant is sensitive to root disturbances, so when it got uprooted for shipping, it set the plant back.
Your humidity sounds fine, just make sure you give it the nocturnal temperature drop. You should have some nice pitchers by mid summer.
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Post by Rick Hillier on Jan 13, 2007 9:08:31 GMT -5
It's actually putting new leaves out at the same rate as the other neps right now... I always thought it was a slow grower.
>>> Rick <<<
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Post by Flytrap on Mar 15, 2007 19:03:39 GMT -5
My rajahs are starting to pitcher up for this growing season. They're appearing from last year's leaves... I keep you updated on their progress.
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Post by Rick Hillier on Mar 15, 2007 21:04:47 GMT -5
Must be nice... you guys are more than a month ahead of our g"growing" season. My rajah is still growing slowly with little stubby tendrils on the leaves. With the warmer temps we're getting now, I am "up to" about 50% humidity in my growing area. Everything else is growing really well. Here are a few pitcher shots of a couple of neps (all I could get before lights out): N. stenophylla N. ephippiata N. spathulata (virtually all of my neps are showing this type of increase in pitcher size since I fed them crickets and silkworms) >>> Rick <<<
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Post by lloyd on Mar 15, 2007 21:13:32 GMT -5
I was always worried that crickets would either jump out or would eat the plants. Do you put the live ones in?
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Post by tom on Mar 16, 2007 6:08:39 GMT -5
Wow great pitchers and color despite your low humidity level! I can't achieve such pitcher here, surely because of a too low light intensity. Congrat!
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Post by Rick Hillier on Mar 16, 2007 7:53:58 GMT -5
Everything (except rajah so far) seems to pitcher well for the most part... it's just that the individual pitchers don't seem to last as long as they should. By the time a new one is opening, the old one starts to die off.
That's why I am considering errecting a 6' x 8' "Canadian Tire Special" greenhouse in my plant room to house my neps and orchids.
>>> Rick <<<
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Post by vraev on Mar 19, 2007 19:41:18 GMT -5
woah!! its wicked...wow....real nice pitchers there.
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Post by Rick Hillier on Mar 20, 2007 9:18:43 GMT -5
Lloyd, I did use a few live ones, but I usually save the live ones for my bearded dragons who go through them like poop through a goose. We buy them in lots of one or two thousand and with that many, there are always some that die before the lizards get them. if you get them before they dry out, they make good feed for the traps that don't need stimulation such as the pitfall types.
You can really see the difference that feeding makes on the neps, especially nep truncata and spathulata (the leaves and pitchers are now double what they were before).
>>> Rick <<<
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Post by vraev on Mar 20, 2007 21:17:04 GMT -5
hey! remember that intense feeding session of my plants....I fed the nep 4 wax worms and one cricket. For 2 months no pitchers....now its pitchering....I can still see the liquid in a fresh pitcher is very low level...almost near the tail of the pitcher....so I guess the humidity is still low for its standards. The latest pitcher its making is probably DOUBLE or TRIPLE what I have seen till now on this plant....it just keeps growing and growing. It is nearly a 6-7 inch pitcher. The first 7 inch pitcher on my ventrata...all the old ones are like 4-5 MAX. this one is 7 and its still having its lid closed...so I wonder how much more it will grow.
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Post by Flytrap on Mar 20, 2007 21:46:29 GMT -5
All my rajahs have put out new leaves... but they grow sllloooooow. I'll shoot photos of the tendrils and hope that at least one of them balloons out to be a pitcher. So far, most tendrils display a blackened tip, but a few of them show pinkish tan points - I think these have the best bet of becoming a rajah pitcher.
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Post by vraev on Mar 24, 2007 7:58:53 GMT -5
good luck flytrap!
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