Growing highland nepenthes
 

Hi everyone,

Sorry to put out so many threads.I was wondering,will giving only cooling at nights and normal day temperature helps the highland nepenthes to grow well?

I saw a Thailand grower having success in growing highland neps including aristolochioides and xtrusmadiensis with the method i've stated above.:1thumbup:

This way,i thought i can cut off almost 50% of the electric bill.If this works,i might try too but as usual i need the experts advice before starting.:shy:

Thanx!

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

im not quite sure what you mean by this question, and im no expert but i do grow highlanders...
What they need is the night time temperature drop, so if what you mean by cooling them, is getting the temperatures they are growing in to drop, then yes...but it needs to be a significant drop, not just a couple of degrees...26ºC(80F) Days, would need a drop to around 15ºC-18ºC ish. my highlanders get a drop to around 7-9ºC at night...

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

I meant by cooling them only at night and no cooling on days.Will this work?

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

they can tolerate pretty warm days of around 90 or so degrees Fahrenheit
mine took a week straight of 100 degree temps a couple months ago
id just mist them regularly to keep them cool. misting system and a fan near by = evaporative cooling...its alot easier than an AC or anything like that

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

I too can attest to this method of growing. Maxima type plants do well. I have an eymae that took days over 105 in the summer. Just don't let them get dry in that kind of heat.

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

What about the AC fan?Heh.....I hang all my neps there..hehe

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

We get day temperature about 30+C but not too high inside the house.I might just mist them and cool them by installing PC fans on days and cooling them using AC at night.

What do you guys say?

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

I imagine if the temperature drop was substantial enough, say a good 10-15ºF then it would be enough...

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

It will work for most highlanders and hybrids. You may not succeed with species like diatas, villosa and gang, but I do what you intend to do(normal day temps with AC at night) and it works. You will probably want to try the easier highlanders to see how they react to your area plus be prepared to have to fuss over them a little more than normal. Losing a perfectly healthy 2+ year-old rajah just because of transplant shock utterly sucks.

My personal gauge is that any highlander which doesn't die after 4-5 months in lowland conditions(it can become extremely unhealthy, even to the point where it cannot recover, but is still alive) will survive for me for sure when given AC cooling. If the test plant can't recover, that sucks too, but at least you know that the species can survive. :P

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

Hi Ali,
From my exp they required temperature lower than 25 C and very high humidity. So i think you can't grow them in normal lowland condition.

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

what I mean 'fan' is the big thingy which you put outside the house

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

Hi...I was wondering since i do use my AC most of the time before i sleep for about 1-2 hours (on timer) You think about 1-2 hours of cooling can benefit a plant or destroy it cos of low humidity..

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

i am going to try that soon, normal day temps and AC coolling at night, with a mister, once the renovation is completed. the room will be an 8 x 8 ft room, with some glass panels at one side of the ceiling for some natural sunlight. if that doesnt work, i will convert it to a lowland growing area then. will try to post up a post on it, so if it works, we can all grow highlanders!!! wishful thinking.......

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

Hehe, sounds good though .....I was thinking of getting an OSIM humidifier , dont know if this work or not....
Soon, ask your renovation workers to speed up the job, cant wait to see your new nep room.:biggrin:

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

I want to see too... *biggrin2* If I like it can I move in?? *biggrin2**biggrin2*

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

Wishful thinking? Not quite. I've been doing exactly that for the past 3 years, normal day temps and AC cooling at night and it does work. The Ultra Highlanders may not be happy depending on species and you'll probably need to put the really humidity cranky species next to the mister, but by and large, you should be able to grow most of the highlanders without issue.

My area gets less light than your's(just morning sun, all plants at a window), the neps have had to take air-con level humidity, plus survive a thrips infestation, a possible mite infestation and my own inexperience(I started it when I was still quite new to Neps) and a fair number that I got when I first started are still alive! If they can live through all that, some pitchering, basaling and even flowering, then I'd say it is possible to do it for sure, especially since you've got what sounds like a better area light-wise.

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

thanks ifurita, for your input. personally, i think the osim mister will not be able to produce enough mist and they spoil easily. i got one before, not osim though, and it spoiled in 3-4 months:thumbdown:. try the ones sold at the swiftlet rearing shops, they are big, you can have piped-in water so no need to refil and they last long. about 400rm, i think. but they take up space. i am thinking of big planter boxes so the plants can all be thrown in, less space consuming.

light-wise, i am not sure if it will be bright enough as i can only tell when it is built (right now, it is non-existent!). the other fear is due to this being an enclosed space, too much sun will fry them up! whatever it is, i will post it up here so we can all learn from it.

if you guys remember the small office terranium i have, right now i have rajah, diatas, spectabilis, eymae and spathulata and some other HL there. they actually are growing new leaves, but no real pitchers yet. the good thing is that the humidity is high inside the terranium. so, they like it, i guess.

robert, you really want to live in a 8 x 8ft room, with all the space you have now??:biggrin::laugh:.

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

Hi Soon,
Haha.... If I move in there'll be no more room for your plants... *biggrin2*

Yes, I think for any enclosed setup, the main concerns will be heat dissipation (if using natural sunlight as the light source or part of the light source) caused by "green house" effect and air movement. The mister used by swiftlet's operators should be perfect for a cool room and cool house, the unit will produce ample humidity and some air flow when it's activated. It's also durable and practically self sustaining once setup properly.

You may need a controller with sensor to control the humidity and temperature. There's such a device where you set a certain range / limit for temperature / humidity and it'll trigger on/off the power to the device you wanted it to be control. Should come in handy... :smile:

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

No prob, hope it helps in your efforts. Depending on the Neps you grow and your setup, you *may* not need a mister at all. I'm serious. A number of the more hardy highlanders can be adapted to air-con humidity as long as not subjected to a direct blast and others can be adapted if put in a somewhat sheltered area. Note that others can NEVER be adapted to air-con level humidity, so its a trade off for not bothering about a humidifier.

Unless your plants don't even get morning sun and its dim all day, it should be enough for most. If you get too much sun, then shadecloth is a option. It should not be too difficult to overcome, though if you really don't get enough light, I can't think of an easy way to overcome that.


Should you decide to move those out to your HL growing area once its complete, here's my 2 cents: Move eymae first or get a khasiana. Those two seem to be able to withstand anything and will pitcher even if humidity is lower than 40%! If you cannot successfully harden them off and grow them in your growing area, then you've got a serious problem. spectabilis should be your next bet as its only slightly temp cranky. It should give you an idea on how stressful the temps are in your area. Its not that cranky about humidity, but more so than eymae and will take longer to harden. Take it step by step and correct any problems as you discover them. It may be slow, but its better than losing plants :) If rajah can grow, the typical highlander should be an okay. It MUST be blocked from the air-con's blast, but can be hardened to take about 50% humidity. I've managed to get rajah to survive for two years(till I itchy finger go and repot) for 2 years without any signs of heat tress or shrinking growth, so if you use air-con, it should work for you. Hope this helps!! I'm still in the process of experimenting too, now trying to get an aristo and villosa to survive and pitcher.

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

thanks a lot, ifurita, your advice will come in handy. most of us here itching to grow HL are thinking of hamata, aristo, inermis, rajah etc as the ultimate goal. villosa.... with the height they grow on at kinabalu, its a tall order. the sight of the wild plants with their pitchers are a sight to behold! hope your next attempt will work, all the best! about lighting, yes, i will rather try to have more lighting than less. if it is too hot or bright, can always reduce it, with tinting or shading etc. but if it is too dim, then too bad. there goes the electricity bill and i noted plants growing under sunlight are always superior to those under artificial lights, anyone disagree?

robert, having a timer is a must to avoid all the switching on and off, but what you suggest is even better, humidity control! but i am not sure who can do that and at what cost. i think one cant go too wrong if he sets the humidifier timer to mist at regular intervals.

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

If you start your highland terrarium by growing small TC plants then they should grow well under low light leverl as highlands grow in very shaded areas.

But some species (lowii) tend to produces upper pitchers once it grows in full sun.Hamta is a finicky one which needs almost 100% humidity when it's a seedling which makes it harder to grow.You should examine every species growing guide before you buy them or else you'll end up killing them.

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

I have such a device already, just never had the chance to test it to see how effective it is. :unsure:

Actually, if I'm not mistaken, only some H/L species prefer shaded conditions. Most H/L species can tolerate shaded condition but they grow much better in full sun.

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

just view this post, i was curious that what condition is call shaded? if i was able to give 25celcius, do you think most of the highlanders will survive, it just seeds.....yet to germinate...

Re: Growing highland nepenthes
 

by reading here and there, I can only make a general conclusion bout highlander, the main requirement is the drop of temperature between day and night(big drop), high humidity, medium shouldn't be too soggy(storing water)...

there is a chance for highlander to survive, but some how, if it does survive, it won't grow well or pitcher if the requirement of high temperature difference is not achieved...