very slow northiana

[lirazr]

Hi there,
people adwised me to be patient-before i bought my northiana "it is a real slow plant".... "it is not a plant for beginers".....etc
It took me almost 7 month since i got my small northiana til it started to show some growing remarks and produce small/tiny pitchers.
I added some pictures that can show my northiana's very slow growth.
Mybe somone have a healthy adwise/tip how to make it to grow more quickly?
Liraz

[NepNut]

Yes, N. northiana is very slow especially it's at seedling stage (also depending on the growing condition like light, humidity, temperature and etc). Your seedling however does look healthy, guess you just have to be more patient...

[marvin1997]

Compared to yours mine still very smal!!!But mine haven't got any pitchers

[lirazr]

The pitchers are a realy new thing,
It just happened two weeks ago after a long time of not growing at all.
I belive that this sp. worth waiting - when it grows up it has amazing pitchers.
thanks again!

[Boris]

N. northiana is a litophyte plant. Just have a look here for some in-situ photos:
http://pitcherplants.proboards.com/i...ay&thread=7302
Like epiphytes also litophytes should be grown in very well draining soil. Also it's a good idea to use for this sort of plants rather small pots. My experience with northiana is quite limited. I just grow it for 8 months and it increased well its size and is pitchering regularly. I've got my northiana in a meshpot in a 50/50 mix of sphagnum and expanded clay and the pot has a 5 cm drainage of pinebark and charcoal and it recieves lots of wind from a ventilator.

[paphioboy]

I agree with boris.. lirazr, I think you might be growing your northiana too wet. mine is growing well in a mixture of charcoal, fern roots, expanded clay, limestone and a bit of sphagnum. Will post pic soon..

[marvin1997]

I didn't even water my northiana cause I keep it in a bag

[Boris]

Originally Posted by marvin1997

I didn't even water my northiana cause I keep it in a bag

to keep it bagged isn't a good idea. I think the important key for good growing is lots of wind. Just look at this in-situ fotos. They are growing without any protection of the wind. I think that they can take really rough conditions once they are acclimated.

[lirazr]

Thank u all for your tips!
i know already about the lime stone clifs habitat of the northiana, that's why i added to the mixture a few lime stones and old coral barks, this in order to make the mixture PH a bit higher levels like the nature limestones.
At the begining my mixture was more peat mos and less drained but....
Now my mixture is 60-70% coco barks 15% perlite 15% peat moss +lime stones and old coral barks. i think it is well drained now.
i try not to water it almost at all.
mybe the slowlyness is because the soil mix on the 2 first month of aclimating.
i hope some day i will join an expodition to visit the amazing clifs in the picture that Boris added!
liraz

[Robert]

Hi lirazr, your north look fine to me. It required extremely well drain media. I use pure clay pellets of different dimension collected from the hills and water only once in 3-4 days. Clay retained moisture and lots of air space between their roots was perfect, as in the folowing pot.



I also use approx 80% perlite and approx 20% peat or chopped up sphagnum, and it also work very well.



Both pots are grown in the open garden with 60% nursery shade exposed to natural wind and rain.